This leads to the often heated and delicate debate, "Which is the best editor?" Fortunately this article informs you of the pros and cons of both and the level of experience that is required. At this stage, I would like to make it clear that I am not an advocate for Microsoft or Macromedia and have substantial experience of using both web editors.
FrontPage Pros Starting off with FrontPage, the latest version is 2003 and it has been built on top of the highly successful Microsoft Office suite. It benefits from having a similar appearance to Microsoft Word and many of the other Office based programs. The "non technical savv" will appreciate such a close resemblance and an easy-to-use menu system.
In fact FrontPage has many uses similar to a word processor. The functionality for inserting images, tables and formatting text are very similar. So the step-up from a well known word processor, to an equally well known web editor is not that big at all! FrontPage also has an abundance of ready to use templates, particularly useful for the novice user.
Dreamweaver Pros Macromedia products have been designed specifically with web design in mind and Dreamweaver is the industry standard for web editors. Dreamweaver has a nice blend of advanced tools mixed in with a tasteful graphical user interface.
Dreamweaver 8, the most recent version, is part of the Macromedia Studio 8 suite. The tight integration between applications in the Studio is fantastic. Switching from Dreamweaver to another product such Fireworks, Flash and ColdFusion is an absolute "doddle" and a real time saver too!
Dreamweaver also enables you to build your own custom templates, allowing alterations to hundreds of pages to be made with one single change - great large web sites! It also has an awesome array of database utilities which makes creating dynamic pages a breeze.
Dreamweaver has an extensive collection of advanced tools and may at times be a little too complex for those who wish to merely edit pages. Fortunately, Macromedia Contribute is available and is part of the Macromedia Studio suite and enables easy website maintenance. "Non techies" can edit the content of pages, whilst the coding part of the page is protected - so no banana skins here!
FrontPage Cons FrontPage's simplicity and ease of use often generates lots of unwanted code which can be difficult to manage. It has been designed specifically for Internet Explorer (I.E.) and does not fully abide by the World Wide Web Standards. This means the web pages look perfect in I.E. but often slightly out of sync in other leading browsers such as Mozilla Firefox.
Another small hindrance of FrontPage is that web servers need FrontPage extensions to get some features to work.
Dreamweaver Cons Dreamweaver is not as easy to use and may look a little foreign and intimidating to the novice user. The lack of beginner tools and usability may frustrate inexperienced users. Dreamweaver is also a little more pricey than FrontPage. Conclusion
Dreamweaver is a professional level web editor. It has been designed to be used in a commercial environment and benefits from having advanced web design tools, is part of a great Macromedia suite, offers power database utilities and provides a wide range of e-commerce capabilities.
FrontPage on the other hand was intended for the average home user with a modest interest in web design. It is ideal for beginners and offers a range of special effects that will keep you busy for quite a while.
I think they both provide value for money and are aimed at different markets. The novice user will benefit from FrontPage, where as the professional web designer will require more advanced tools and is more likely to opt for Dreamweaver.
Have you entered the world of Internet commerce? Do you have a product or service ready to sell through the Internet? Do you feel confident in your business decisions, but are weary of creating your Internet business website? Don't worry, you're not alone. Many people feel uncomfortable when it comes to creating a website.
The good news is that you can build your own website easily using the FrontPage program from Microsoft. FrontPage is a website creation program that is very simple to use. If you are not technical or shaky with your website creation skills then FrontPage is a great choice.
Before you build your website you need to have the appropriate mindset. Don't be afraid of building your website no matter how little knowledge you have. Instead, you should tell yourself that it will be easy and you will like it. This will open up your mind so that you can build your website. It is the power of positive thinking.
When you open up the FrontPage program it will automatically show you a view of the code page. The code page is the actual html. You don't need to worry about this view, unless you know html. Most people want to work in the WYSIWYG mode. (What you see is what you get.)
You want to work with the design page. The design page works with images and text. You don't have to worry about the code. FrontPage will write the code for you. You simply create a website by placing buttons, text, links, and images in the design page.
Did you know that you can find out the html code for any website on the Internet? You can actually copy the html code from other websites on the Internet. You can find the html code by going to the website of your choosing.
For example, you might want to create your content in the same fashion as Google.com. To accomplish this you can copy the entire website from Google.com. The website code will be imported into Microsoft FrontPage. You can then tweak the code. Remember, you should not copy the exact content as this would be a violation of copyright. You just want to copy it as a model. You need to modify the code so that it reflects your own unique website.
Boot up Microsoft FrontPage to get started on your website today. You will find that the graphical user interface is very straightforward. Remember, you can do it and you like it.
Both Rich Talbot & Matt Bacak are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rich Talbot has sinced written about articles on various topics from Software, Data Recovery and Software. Author is a trainer with a Microsoft Office training company, the UK industry leader in its sector. For more information on