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July 31, 2009

How to Build a FrontPage Site Without FrontPage Extensions

There may come a time when you need to create a FrontPage website without FrontPage extensions.  Perhaps you want to develop a site on your local drive rather than a web server.  Whatever the reason, this is a simple task, especially in FrontPage 2000.  While this will limit some of the server-side capabilities such as hit counters and search functionality, it does allow you to leverage some of the application’s powerful development tools and still come out with a professional looking website.

Why Work Without FrontPage Extensions?

FrontPage extensions work together with a web server to provide functionality that makes the FrontPage product an even more powerful tool.  These extensions are supported by many servers today and are automatically installed with the client program.  Though useful, there are instances where creating a website without them is desirable.  For example, you may want to build a simple website that doesn’t require enhanced functionality.  Another instance would be a server that does not support FrontPage extensions.  When choosing to work without them, you can configure the client to disable features that will not function with the finished website.  By limiting the capabilities of your development environment, you will not have to worry about whether your site will be compatible with the intended web server.

Creating a Disk-Based Website

As the name implies, a disk-based website is a version of your website stored on a disk or removable media.  While you will not get all the functionality as the site based on the server, it tends to be suitable for small scale projects such as this.

In the FrontPage application, after selecting “File”, “New” and “Web” from the menu to create a “New Website”, the “New Dialog” box will prompt you for the location of the website.  If you have a web server such as IIS installed on your computer, FrontPage will choose that location by default.  If not, the default location will be the path on your system designated to store web content.  This path can actually be changed to whatever you prefer.

Setting up a disk-based website is pretty easy as all you are doing is selecting a drive and directory to store your site.  From there, FrontPage will place on the content on the drive you specified.

Limiting FrontPage Features

Because the FrontPage client allows you to convert to FrontPage extensions at any time, you can easily utilize the features that require them to work.  If you do not intend on implementing certain functionality, it would be a good idea to disable these extensions so you do not utilize them by mistake.  This can be done in the FrontPage application by selecting “Page Options” from the “Tools” menu and choosing the “Compatibility” tab from the “Page Options” window.  Under the “Servers” drop-down menu, uncheck the box that reads “Enabled with Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions”.

Summary

FrontPage extensions are designed to make things easier, so you may want to keep this in mind before creating your site without them.  As we mentioned, this option is best for simple sites with limited functionality or a situation where your server does not support the FrontPage client.

Tags: development tool,  web server,  frontpage extensions,  FrontPage 2000,  FrontPage,  disk based website