Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

February 04, 2009

Introduction to FrontPage Hosting

Emerging technologies have made it far easier to create and manage a website.  From simple HTML editors to pre-designed templates, these tools help users with little to know experience build professional websites.  There are many tools available, but one of the most widely used is FrontPage.

What is FrontPage?

Developed by Microsoft, FrontPage is a software application used to create websites.  The program allows you to build a professional, feature-rich site all without HTML coding or using complex scripting languages.  FrontPage is known for its Graphical User Interface and WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) editor.  When creating a website with FrontPage, your work is displayed before you exactly as it will appear on the web page.  Even the code used to create pages is pre-installed and automatically generated, you still have the ability to edit HTML via a separate window.

The FrontPage Advantage

Perhaps the greatest advantage of FrontPage is that it lets you visualize how your website will look before even completing the work.  From the layout and fonts to colors and edits, they all can be viewed on the screen as adjustments are made.  This is something that simply can't be done when scripting with a programming language such as ASP or PHP.  FrontPage offers a user-friendly environment that lets you accomplish what would ordinarily be complex processes in a few easy clicks of the mouse.  Not only does the program help you save time, but also grants forgiveness on errors.  When using a server-side programming language, a single mistake can dramatically affect the entire web page, forcing you to go back and scan the code for errors.  With the FrontPage WYSIWYG editor, all you are required to do is point, click and insert your content.  If any errors are made, you can find them easily and quickly make the appropriate corrections.

Although FrontPage is fairly easy to use, it also offers sophistication that allows you get more creative.  A number of advanced authoring features give you the power to create generate dynamic pages similar to those created by server-side scripting.  For example, you can incorporate hit counters, web forms, search boxes and link bars among other interactive features.  Simply use the provided drop-down menus and icons to insert the desired content and FrontPage handles the rest.   In order to use the applications, you must first find a web host with the corresponding FrontPage extensions installed on their server.

FrontPage Web Hosting

If your website is created with FrontPage, you will need a provider that offers FrontPage extensions to host it.  This will allow you to enjoy all the features and applications that are specific to FrontPage powered websites.  While the technologies are developed by Microsoft, you can find FrontPage hosting on both Windows or Linux platforms.  Regardless of the platform, the key is making sure it is enabled with the extensions that support the version of FrontPage used to create your site.  This is important as it is the very core of FrontPage hosting.

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