Learning Microsoft FrontPage

We come across countless different websites on a daily basis, some of which leave us awestruck in terms of their design and layout. While experienced webpage designers may find webpage designing a piece of cake, the same cannot be said for novices who wish to learn the skill and yet are bound by their inability to do so. If you are among the latter, it is advisable to start with learning Microsoft FrontPage, a software program that lets you design websites in much the same way as you would create an MS-Word document.

Microsoft FrontPage – An Introduction:

As mentioned above, the main purpose of Microsoft FrontPage is to provide an interface where users can develop designs for their webpage. Coming from the creators of Windows and MS-Office, two of the most widely used and user-friendly software programs, FrontPage follows the same trend of providing a simple and easy user experience. For this reason, it has become widely popular among beginners in particular as they find it relatively easier to follow this software.

How Microsoft FrontPage works:

This website designing tool is based on HTML coding language, which allows for the inclusion of several design features such as images, web-links, tabular representations, graphs and much more. It additionally offers options like design templates, managing assignments and incorporating wizards. A detailed list of its features includes:

• Inbuilt HTML validation
• Text editing
• WYSIWYG editing
• Colour-coded XHTML editing
• Option to edit multiple files simultaneously
• XML support
• Advanced CSS support
• Scripting support
• Database manager
• Site manager
• FTP
• Link authenticator
• Tag completion
• Wizard for detailed search and replacement
• Special characters

How to learn Microsoft FrontPage:

Although you will find numerous online sources providing tutorials on FrontPage, it is always better and recommended to learn about the software from its own creator. Microsoft offers free web tutorials, which can help beginners learn how to plan, create, code and execute a webpage on their own using FrontPage. With the guidelines, examples, references and assessments included in these tutorials, anyone can become an expert at FrontPage.

You can start by opening your browser window and logging on to the page where FrontPage 2003 tutorials are listed in order, beginning right from the most basic to the most difficult levels. Pick and choose the course that you feel best defines your level of expertise in the software. By clicking on your desired option, you will be led to a different page that enlists the course outline, including its duration, aim and the areas covered.

If you feel you are ready, you can click on ‘Start This Course’ and start right away. As you get done with each page of the tutorial, you can move forward by clicking ‘Next’ or click on ‘Back’ if you need to see the previous page. You may also read about other topics by clicking on the links in the left bar, and assess what you learnt. With the help of the ‘Quick Reference Card’ option in the menu, you can keep a check on the areas included in the tutorial and even take a printout. You may choose further levels on the tutorials offered and build your knowledge about FrontPage.