FrontPage News: Microsoft Revamps Design Tools
Troy Dreier
1/5/2007
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With little fanfare, Microsoft FrontPage has slipped away, never to return. That's probably not a concern to you, since it was never a strong choice for professional site developers, but you might be interested in its replacement.
The software giant has created
a new site design tool, one that produces better, tighter code, offers a much better range of features, and has a visual side that designers will appreciate. Meet Microsoft Expression Web (see screen shot below).
If you're wondering why you haven't heard of this application, it's because Microsoft hasn't begun the promotion in earnest yet. Expression Web is one of four tools in a new Expression line the company is creating, and it's the first to be released. The others include Expression Blend, for creating animations and rich online applications, Expression Design, a graphic and illustration design tool, and Expression Media, a digital asset management tool.
Microsoft has Adobe in its sights, and it's sure to be a hard battle since Adobe products are entrenched in the design community. Expression Web takes on Adobe Dreamweaver, but Dreamweaver hasn't had a new release in some time, so developers might be open to a change.
Expression Web aims to make the designer more a part of the site development process, by creating a visually rich interface where designers can work without knowing the intricacies of site creation. In fact, the entire Expression line was created with the designer in mind.
Microsoft Expression Web offers an easy visual interface so non-technical designers can play more of a role in Web site creation.
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