Frontpage Express

Creating a website is usually something left to the professionals--but it doesn't have to be. For those people unwilling or unable to buy a registered copy of a web design program like Microsoft FrontPage, there are other possible options. One of these options is to find and download a copy of Microsoft's stripped-down website authoring program, Microsoft FrontPage Express.

FrontPage Express is a shareware program, which means that it can be downloaded for free from Microsoft's homepage or a number of other sites. Although it lacks some of the more advanced facets of the full FrontPage program, it is still a powerful and versatile authoring tool that can help you create your own webpage. In fact, if you're just starting out on the long road of web page design, FrontPage Express can be a perfect tool to get you on your way.

FrontPage Express forgoes the complicated coding that many site authoring programs use. Instead, they use a primarily visual design structure, nicknamed WYSIWYG (for "What You See Is What You Get"). With FrontPage Express, as with most WYSIWYG programs, creating a webpage is as easy as manipulating your computer using Windows, Macintosh OS, or any other graphic-based operating system.

Using FrontPage Express, you can click and drag graphics, text, and other elements onto a blank page, thus connecting these resources to your page. If you've got some text to insert, FrontPage Express acts essentially as a word processor, taking down the words that you can then manipulate by font, size, style, etc. All in all, it's a great tool for beginners--and the price is certainly right.