Using FrontPage to Update Your Website
Douglas Maxwell, Insala Chief Technology Officer
 

Maintaining a professional and up-to-date website is a must in today’s web-centric world of business. We know that the “professional” part may be a stretch for those without a team of web developers and graphic designers. (For that, let Insala come to your aid.) But the “up-to-date” part is something that may be easier than you think.

There are a myriad of tools available to you that can make the seemingly daunting task of website updates very much in reach. For ease of use, familiar interface, and cost, we often recommend Microsoft Office FrontPage. What follows is a very brief primer on making basic updates to your website using FrontPage.

Step 1. Opening your website

There are a number of methods to open your website for editing. The easiest is to open the site directly from its location on the server. To do this, simply choose File > Open Web and type in the address of your website i.e.) http://www.mysite.com/. You will next be prompted to enter the username and password required to log into your website. Note that FrontPage server extensions are required on your website before you will be able to access it using this method. Contact your website host provider if you are unsure if your site has extensions installed or to get your login account.

To open a page of your website, first turn on the folder list view if not already enabled. Go to Tools > Folders. Then, double-click on any file name to open that page for editing. You can always get the page filename you want to open by viewing the address line of your website in your web browser.

Step 2. Making text edits

FrontPage is an HTML editor that offers WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) editing. This means you are able to edit HTML code without actually knowing HTML – a must for the novice. You will see a number of tabs in FrontPage that determine what “view” you are using. Use the “Design” view for WYSIWYG editing.

You will notice quickly that typing and editing text in FrontPage is very similar to working in Microsoft Word or similar program. The tools available to you include font, style, bulleting, alignment, and others for making text edits.

Step 3. Adding hyperlinks

Another basic task in editing web pages is adding hyperlinks. These can include links to external resources on the Web, links to internal resources such as other HTML pages or documents within your website, and email links for email addresses. To add any of these, first select the text you would like to make into a link. Then, right-click on that text and choose Hyperlink. Select the type of link you would like to add (file or email) and enter the appropriate address.

Step 4. Creating layout tables

HTML uses tables to allow page layout formatting. To add a table to your web page, position your cursor where you would like it to appear and choose Table > Insert > Table. Enter the number of rows, number of columns, and other attributes to insert the table. Text, pictures, etc. can be added in table cells of varying size to position them on the page.

Step 5. Inserting an image

To add an image to your website, you must first import it into the site on the server. Choose File > Import to browse your computer and add the file to your website. To add the image to a page, you can simply drag and drop the image file from the file/folder list onto the web page you have open where you would like to place it. You can right-click on the image once placed on the page for resizing and other options. However, use caution when resizing an image much larger or smaller than its actual size as it can distort the image.

Step 6. Saving your website

Once you have made edits to your web page, simply choose File > Save to save the changes. Since you are working directly on the remote site on the server, changes will take effect immediately for instant gratification. However, use caution as previous versions of the file are not saved. Consider saving a web page as a new file name (File > Save As) if you are not 100% complete with your edits. Once complete, save the file back over the original file linked from your website.

While this is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive course in Microsoft FrontPage, the basics outlined above will get you farther than you think in the task of updating your website. Good Luck!