FrontPage: The King is dead, long live the king
2 questions in one day on the future of FrontPage. Well, you have probably heard (although, obviously not everyone).....FrontPage is going away <silent pause.....>. But don't fret, life is still very good!
FrontPage has historically been a tool for creating Web applications by individuals with little or no Web app dev experience. Because of this, "serious" developers have utilized other great tools like Visual Studio. When SharePoint 2003 was introduced, FrontPage 2003 found a real purpose in the developer's life (IMHO)...the creation and editing of SharePoint sites and pages. A star was born.
I have grown to really love FP2003 for creating and altering Web Part Zones and for utilizing the DataView Web Part. Despite the issues of unghosting, upgrading, performance, etc, a lot of folks from power users to ASP.NET developers have been doing SharePoint customization using this tool. This gave us the ability to create braanded SharePoint sites that looked like real Web sites, instead of monotone SharePoint sites.
Well, FP2003 is leaving behind a richer, albeit more complicated, legacy of tools for us to utlize. So, who are these children you ask, well they are: SharePoint Designer 2007, Web Expression Designer and Visual Studio 2005 (yea, I know this isn't new). For a discussion of each of these tools, check this out:
Well, for SharePoint 2007, SharePoint Designer is the child of most interest. If your knowledge bank needs some deposits, these may help:
"Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 is a Web site development and management program that provides you powerful tools to build, customize, and contribute to SharePoint sites using the latest Web design technologies and established standards in an IT-controlled environment."
Q&A: Microsoft Unveils Next Generation of Web Authoring and Design Tools
Top 10 Benefits of Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007
Welcome to Office 2007 and SharePoint Designer!
5 Cool SharePoint Designer Features
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