Advantages for Using FrontPage (Part I)

Ever since I've been doing SEO work, I've always griped and
complained about FrontPage and all the extraneous code it puts
in the section of the page, etc.

Then recently, I had the opportunity to visit with a group of
advanced search engine optimizers, and I was shocked to find
that many of them use FrontPage and love it.

FrontPage?

The first thing I learned is that there are ways to keep out the
extraneous code. With FrontPage, you can remove the code, but it
keeps coming back again and again and again. But, there's a way
to get rid of it forever.

How to Get Rid of Extraneous Code and Headers

Dave Barry, Webmaster of SmartCertify Direct
http://www.smartcertify.com, explains how:

FrontPage 97 or 98 Users:

Click on Start, then Find, then Files or Folders. Search your
hard drive (generally your C drive) for a file named frontpg.ini.
Click on the file.

When it opens, look for a line that says, "Version 3.0".

Add the following under Version 3.0:

HTMLREFORMAT=0

The next time you use FrontPage, remove the extraneous code and
headers, and they won't come back.

FrontPage 2000, 2002 or XP Users:

Look at the menu bar at the top of the Open Web. Click on Tools,
then Page Options.

You'll see an option box. Under HTML Source, at the top of the
page under General, you'll have this choice:

When saving file(s):

Preserve existing HTML or
Reformat using the rules below

If you choose Preserve existing HTML, and if you delete any
extraneous code and headers, you won't see the code or headers on
your pages again.

To view an example screen shot showing the above, click on:
http://www.academywebspecialists.com/newsletters/fp2.gif

Dave added:

To disable the HTML changing of FrontPage 2000, a registry entry
is also needed. This registry file
http://www.academywebspecialists.com/newsletters/noreformat.zip
will do it automatically. Just open the file with Notepad to
verify its authenticity before using it.

The attachment and registry entry must occur on the server.

Or, if you want to edit the registry manually, here is the code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftShared
ToolsWeb Server ExtensionsAll Ports (include square brackets around
the above)
"ReformatHtml"="0"

Add-In that Generates META Tags

FrontPage also has an Add-in that will delete META tags without
going into the source view. It's called META Tag Maker 2002, and
it will create and manage META tags through one dialogue box,
without having to go into source view.
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/downloads/addid/
searchdetail.asp?aid=80

In fact, the FrontPage site has an amazing number of Add-ins for
FrontPage that are free for the taking.
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/downloads/addin/default.asp

Someof the more popular Add-ins include:

Multimedia/Special FX, Windows Media Add-in, that will easily
embed audio and visual into your Web pages.

Clear Teal Template, that is a 16 page easy-to-use Web template
that lets you easily create a Web site.

Some of the more popular Add-ins include:

Scripting/Database Tools, J-Bots Plus 2002 Trail. According to
the FrontPage site, J-Bots components make FrontPage Web site
more customized by adding JavaScript-enabled features, but you
don't have to know how to write code or cut and paste. Simply
fill in dialog boxes, click Generate, and the JavaScript is
created for you.

Other Advantages of Using FrontPage

Server side includes are easy with FrontPage. Before we go on,
let me explain what "Server Side Includes" are.

Server side includes (SSI's) generate parts of Web pages
dynamically on the "server side". They allow you to add
customization features to your Web pages, such as an e-mail form.
Unlike other forms of dynamic content, or content that's created
on the fly, server side includes have a normal URL that's easy
for users to remember and doesn't create problems for the
engines.

In other words, SSI's embed special commands into an HTML
document that tells the server to perform specific actions when a
user requrests the page. The server then creates the Web page on
the fly by merging files or inserting requested information.

How might you use SSI's on your Web page? Let's say you want to
add a form to your Web site for your users to complete to sign up
for your newsletter. You could create the form using SSI's.

For more information on creating SSI's with FrontPage, visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/using/default.htm and click
on FrontPage Server Extensions.

Dave Berry, who recently created two major sections of the Dell
Web site using FrontPage, manages 40 to 50 Web site at
SmartCertify, and he easily moves back and forth between those
sites using FP. With that many sites, there is a lot of
duplicity, and he can effortlessly share objects with FP or edit
multiple Web sites. With FrontPage, you can cut and paste between
the sites, use shared borders, and easily drag nd drop files,
thus saving a lot of time versus handling each site separately.

If your've ever wanted to experiment with Cscading Style Sheets
(CSS), FrontPage also makes using them a breeze. You can even
create DHTML using FrontPage.

Dave created a video on how to copy and paste, how to use
Cascading Style Sheets, and how to use shared borders with Front
Page:
http://www.smartcertify.com/seo/frontpage.asp

Author NOTe: When viewing these videos, make sure you have the
latest version of Microsoft Windows Media Player. To downlad
the latest version (7.1), click:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q299321.
Also, I found that I was unable to view the videos if my firewall
(Zone Alarm) was running.