Getting Started

This FrontPage template package comes with the starter web site in .zip format. Unzip the package and start editing the pages. You may wish to keep a backup copy of the .zip in case you need to start over. We have included a basic site structure with common pages to help you get started. You may rename the pages, add more pages, and add your content.

What's included:

1. Multi-page FrontPage 2002 - 2003 web template.
2. CSS positioned layout (no tables) and external CSS file.
3. Fixed-width layout with expanding background provides readability while still looking great at higher resolutions.
4. Common site pages plus customer contact form with customized thank you page.
5. Include pages used for navigation, copyright, and site name for quick and easy editing.
6. Tested to work in IE6+, Opera 7+, Mozilla and Firefox.
7. Validated CSS, XHTML 1.0 Strict. WCAG 1.0, 2.0, and Section 508 accessible.

What's needed:

FrontPage 2002 or FrontPage 2003: This template was designed specifically for the FrontPage 2002 or 2003 program. We do not guarantee the performance if used in an earlier version.

Server Requirements: This template includes  FrontPage form components. If you want to use FrontPage forms, your web site will need to be hosted on a server that has the FrontPage server extensions. Check with your hosting provider to make sure that you can use FrontPage forms on your site. If not, delete the FrontPage form and use an alternate scripting method.

Image Editing Software: While some color changes can be made by editing the CSS file. Other colors are actually graphics. If you wish to make changes to the images and graphics included in this template, you will need some type of image editing software like Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Fireworks, etc.

Step by step:

Make a new web:

1. Unzip your web package.
2. Look for the web folder.
3. Copy this folder to your My Webs directory.
4. In FrontPage, go to File > Open Site and browse to this folder to begin editing your site.

Preview your new web:

1. Click on any page and go to File > Preview in Browser.
2. Click on Internet Explorer (or another installed browser) and click Preview.
3. A browser window will open with your new web. Preview the pages of the web and decide what pages will be in your web site. You may keep this window open and return to it and refresh to see your changes.

Modify your new web:

1. Add new pages: Open a page that has the layout the way you want it, then go to File > Save As. Save the page under a new name and be sure to change the page title as well.
2. Rename existing pages: If you would like to use an existing page but want to rename it, you may easily do this in the Folders view. Right click on the file name and/or the page title and choose "Rename" to rename your file. You may then need to modify the menu links with the new text.
3. Delete pages from your web: Right click on the pages you wish to delete in your Folder list, in Folder view, or in Navigation view, then click Delete.
4. Add your own site name: The site name and slogan shown can be found on the includes_sitename.htm page. The font, sizes, and colors are set in the CSS file. We recommend you edit this page in either Split View or Code View so you can see which classes are applied to the various areas.
5. Edit the copyright information: The copyright statement is an include page. Open the include_footer.htm page, edit the text, and save the page. All of your pages will be automatically updated.
6. Editing the navigation links: The global level top links, the main navigation links, and the footer links are all include pages. Editing the include pages will update the other pages across your web site. Open them, make your changes, then save. Note that the include pages will have no formatting applied. This is okay. Simply make your changes then preview your other website pages in a browser.
7. Add your content: Delete our sample content. Type your text. Add your pictures. It's easy!

Before You Publish:

1. Change the page title on all pages as appropriate.
2. Reset form properties to contain your email address.
3. Preview all pages by going to File > Preview in Browser. It's a good idea to check your site in more than one browser.
4. Either delete or modify the keywords and description meta tags on each page.
5. Reset any form properties and replace our email address with your name/email address as the form recipient.
6. Spell check each page.

Publish Your Web:

1. Go to File > Publish Site.
2. Type in the URL of your web site (example http://www.sitename.com) If you don't want to overwrite your existing web site but just want to publish it temporarily to preview it, publish it to a subfolder like this: http://www.sitename.com/text.
3. Type in your username and password when prompted.
4. If you are publishing to a new folder, FrontPage may prompt you to "create a new web." Go ahead and click OK.
5. Then, click Publish. FrontPage will publish your web. When it's done, you'll be able to click to view your published web site.

Template details:

Important for FrontPage Users: This template uses a CSS-based layout, which means that the page sections (header, sidebar, content, footer, etc.) are placed using CSS rather than in a table-based grid. Because this results in cleaner code, your pages load faster and search engines may rank you page better than they would in a table-based design.

However, because the FrontPage "design view" is not as sophisticated at displaying CSS properly, some elements will not appear correctly. Fonts may seem too large or small,  spacing between elements may seem too wide, etc. While this can take a bit of getting used to, you will find it easy to keep previewing your site in a browser as you make changes. You will add content and images as you normally would. After each change, save the page and go to File > Preview in Browser.

Occasionally FrontPage's Design/Normal view may "lose" the formatting. When this happens, just hit F5 to refresh the page and the styles will return.

Form Email address: To receive the contact page form results via email you must edit the form properties and add your email address. Right-click on the form and select Form Properties from the menu. Click on the Options button. In the dialog box click on the Email tab. Type your email in the space next to "email address". Click OK to close the windows. If you are working on a disk based web (without a server on your local computer), you will receive a prompt that there are no server extensions installed and then be asked if you wish to remove the email address. Select "NO" to this option.

The Main Image: If you wish to use your own image in place of ours, we supply you with a "mainimage_blank" file that contains only the background. You can use your favorite imaging program to add an image on top of this background if you prefer. Save your modified image back into your web's images folder with the name of mainimage.jpg. This will overwrite our file with your new one.

Your Business Name: The site name and slogan shown can be found on the includes_sitename.htm page. The font, sizes, and colors are set in the CSS file. We recommend you edit this page in either Split View or Code View so you can see which classes are applied to the various areas.

Include Content: Several items that are common to all of the pages in this web template are located on "include pages." To edit these areas, simply edit the include page, save your changes, and they will be updated on all pages automatically.

1. site name = include_sitename.htm
2. top global links = include_global.htm
3. bottom links and copyright = include_footer.htm
4. main navigation = include_mainnavigation.htm
5. slogan = include_slogan.htm

Meta Tags: To help you get your site listed in search engines/directories, we have added blank meta tags to each page. You will want to either delete these tags or add your own specific content. To add your own unique page description and keyword content, right click on the page and select Page Properties. In the window that appears, click on the Custom tab. Under "user variables", locate the description item and then click the modify button. Add your own page description. Next click on the keyword item, click the modify button, and add your keywords and phrases.