About creating Web sites with FrontPage 2002 and SharePoint Team Services

With the features of FrontPage 2002 and SharePoint Team Services v1.0, you can create a quick and effective solution for your business, personal, or SharePoint team Web site.

You can incorporate items such as the FrontPage Photo Gallery or MSNBC Web components, track site visits with usage analysis reports, and add document libraries, surveys, or other SharePoint Team Services features. Furthermore, drawing tools and Microsoft services such as Clip Organizer enable you to add a professional touch to your Web site.

Find a location

First, you'll need a Web site hosting account to make your Web site visible to the world. Look for an Internet service provider (ISP) (ISP: A business that provides access to the Internet for such things as electronic mail, chat rooms, or use of the World Wide Web. Some ISPs are multinational, offering access in many locations, while others are limited to a specific region.) that offers hosting services based on Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions 2002 or SharePoint Team Services.

 Notes 

• When you create a Web site based on FrontPage, you can take advantage of features enabled by the FrontPage Server Extensions 2002, such as hit counters, usage analysis reports, and publishing features.
• Web sites based on SharePoint Team Services offer the same features, plus lists such as announcements, contacts, events, tasks, and links; a document library to hold collections of files that you share with team members; and a discussion board that provides a forum for conversing about topics that interest your team.

Build your Web site

Using Web site templates     Web site templates enable you to create a Web site quickly by generating pre-designed pages complete with formatting and design elements. New among the FrontPage 2002 templates is the SharePoint-based Team Web site, which creates a fully functional Web site based on SharePoint Team Services. (The template is only available if your Web site is located on a server running SharePoint Team Services.) Immediately after creating the site on the server, you'll have a functional Web site with features like a document library, lists, and a discussion board.

There are also many other FrontPage templates to choose from. These include One Page Web, Corporate Presentation Wizard, Customer Service Web, Database Interface Wizard (also in FrontPage 2002), Discussion Web Wizard, Empty Web, Import Web Wizard, Personal Web, and Project Web.

Using SharePoint Team Services features with other Web sites     You don't have to use the team Web site template to use SharePoint Team Services features. With FrontPage, you can add document libraries, announcements, or other lists, to any Web site that is hosted on a server running SharePoint Team Services.

 Notes 

• With a Web site based on FrontPage, you can either create your site online, or create it locally and then publish it to the Web server later. With a SharePoint team Web site, you create the team Web site on the server, and then edit the content live.
• Consult FrontPage online Help for specific information about creating a Web site.

Keep your site up-to-date

Once you build your site, you'll want to keep the content up-to-date. When your Web site is hosted on a server running FrontPage 2002 Server Extensions or SharePoint Team Services, you can add regularly updated content to ensure that your site visitors will see something new when they return to your site.

Web components     Components such as MSN Components, bCentral Web Components, Expedia Components, and MSNBC headlines (with categories such as News, Sports, and Business), update automatically.

Document libraries, lists, and surveys     A benefit of using document libraries, interactive lists, and surveys, is that your site visitors contribute to the content themselves.

 Note   Your Web site must be hosted on a server running SharePoint Team Services for visitors to be able to contribute to document libraries, lists, or surveys.

Traditional methods     More traditional methods of updating content involve adding or updating pages, or importing files or folders. You can import from another Web site, or from your local computer or network.

Make sure site visitors find what they want

When you put together a great site, you want to make sure site visitors don't get lost trying to navigate. FrontPage 2002 has several features that enable you to make sure this doesn't happen.

Link bars     A link bar is a set of hyperlinks used for navigating a Web site. New link bars in FrontPage 2002 allow greater control over the navigation elements you use to direct your site visitors.

Search     You can create a search form to let site visitors search your Web site for specific words or phrases. When site visitors enter text in the search form and click the search button, they will get a list of your Web pages with content that matches their search criteria. Microsoft FrontPage carries out the search and returns the names and locations of your Web pages that contain that text.

Enhance the visual impact of your site

Themes, drawing objects, and graphics are ways to spice up your Web site.

Themes     When you employ a theme, you create a consistent, professional look, and also enhance the aesthetics of your pages. The themes available with FrontPage 2002 let you create pages with a playful, professional, or artistic feel. One theme, Blueprint, uses graphic elements reminiscent of a blueprint. The Expedition theme creates a site that suggests an explorer's map. The Global Marketing theme has a multinational, corporate look.

Drawing objects     FrontPage 2002 features enhanced drawing tools such as auto-shapes, drop shadows, Word Art, and text boxes. These are effective for adding attention-getting effects to your Web pages. The drawing tools work just like those in Microsoft Word or Microsoft PowerPoint™. Also, you can paste any shapes that you created in other Office programs into FrontPage.

Graphics Clipart and photos add a visual dimension to your Web site. Use graphics of your own design, photos from a digital camera or scanner, or images from Clip Organizer to liven up your site. You can use Clip Organizer (click the link at the bottom of the Insert Clip Art task pane) to choose clip art or photos for your Web site from a selection of royalty-free images.

Layout     When you use a theme or Web site template, a basic layout is provided. But you can always customize those designs, or create your own. Experiment with the layout, or add frames or inline frames to create your own look and feel.

Try new things

Unlike print media, Web sites are constantly being updated and revised. FrontPage 2002 and SharePoint Team Services make it easier to get it right the first time, and to keep it fresh.