Why Bother With
Front Page Hosting?

To get the most out of Front Page hosting the server extensions have to be loaded on the web server that contains your web site. The website-hosting-advisor has found if you want to use any of the advanced components found in Front Page this is essential. Sadly not all web hosts support these advanced server functions. Getting a Front Page host pretty much guarantees the use of Front Page extensions, however, like any other web host, each brings their own positives and negatives to the table. When it comes to Front Page hosting, the website-hosting-advisor makes suggestions of things to keep in mind.

Firstly look to see if the host is a registered WPP (Web Presence Provider) for Front Page-based hosting. This insures that the host makes constant upgrades to their servers as far as Front Page extensions are concerned. However the website-hosting-advisor says there are many excellent web hosts, who are not registered with Microsoft, that do not use the WPP search as the only determining factor when finding a Front Page host.

The next step is to see if they provide special technical support, training, consulting,…..etc for Front Page. Though this is not vital, it’s always good to know that the support team understands Front Page and can further help you build your web page.

Front Page hosting represents a niche market in the form of support for a web authoring software product. Microsoft Front Page is a popular web site management and creation tool that utilizes a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for easier use. One of the keys to Front Page's success is its crafty environment. Front Page utilizes the What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) design method. In other words, the elements you place on the page are edited in the same manner they will be seen. This aids the designer in visualizing the page before and during the proposed process. Front Page also splits up the web design. You can either create web pages using the many tools and macros that come with Front Page on the normal layer or you can edit the HTML directly on the HTML layer or a blend of both.

Microsoft Front Page also has more advanced features that use objects called Front Page Server Extensions or simply Front Page Extensions.

What is a FrontPage Extension?

Website-hosting-advisor has found that Front Page extensions are server-side applications that allow incorporating Front Pages' advanced features. Essentially these mechanisms are programs that run off the server and allow the activation, processing, and enabling of special features located within Front Page. For Front Page these advanced features include: simultaneous collaboration with other users on the same site, save Microsoft Office program files directly to the server, include Front Page Components (to include form handler, discussion, full-text search, and hit counter components) on your site, and create a web page directly on your web server.

FrontPage extensions can be used with the various Microsoft Operating Systems as well as Unix based operating systems and are compatible with Microsoft's Internet Information Server and Apache.

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