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The Bargain Nexus - Microsoft Expression Web [OLD VERSION]
![Microsoft Expression Web [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YuoE2LUqL._SL160_.jpg)
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List Price: $299.00
Our Price: $137.99
Your Save: $ 161.01 ( 54% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Microsoft Software
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: CD-ROM
Brand: Microsoft
EAN: 0882224368865
Feature: Professional design tool to create modern, standards-based sites that deliver superior quality on the Web
Format: CD-ROM
Is Autographed: 0
Is Memorabilia: 0
Label: Microsoft Software
Manufacturer: Microsoft Software
Model: UCQ-00476
Platform: Windows XP
Publisher: Microsoft Software
Release Date: 2007-05-24
Studio: Microsoft Software
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Features
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Professional design tool to create modern, standards-based sites that deliver superior quality on the Web
Seamlessly integrate Web design and development teams with Expression Web and Visual Studio's superior support for XML, ASP.NET and XHTML
Built-in support for latest Web standards means your sites will be optimized for accessibility and cross-browser compatibility
Advanced CSS rendering engine lets you make decision making on the fly
Harnesses the power of ASP.NET 2.0 to transform your sites into dynamic, interactive Web applications
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: This thing is impossible
Comment: I've been building web pages using Frontpage since its first release. I've upgraded all the way through 2003. I thought upgrading to Expression was a good idea, but it has been nothing but frustrating.
I'm not a novice. I work in Photoshop to build my own graphics for all my websites - personal and professional - never used a template in Frontpage. I built everything from the ground up, and I found Expression to be an exercise in tooth gnashing. Nothing works the way it should.
The help files are useless, and unless you want to pay for video tutoring on line you're left in the cold. I've bought two books, and neither was much help either. If I tried to build anything more complex than a basic html page, it failed. The CSS wouldn't attach. The files wouldn't read each other once they were on the server.
This morning I went back to Frontpage 2003. I can edit the CSS files the old fashioned way there - the way that works.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wait for 2.0
Comment: Background: I am not professional user in the sense of making a living from Web site construction but I have created and maintained personal, commercial, and informational sites. Typically using either Frontpage or Dreamweaver depending on the project but always on the look out for something better.
As other reviewers have pointed out, Expression is not an upgrade to Frontpage but something else entirely---Microsoft's attempt to compete with Adobe Dreamweaver. So if you are looking for an entry level Web site creation tool, stop reading now and look elsewhere. Start with an Amazon or Google search of "create website." You'll get tons of advice, some good and some not so good. Like other reviewers here I am hoping that some software company picks up the torch and produces something decent for the folks that don't spend their lives doing this stuff. (Expression is not it!)
Others have covered most of the important differences between Expression and Dreamweaver. My recommendation first of all is to stay away until there is a version 2.0---this is definitely beta software. I can not complete a single session without at least one crash. (And yes to those of you muttering to your selves, I am always on the latest available MS patches to both applications and OS.) Given that caveat, there are important differences and I highly recommend you skim the other detailed reviews to see if those are differences that are important to you. Most important to me is that it is built from the ground up with CSS support. Also nice; the UI is more intuitive than Dreamweaver (maybe someday Adobe will actually figure out that the UI is important, maybe...) and the drag and drop aspect of authoring. On the down side is that access to common page properties is not as convenient as Dramweaver.
Bottom line, wait for a later version and look elsewhere if you are new to Web site authoring or looking to upgrade Frontpage.
Customer Rating:
Summary: MS Expression Web - Best Bang For Your Web Programming Buck
Comment:
I was introduced to Microsoft Expression Web Professional Design Tool and have used it for almost a year at this point. While I have since stepped up to the much steeper learning curve and more archaic add-ons included in Microsoft Expression Studio, Expression Web is still the heart of this product and the best value out of all the components of Studio.
Everybody talks about Expression Web in terms of Frontpage, Dreamweaver, GoLive and the like. Actually this is more of a bridge product between those WSIWIG web page layout tools and something more like Visual Studio. I am familiar with Visual Studio and .Net, have used it in several languages and different projects. And I also used Frontpage for a while, though I must admit I abandoned it quite a long time ago.
If you just want to create webpages, Expression Web or one of the competing products by Adobe, Macromedia and the others should be your choice. I can honestly say that Expression Web has enough extras included in it to even create some light apps and easily achieve CSS type functionality. Plus, there are tons of cool templates and pre-built roll-overs that make nice features very easy to achieve, and easy to enhance with basic programming knowledge.
Now if you need to build some front ends for web applications that require more in depth methods and detailed integration of components then Expression Studio is the program for you. In addition to Expression Web, Studio also includes Blend, Design and Media.
Web - Design web pages and light apps
Blend - Integrate your web pages with web tools and parts
Design - Design graphic pieces easily to use on your pages / apps
Media - Catalog and retrieve your web applets for easy use on different projects
Of course the Silverlight aspect is still just in its early stages, but so far I have seen a lot of cool stuff made with it. As far as the integration stuff, easier to do basic stuff than Flash. And what's also cool is that you can drill down to the code level and change things very easily. So those who are not hardcore programmers will no longer need to also get Visual Studio to make web apps.
Expression Web is priced right and is the meatiest of the 4 Studio tools. There are lots of cool templates included with it. Unless you really want to create completely new templates, you will probably think the Studio product is overkill. Truthfully, many people will get most of what the need with Expression Web. There's no real way to know without trying them out. For me, I wanted to have the full Studio because I saw a cool demo of how to use it and I knew I could save some time with the Blend and Design components.
If you want to try this before you decide on one or the other, you can download an evaluation copy from Microsoft. Just take my advice and work on it for at least 1 or 2 weeks befoe you decide. There's a lot of stuff in here that you should test out.
I love my Expression Web and now I'm loving Studio. And the best part is that if you get it before the end of June you get a free upgrade to version 2.0.
Enjoy!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wish I had spent the money first elsewhere and saved it here
Comment: I spent the money and I am not stupid but this I was not able to master so I paid a professional. Doesn't mean I won't continue trying but not friendly like I thought.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I hate it.
Comment: I've been publishing websites since 1998, first using FrontPage1998, then switching to Yahoo's SiteBuilder. I bought Expression, feeling like I needed to step up to "standards-based" web design tool.
After three weeks of work, including studying "Expression Web for Dummies" and "Using Microsoft Expression Web," I am NO closer to figuring out how to put up a decent looking web page. The tutorial CD that came with the package didn't work either, which should have been a clue.
I have had no luck figuring out how to "float divs," or get CSS to lay out in columns, or any such things. The stuff I have been able to do is no more than I would have been able to do it SiteBuilder, which is free.
I loved the old FrontPage because it was intuitive. You didn't have to dig and dig and risk spraining your brain to figure it out. SiteBuilder is a solid tool, though. If I could get my money back from this, I would.
What a disappointment!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Microsoft Expression Web gives you the tools you need to produce high-quality, standards-based Web sites the way you want them. Bring your Web sites to life with sophisticated CSS design features including visual designers. Create dynamic, interactive pages and sites that leverage the power of the Web to deliver compelling user experiences. Create CSS-based Web sites that work better across browsers, simplifying deployment and maintenance. Take advantage of the best of dynamic Web site design to design, develop, and maintain exceptional standards-based Web sites. Use the controls toolbox, properties grid, and on-control action menus to quickly insert and configure ASP.NET controls Write ASP.NET markup quickly with IntelliSense and tag completion in the integrated design and code surface Take advantage of ASP.NET 2.0 with integrated support for server and user controls & no code data binding, for dynamic, interactive Web applications
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