Next steps for large website in FrontPage

What are my options?

[skweb]

I built a website in 1999 using Microsoft FrontPage and obviously it has grown to about 3,000 pages. Now that Microsoft has retired FrontPage and the software gives trouble while publishing, what are my options from these:
1. Upgrade to Expression Web? Has anyone done that? How was the migration? Any other feedback?
2. Migrate to another CMS? Which one is better? My website is not a blog -- it is mostly static content.
3. Should I leave existing content untouched (I am told that is the right way to preserve rankings) and use another CMS for new content?

[bill]

1. Upgrade to Expression Web?

We've had a few threads about Expression Web [google.com] over the years. You might find the info you want in previous threads.

3. Should I leave existing content untouched

You can still use FP. Just because MS isn't updating it any longer doesn't mean it won't continue to work.

[signor_john]

I've got a mostly "evergreen" information site of about 7,000 pages that was built in FrontPage and grows at the rate of several hundred pages per year. I still use FrontPage 2003 most of the time, though I've been experimenting with Expression Web 2 and CSS.

Specific observations:

1) I no longer use the FrontPage server extensions. They aren't needed for FrontPage includes, shared borders, and the few other FP special features that I use.

2) For publishing my pages, I simply use an FTP program (WS_FTP Pro).

3) I've found that breaking the site down into subwebs (preferably no larger than 500 pages or so) improves speed when making global changes in a section of the site (such as shared navigation borders) and gives a bit more flexibility. For example, a site about baked goods could have subwebs for cakes, pies, breads, etc., and each subweb could have its own customized nvigation borders.

One of these days I'll probably convert everything into a CSS-based site with Expression Web, one subweb at a time. But until I do, FrontPage 2003 is working just fine.

[cmendla]

I also did a lot of stuff in frontpage. Nothing of the size you mentioned but mostly under 100 page sites.

I looked at expression web and found that, if you want the functionality of menus etc, you have to put a third party app on your linux host or you have to go with windoze hosting. (sorry I forget the name of the app right now - it is something simple)

Anyway, I started looking at the open source CMS apps. I was flipping between Joomla and Drupal. I think I'm going to end up with Joomla.

A CMS like Joomla is pretty powerful. One advantage is that the ability to do 'community building' is built right in. Some of my sites could benefit a lot by allowing users to post their ideas and opinions (Of course, you do leave yourself open somewhat to legal challenges)

Even without that, I'm finding that Joomla will build the sites I need, Make them decent looking and, if done right, the sites will meet accessibility standards.

The learning curve is, I think, a little steep.

One disadvantage is that you do need ot keep up with the security patches and you do need to play around a lot with the htacces (in 'nix platforms)

Hope this helps.

cg

[T_Miller]

I switched from FrontPage to DreamWeaver many years ago and so glad I did. DW help me learn coding, FP seems to always want to do it for you, with the normal MS baggage.

These days, I manage all my non-ecommerce sites with Joomla. Far more powerful and easy to get a basic 5 page site up and going quickly. My partner has sold basic sites and I'd have it up and running in a two hours with Joomla. We'd let it sit a couple days offline just to justify our fees. LOL

[edited by: T_Miller at 6:17 pm (utc) on May 5, 2009]

[signor_john]

I switched from FrontPage to DreamWeaver many years ago and so glad I did. DW help me learn coding, FP seems to always want to do it for you, with the normal MS baggage.

Sounds like you haven't used FrontPage in quite a few years, and that you haven't heard of FP's Code View panel. In any case, it's a bit late to argue the merits of FrontPage vs. Dreamweaver, since FP is no longer being sold.

I looked at expression web and found that, if you want the functionality of menus etc, you have to put a third party app on your linux host or you have to go with windoze hosting.

Expression Web supports many of the old FrontPage conventions without any need for server extensions or special hosting. For example, you can use FrontPage "Web Component" page includes just by pasting the old FrontPage code into the EW code, and pasting in <meta name="Microsoft Border" content="tlrb, default"> will still create Shared Borders even if you're hosted on a plain-vanilla Apache server. This makes the migration from FrontPage to Expression Web fairly painless, because you can update existing sections of your site when you have the time and inclination to do so.

[T_Miller]

Sounds like you haven't used FrontPage in quite a few years, and that you haven't heard of FP's Code View panel.

LOL, yea, I said "many years ago"... Come to think of it, I had FP 96 or 97 or 98 (hard to remember) so it's been at least a DECADE. I'm sure it was improved over the years.

In any case, it's a bit late to argue the merits of FrontPage vs. Dreamweaver, since FP is no longer being sold.

Agreed, though I wasn't "arguing merits" IMO. I was just mentioning how transitioning to DW helped further my skills.

These days I rarely fire up DW, as most HTML editing I do is in a good old plain-Jane text editor. My original site done in FP from 1996 is still going strong, no need to change it really as it serves it's purpose.

[signor_john]

These days I rarely fire up DW, as most HTML editing I do is in a good old plain-Jane text editor.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Web designers and site owners were debating the merits of text editors vs. WYSIWYG authoring tools or FrontPage vs. Dreamweaver. Now the debates are about Joomla vs. Drupal, WordPress vs. Movable Type, or "flat files" vs. content management systems. How quickly times change!