Frontpage cowboy to CSS newbie

transition possible?

[wanderingmind]

First of all, assume complete Frontpage visual designer on one side. Thinks in terms of photoshop and vector graphics and can translate that to HTML, with tables. Can use CSS to do basic styling, but not for layout.

Target - Design with CSS.

Now, is this possible if one wants to stick to the visual layout he is used to? Is it possible to create CSS layouts visually, without actually typing out CSS code? If yes, how and what tools to be used?

Can someone tell me if this is impossible to achieve?

[jimbeetle]

Hmmm, Frontpage 2003 is pretty robust in its handling of CSS, and I hear that its successor, Expressions Web Designer is a bit more so.

[ImperialCommand]

Expression Web is what you want. You can buy the upgrade version if you already have FP2000/2003
Expression Web came with a training tutorial disk from "Total Training" that was proably a $50. value
It will put you on the track you want - all visual drag and drop div's, layers, etc.
Plus it (the training tutorial) touches on code view and code. . .very easy to understand.

[wanderingmind]

Thanks for the tip on Expression Web.

Are there any lesser known software for the purpose? After all I am sure normal visual designers would have faced the same problem as me long back...

[ImperialCommand]

Yes there are "lesser known" (meaning free) website design programs.
If you invest your time learning how to use them, then your time is worth nothing. But hey, its' free.

Do it once, do it right.
Study right, work hard.

[jimbeetle]

I'd say you have a couple of main choices. As your familiar with FP, you can simply move up to EWD. Or, as you're also Adobe product familiar, you can give Dreamweaver a shot. Many times the choice just comes down to which interface you're more comfortable with.