Updating a Website with Front Page

explaining how to update using FP

[KA_Curtis]

hello, I am new to this board, but have been lurking for a while. I know that this topic has been covered in different ways, but what I need to know is how to explain it to a potential client.

I am a Mac user, and have never even seen what FP looks like. Other than everyone trashing on it, I've heard that it's just as simple as updating site with any wysiwyg app, but I have a hard time selling that to this one client without knowing for sure. The whole project is contingent on this one thing.

Thanks

[NeedScripts]

Yup, I use FP2002 to update my web sites - it is easy.

Here is what I do.

1) For creating a web site, I create a *web* on my desktop.
2) Once site is done, I publish it - now if I want to make changes anytime, I just use the edit button on the web browser and edit the web site (it should ask for username and password) using Front Page and just hit *save*, no need to reupload or ftp or anything else.

But make sure that if you update the site online, you don't overwrite it by publising the site from your desktop.

Hope this helps :)

[KA_Curtis]

what I told him was that I would upload the site (or he could), and e-mail it to him too. All he would have to do is open up the page that he wanted to update in FP and make his changes. Then publish.

Was this the wrong thing to tell him?

[NeedScripts]

Was this the wrong thing to tell him?

If your client is not having little experience as *web master* then this was toooo much for him. Don't expect a regular surfer (even if he/she spends 10 hours online) to be knowing about any software like you do - you are making living, other person is spending it ;)

What I would do would be, first talk to him/her in personal and give them a training on how to do what you want them to do - Or - you can signup a contract with them, that you will update the site (if you go for fix monthly fees, make sure that you also have fixed the limited on defination of update, hence you will save yourself from a bad experience).

[KA_Curtis]

I did that, I talked to him (by phone) just before I left the first post here. I got the feeling that he didn't believe me that it wasn't that hard to update a site. All he's ever used is FP and is the Webmaster for the site. I think that he just inherited the job and doesn't want to fuss with anything more than what he does now.

He doesn't want to learn a new program or take the time to learn all the little things that a Webmaster needs to know.

I offered to do the updates for them too.

I've tried to get to his boss, but can't seem to get through.

I'm thinking that maybe it's not worth this much work.

Thanks for the help.

[brotherhood of LAN]

KA,

if you're familiar with a scripting language you could make a backend interface for the boss to re-do the site whenever he wants by pointing and clicking at what he wants altered.

Just as an example (not made by FP but do-able in FP), Westhost offer a control panel on the back-end of your site to edit files one by one.....or indeed you could make your own interface/db run site perhaps where you can offer your client the text of a page (without the HTML and publishing as a problem) for him to edit.

I think some other members have posted fretting that they want to offer a client a way of altering code without them getting confusing/messing it up. The best way seems to be to make your own interface for the client where he can add/delete the necessary things.

[KA_Curtis]

hey, I never thought about that. You mean an html editor for them? That would be perfect, the way I designed the site was that all their content was in one cell to make it easy for them to update. I don't know if I have the programming ability, but I'll look around. Thanks :)

[ScottM]

If I understand your client's question correctly, he says he already knows FP?

And the website is already published? (By you)?

And he wants to be able to update it himself?

If so, he is really in for a nice treat! Yes, you can edit the 'live' version and just hit 'save'...and it's done.

(You do not have a back-up for any changes, though. I back-up my sites once a week via FTP.)

Does this help?

[KA_Curtis]

hi, well, he wants the site, but is worried that he won't be able to update it via FP. I tried to explain to him that most up-to-date wysiwyg apps will convert to a standard html. That FP should be able to take an html page and make changes to it and then publish/upload. You have to understand that I don't know a thing about FP, and am just guessing that publish in FP is the same as saving and then FTPing.

I told him that I would e-mail him a backup of the "core site" so that he could always fall back on it. I just get the feeling that since he is not the person that makes the decisions, and he will be responsible for updating that he is trying to spoil it. I would know more of what is going on there, if I could get past him to talk to his boss.

[europeforvisitors]

If the client isn't using the FrontPage server extensions for things like shared borders and includes, you should be able to just e-mail him the HTML files, and he should be able to copy the HTML files into the correct directories and publish the changes with FrontPage. Or he can just use an ftp client to publish the changes.

The catch, of course, is that the client has to copy the pages into the proper directories. If an article is in widgets/articles/ and the accompanying photo is in widgets/images, your client has to know enough to copy the .htm and .jpg files into the correct directories.

It might be simpler for you to upload the files via ftp instead of trusting the client to do it right.

(Side note: I use FrontPage to build and manage my site of 2,500+ pages, but I usually upload changes with WS_FTP Pro just because it's quicker when I'm adding or revising pages. I publish with FrontPage only when I'm making global changes.)