FrontPage 2002 Gets Down to Business

Using FrontPage from Microsoft to create a Web site has always been like riding a bike with training wheels: You'll eventually get where you need to go, but don't try tackling the Tour de France. The latest version, FrontPage 2002, adds rudimentary site-tracking and e-commerce tools useful for small businesses, and the program's tighter integration with Microsoft's Office XP suite makes it a great intranet solution for workgroups--but it's still not up to snuff for running a large Web site.

My beta copy created handy usage analysis reports that show which pages on your site generate the most traffic, what operating systems and Web browsers your site's visitors use, and where visitors came from (by identifying referring domains and URLs). If you use a Web-hosting service, you'll have to work with it to set up this feature.

Microsoft includes FrontPage 2002 with its Office XP Developer Edition suite, and this version is tied closely to such Office apps as Office Clipboard, Excel, and Access. Even FrontPage's drawing tools now look and work more like those in PowerPoint.

What prevents FrontPage from joining the ranks of professional Web-development tools is the inefficient HTML code it generates, which eats up storage space, slows downloads, and makes editing the code nettlesome. Microsoft claims to have made the program's publishing speed two to three times faster, but one look at the source code that FrontPage 2002 generates is still enough to put HTML professionals off their lunch.

Current FrontPage users who upgrade (for $90) will benefit from the new site-tracking and reporting features, and workgroups that use Office will find it a useful tool for creating intranets; but FrontPage 2002 won't catapult you into the ranks of professional Web designers.

SUMMARY

Microsoft FrontPage 2002 PRO: Better Web site management tools, tighter integration with Microsoft Office XP. CON: Excessive HTML code makes working with the source code unduly, and unnecessarily, arduous. VALUE: Great for personal Web sites and workgroup intranets, but not for pros. List price: $169, upgrade $90 Microsoft 800/642-7676 www.microsoft.com