ASP.NET 3.5 For Dummies®

1.1. Introducing the Content-Creation Tools

Microsoft has a range of tools for authoring Web pages that appeal to several skill levels. Some tools are more suited to Web page design, while others are more appropriate to programming.

1.1.1. Microsoft Office (Including Word 2007)

When Bill Gates realized that Microsoft was lagging on the Internet front, the word went out to integrate Web support into every product. As a result, you can save Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and PowerPoint slides as Web pages.

Many companies use the Office suite to place information on their intranet because most employees are comfortable in Word and Excel. These tools are quite adequate for creating static Web content that some call brochure ware. Although somewhat bloated, the pages are faithful reproductions of the original document — especially when viewed in Microsoft's latest Internet Explorer browser.

There's nothing to stop you from using a "saved-as HTML" page in an ASP.NET site. However, you may find that removing the unwanted HTML markup takes more time than building the page from scratch.

1.1.2. Expression Web

Expression Web took over from Microsoft FrontPage as the content editor for professional designers. Although some see Expression as an advanced word processor for HTML pages, it's actually much more, thanks to many important tools for Web designers. These tools include file management, link checking, style editing, and drag-and-drop support for HTML and ASP.NET controls.

Expression ...