Re: FrontPage built vs HomeSite update

> Before jumping into a project like this, or even doing a quote on it, I'd
> want to know such things as whether they'd even consider someone without
> FrontPage experience, and if so, what the nature of the changes are and
how
> the files are to be uploaded to the site.
>
> Bear in mind that a key phrase in your post is that your potential client
> is "looking for someone to use FrontPage." On the one hand, I found
> FrontPage relatively easy to learn, and you might well find it, as I have,
> a useful addition to one's tool chest. On the other hand, you might decide
> to focus your energies elsewhere.

I totally agree with Robert.  I might also add that it is very important to
ascertain the  *real*  reason why they are not using the original designer
any more.  Sometimes they can be a great windfall like Capt. O'Lary says,
but sometimes they can be troublesome and hard to get along with customers.
With so many average designers and so many unknowledgable customers it's
hard to tell after a brief meeting.

You could easily spend the money for FP and spend the time learning it just
to have them change to another designer when you didn't get the exact shade
of Puce they wanted in their buttons.

300 pages is a good sized websight and could bring in a sizable stipend over
a few years time.  You should carefully court them for their business, but
you also want to see some green so be up front about what you expect if your
going to go to the extra effort.

As far as using a different editor, I am not sure it will work right, but
that depends on what version of FP they used and how much FP specific code
was put into the website.  Some earlier versions were pretty trashy and
added a lot of I.E. specific code like doing weird things to space out the
tables.  As an example, I have given up trying to use Homesite on my older
HotMetal websites because I had problems and they are both pretty straight
forward editors.

You should download a few pages to your hard drive and play with them to see
how they work in Homesite.  Use FILE and SAVE AS to put them into a
temporary directory.  This way you will know if you need to buy FP and learn
it and figure that into your proposal.  There is also a sort of FP Light
built into the full version of I.E.  You might want to evaluate it's ability
to work with these files.

Paul Wilson
webgooru(at)gte.net

HTML: hwg-basics mailing list archives, maintained by Webmasters @ IWA