I have a 12 yr old dated business site without a shopping cart. The card processing element is unnecessary but I like the organization and presentation aspect. Could I integrate with FP or would it be better to start fresh and do total CC site?

Hiya Don,

Did you do it as a visual editor or did you code the HTML yourself? If you used the HTML coding then the HTML Editor from CoffeeCup will work great for you. If you are looking to do a visual editor again, then you'll need to start over using Visual Site Desibner by CoffeeCup as it doesn't have an import setup for importing current sites or pages it's a stand alone setup.

No matter which way you go though I'm sure your site will be reproducable in some way or another without too much hassle, and right now with the brand new Visual Site Designer 7 version just released, that would be an awesome place to start if you're a visual editor.

Good luck on your choices and let us know if you need more information

Front Page (to borrow a quote from Scott) Yuck!

Upgrade to EW4, or give the CC VSD or HTML Editor a shot.

Don,
EW4 will come with a learning curve. It is not a Front Page upgrade. It is a new program, standards driven, to compete with Adobe Dreamweaver. It is far less expensive, especially if you are upgrading. It relies heavily on CSS, DWT's (essentially, build your own theme) and Html.

As a former Front Page user who converted to EW1 then EW4, it does come with a learning curve and although you can import old Front Page sites, they will not be standards compliant, which helps render them the same in the various browsers used today. You would be better off authoring the site in EW4 rather than importing. Importing will generate many compatibility errors. EW does not make use of FPSE, which are not standards compliant. You will therefore be publishing via the built in FTP app. If you made use of FPSE, you will need to find other solutions for some features of your site, like forms for example, you will likely need to use a 3rd party utility (eg Coffee Cup Forms) to replace the old forms.

You can still use your graphics etc. Copy and past your html into notepad to remove the Front Page formatting. Then Paste the html into EW4 and formate it in the CSS styles. It will produce clean W3C compatible code. EW4 has a very good forum. EW4 is designed for the novice to professional. I cussed it many times after the switch from Front Page but have come to love it. Super preview allows you visually check your visually designed page in multiple browsers.

EW4 will carry you into the future of web design. There are many 3rd party add-ins being developed as with Dreamweaver add-ins.

Expect a learning curve. Start with one of the many DWT templates available or a blank DWT. and you will likely get the hang of it fairly quickly...good luck if you upgrade.....which is my recomendation. If your're going to make a site rebuild, do it in a professional editor. I did so because should I have any need, the site can be worked on by most any professional web designer. I have nothing against CC Visual Site Designer, and everyone here speaks highly of it. I own many of their programs which I purchased to replace old FPSE. And those programs are priceless for those of use who hate coding, or have little knowlege in coding.

Good luck