With the advent of Service Packs 1 and 2 for Expression Web 4.0 a major revision of our the EBook was called for. We are adding new material, as well as new templates and a selection of new Expression Web queries as part of the revision.

Expression Web MVP’s Tina Clarke and Pat Geary will give you instructions and tools to get you on the right track. Your purchase of the EBook also gives you access to the owners section of the site which contains additional tips and FREE templates you can use. Purchase of the EBook also gives you free updates for life. Every time the EBook is revised, we send you a mailing to access the updated version. No additional charges apply.

Obtain your Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web EBook NOW and get the updated one when it is released.

You can obtain other free ebooks and free templates at the following sites:
http://any-expression.com/

http://expression-web-tutorials.com/

http://www.genealogy-web-creations.com/

BUY Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web EBook for the lowest price ever $20.

Create standards compliant CSS-based website layouts with ease. You can see some examples of templates created and availabkle for free download at Expression Web Tutorials and Templates.

Overview of Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web.

• Total Customization – The included wizard gives you total control over all aspects of your layout so that you can design unique one-of-a-kind layouts.
• Efficient and Intuitive -  Now you can develop CSS-based layouts faster than ever before with our powerful easy-to-use wizard.
• Cross Browser Compatibility – Create CSS-based layouts that are compatible with all modern browsers.
• CSS Expertise -We have partnered with Eric Meyer, renowned CSS master, so that you too can create professional looking CSS-based layouts without CSS knowledge or experience.

Get it now as the sale lasts ONLY though June 30th 2009 Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web for $39.99 which is ten dollars off the regular price.

Start to Web will be offering two classes on Expression Web for the April 5th session.

Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web will give you the tools you need and teach you how to use them for cleaning up the code created by FrontPage so that it is standards compliant and you can move to using Expression Web. The EBook is included in the cost of the class so it is not necessary to purchase it separately. You will have two Microsoft MVP’s to hold your hand as you go through the process. Free templates are also included as part of the class. You can read more about the class and EBook at Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web and register for the class.

Introduction to Expression Web will  not make you an expert on Expression Web or a professional web designer BUT you will be able to create and manage small websites and with practice be able to expand on the skills you learn to create more complex websites using Expression Web. This book, Foundations of Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond is required for this class and is available at Amazon or a bookseller near you.

Classes will begin on April 5, 2009 and will last four weeks.

Readers of this blog may obtain a 10% discount on the cost of either class by using the code PGfriends when you register. REGISTER NOW so you can start at the beginning.

• Introduction to CSS – Cheryl D Wise, Instructor & Pat Geary, Teaching Assistant
• Introduction to Expression Web – Cheryl D Wise, Instructor & Pat Geary, Teaching Assistant
• Migrating From FrontPage to Expression Web- Tina Clarke and Pat Geary, Instructors

Also offered are the F REE  self paced classes:

• Language of wee Design
• Fonts for the Web
• Accessibility

Readers of this blog may obtain a discount on the cost of the class by using the coupon code PGfriends.

Read more about the Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web. The EBook is included as part of the class.

Introduction to Expression Web – This class is newly updated for Expression Web 2 but you may take this class using either version of Expression Web.

Are you ready to take the plunge and move to a standards based web editor?

This class has been restructured to get you up and running with Expression Web in just 4 weeks. While you will not be an expert on Expression Web or a professional web designer you will be able to create and manage small websites and, with practice, be able to expand on the skills you learn to create more complex websites using Expression Web.

Prerequisite:

Expression Web – You may download the 60 day trial version from the Microsoft Expression Web Site our class is 4 weeks long so the 60 day trial is adequate. If you choose to take this class with the trial version make sure that you obtain and use the registration key or your trial will end before the full trial period.

Prior Experience:

No prior web design experience required but will be useful.

Book:

The book required for this class is Foundations of Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond available at Amazon or a bookseller near you.  ( There will be reference to sections of this book that will help you better understand CSS.

Introduction to Expression Web – The Class

This course covers the fundamentals of standards based web design, including xhtml and css:

Week 1 – Getting Started

• Why Worry About Standards
• Why CSS Layouts?
• Website Planning
• Installing Expression Web
• Interface
• Configuring Expression Web
  • Site Settings
  • Page Editor Options Overview
    • Version 1
    • Version 2
    • CSS Tab
    • Font Family Tab
• File Menu
• Page Properties
• Semantic HTML – Structuring Your Page
• Publishing

Week 2

• CSS Basics
• CSS Tools
• Fonts
• Block
• Background
• Box
• Positioning
  • Options in the New-Modify Styles Dialog box
  • Float vs Positioning
  • Lists & Tables
• Applying Styles

Week 3

• Contextual Selectors
• Creating Page layouts
• Layout Examples

Week 4

• Dynamic Web Templates
  • Creating the DWT
  • New Pages and DWTS
  • Editing a DWT
  • Detaching or Changing a DWT
• Preparing an Existing Page for a DWT
• Site Reports
  • Report Options
  • Slow Pages
  • Hyperlinks
  • Accessibility Report
  • Compatibility Reports
  • CSS Reports
• External Stylesheets

By the end of the 4week course you will have a simple multi-page website that will work on all modern browsers. You will have an understanding of the underlying principles of effective web design that will look good.

If you are interested in taking this class, you can read more about Introduction to Expression Web and register for the class at Start To Web. Cost of the Class is $89.95. Readers of this blog can obtain a 10% discount by using the coupon code PGfriends.

If the class does not fit into your current schedule, you may purchase the eBook separately.

Updates for the eBook and the class schedules will be announced on our FrontPage to Expression mailing list

Migrating from FrontPage to Expression EBook $29.00

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Perhaps you are using FrontPage 1998, one of the earliest versions of FrontPage to design your websites. Maybe you are using a later version 2000 or 2002. Are you still using Themes, Shared Borders, and the Navigation Bots? Have you upgraded to FrontPage 2003 but still using the formatting toolbar which adds all of those <font> tags? Is your site accessible to those visitors who cannot “see” you site?

Do you already have Expression Web or maybe you are thinking of getting it? Perhaps you have it but have decided the process of cleaning up your site is just “too much.”

(Did you know you can upgrade for less than $99 if you have a qualifying application which includes many of the Microsoft products?) Not in your budget right now?

You still might consider taking Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web.  Why? In the class we teach you to use many of Expression Web’s clean up tools and EW does help where FrontPage simply cannot. Some of cleanup can just as easily be done with other third party tools or using FrontPage 2003 in particular. Microsoft does provide a free 30 day trial of Expression Web so you can test out the software, but the software may expire BEFORE you have completed the class. We are also teaching you how to make use of accessibility features.

The cost for class has is $79.95 AND you will receive a copy of the eBook which contains additional material, lots of screenshots, and a selection of templates you can use. While the book is an excellent resource, the class gives you two Microsoft MVPs to hold your hand and answer your questions while you are migrating. What more could you want?

To register go to http://starttoweb.com/classes/fp-ew.php and start learning how to clean up your code. Remember, using cleaner coding methods means easier maintenance and easier maintainance me

My next step was working on an eBook on with my fellow MVP Tina Clarke on Launching a WordPress Blog which is offered F REE to anyone interested. It is soon to be revised to cover the latest version of WordPress 2.7.

Today I had the opportunity to watch a video produced by fellow MVP, Morten Rand-Hendriksen
Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation. After watching it I am again excited about WordPress and what I can do with it. Morten suggest using it more like a CMS which is the abbreviation for Content Management System. He shows you how using WordPress and Expression Web 2, you can customize your site so it looks more like a web site and less like a blog yet still functions as a blog. The site he uses in the tutorial is one he did AnnyChih.com which is fantastic. You can watch Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation and see for yourself how it is done. He also provides the code snippets you will need to try out his suggestions.

Morten Rand-Hendriksen is the newest MS MVP – Expression Web and the author of  Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself — Hours) (affiliate link.)

If you are moving from using FrontPage as your web editor to Expression Web, then this is the book for you. Our EBook will help you achieve your dream of an easy maintenance, trouble free, standards compliant website. Included with the EBook are Expression queries to help you with the cleanup process and seven free templates to get up started. Techniques and tools to make the cleanup process easier will be covered. Access details for the companion web site which includes some CSS lessons and the f ree templates is included in the eBook.

Don’t delay – get your copy of Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web for the low price of $22.

Today is also the last day to obtain Expression Web 2.0 from the Microsoft online store at half price.  Buy  Expression Web 2 Upgrade for $49.95. Offer good for US purchases only.

So if you are a long time FrontPage user and want to upgrade, now is the time to do it.

Crafting CSS layouts is tricky. In this article, Kevin Yank introduces CSS tables (which, once IE 8 is released, will be supported by all major browsers). They promise to make CSS layouts much easier for everyone.

Today, a talented web designer must be a modern-day MacGyver-that 80s TV action hero who could turn a rubber band and three tin cans into a serviceable aircraft. Turning the average site design mockup into a living, breathing slice of HTML and CSS is a comparably delicate miracle, which must be accomplished using whatever makeshift tools happen to be lying around in current browsers.

That’s exactly why so many professional designers still choose to use HTML tables for layout. How can we expect beginners to adopt CSS for layout when it takes someone with the resourcefulness (and snappy dress sense) of MacGyver to fully understand the techniques involved?

Thanks to the imminent release of Internet Explorer 8, CSS layout is about to become something anyone can learn to do-no chewing gum or makeshift explosives required.

Read Tables: The Next Evolution in CSS Layout