FrontPage hosting is another feature offered by web hosting providers to lure new customers to their services. Although FrontPage hosting isn’t exactly a hosting type per se, it simply indicates that the provider is compatible with websites built with FrontPage software.
FrontPage software has many features and applications that are unique to the program which can cause compatibility issues on hosting providers that do not offer FrontPage hosting. Many hosts simply have a checkbox or button to select “FrontPage enabled.” This installs specific extensions on the servers to enable compatibility.
FrontPage Features
FrontPage has several features that enable the software to be easy to use as well as web compatible. The first feature is the FrontPage editor which utilizes a graphical user interface (GUI) to generate a “WYSIWYG” (what you see is what you get) environment. This basically means that as the user creates and manipulates, the changes appear immediately in a display window similar to a web page. This occurs because the HTML code is built automatically.
Another feature that maximizes ease is the FrontPage explorer which provides a way for users to instantly test the site they’ve just created. They are able to click links, web pages, and other modules found on a regular web site.
A third feature provided by the software that can only be run on FrontPage web hosts is web bots. These are CGI scripts that provide the ability to add discussion groups, forms and form handlers, counters, full text searches and link bars. This is a nice feature as the user doesn’t have to do any programming; it’s completed by the software.
FrontPage Server Extensions
FrontPage server extensions accomplish many tasks related to server-side applications. These extensions allow users to:
- Include discussion webs on their site
- Collaborate on the same web server
- Include hit counters on their site
- Provide full text searches
- Add and manage forms on their website
- Write to the web server from a remote location
Once again, these are nice features of FrontPage software as the users don’t have to program any of these applications. FrontPage hosting providers would provide compatibility with the web server and these types of extensions.
FrontPage is an excellent program to build, expand and maintain websites. Since there’s little code involved and a nice GUI, it makes creating easy for all levels. If you plan on using FrontPage and are shopping for a hosting provider, ensure that they offer FrontPage hosting and the extensions that accompany the package.
