Microsoft Expression Web: A free, easy-to-use HTML editor

HTML purists, you might want quit reading now. You like writing HTML code by hand and that’s fine. We don’t have time or patience enough to do it, and many folks don’t know how. For those who don’t have time, or don’t want to fool around writing HTML coding, or for those who would like to make Web pages or HTML documents but don’t have any idea how to do so, keep on reading.

Free programs to create HTML — web pages — abound. But trust us, we’ve tried them all and there are very few that are easy-to-use and flexible enough to be used by those who don’t have a lot of experience with HTML coding, as well as those who need to design professional Web sites without a lot of fuss. While it’s true, you can create Web sites and web pages in Notepad, you’re going to have to really know your HTML coding — and HTML is a programming language of sorts. Who wants to spend months studying HTML coding just to make a Web page? (Oh EB, you do not want to take more time off to do that — you just want the time off!).

If you don’t have time to be fiddling with all sorts of HTML codes and just want to design nice-looking Web sites with a minimum of HTML knowledge, Microsoft Expression Web is for you. Until a few months ago this program cost $100 but now it’s free. And while Microsoft doesn’t offer support for this program, they do have excellent community support where you can find help with most any question you have.

Here’s what Microsoft has to say about Expression Web:

Expression Web is a full-featured professional tool for designing, developing, and publishing compelling, feature-rich websites that conform to web standards.

Expression Web 4 gives you the tools you need to produce high-quality, standards-based Web sites: built-in support for today’s Web standards, sophisticated CSS design capabilities, and visual diagnostic tools. Whether you work with PHP, HTML/XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET or ASP.NET AJAX, Expression Web makes it faster and easier to create and maintain exceptional web sites.

Please note: This free version of Expression Web is not eligible for Microsoft technical support and is community support. For more information, visit the Expression Community site http://expression.microsoft.com/  .

Back in the day, both of us used Microsoft Front Page to design and publish Web pages. As with most things we all get comfortable with, after a time they vanish and we have to learn to get comfortable with something new. Front Page at one time was part of Microsoft Office. Expression Web is a good alternative to Front Page and more standards-compliant than Front Page — meaning that the pages you design with Expression Web are — for the most part — more likely to render correctly in all popular browsers.

If you like to create Web pages or Web sites — or if you need to create an HTML (Web) page for yourself or an organization you’re affiliated with, you’ll definitely want to give Expression Web a try. It’s free, finally free, and you can get it from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36179