Most of the sites I develop are created with Microsoft s Front Page because some of the server-based Front Page Extensions accelerate Web site development, saving time for me and money for you. When Front Page Extensions aren t available, I usually choose Macromedia s Dream Weaver. The next generation of Web site development products support these new technologies. Fusion 4 from Net Objects has been shipping for a while and Macromedia s Dreamweaver 2 has just hit the market. Each of these promises to make it easier to make more attractive Web sites.
Fusion is interesting because it allows almost pixel-accurate positioning for any browser.
The program does this by allowing the site designer to position text and graphics anywhere on a page and then generating complex tables to hold the text and graphics. Earlier version of Front Page took Microsoft s typical heavy-handed approach and automatically changed HTML to fit the Front Page mold. The development tools that are coming or are already here will make better formatting possible. Now all we need are browsers that can keep up. If you d like to help Microsoft and Netscape see the light, please write to both companies and tell them that you want the next versions of their software to fully support CSS standards.