Expression Web Designer

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By Colin Ramsden, July 2006.

As of July 2006, Microsoft's Expression Web Designer (EWD) 'Community Technology Preview' version 1 was announced as a free trial tool, available to the general internet public for download, testing and review.

Update

As of September 2006, the product was renamed "Expression Web" and upgraded to Beta 1 version.

According to Microsoft, use Microsoft® Expression„ Web if you are a professional Web Designer.

It is a professional design tool to create sophisticated standards-based Web sites that deliver compelling user experiences. Microsoft® Expression„ Web Designer is targeted at designers who are building broad reach HTML Web sites.

Who is the target audience for Expression Web Designer?

Expression Web Designer is targeted at the professional designers who are building standards-based XHTML Web sites and applications.

How does Expression Web Designer compare to FrontPage® 2003 and Visual Studio as a Web design/development tool?

Expression Web Designer is a new product for professional Web designers that combines the best of both FrontPage and Visual Studio technologies in a professional designer user interface for creating XHTML, CSS, XML, XSLT, and ASP.NET 2.0. Where appropriate, the user interface and features of Web Designer and Visual Studio are identical (such as for ASP.NET control properties).

How does Expression Web Designer reduce development and design complexity?

Expression Web Designer provides seamless integration with Visual Studio 2005 and ASP.NET 2.0, enabling designers and developers to interact using products that they are most comfortable with. Designers can easily lay out XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, and basic dynamic functionality using Expression Web Designer and take advantage of many ASP.NET 2.0–specific features like Master Pages for templating, and drag and drop controls. The project can then be handed over to developers using Visual Studio 2005, enabling them to extend the functionality through advanced server-side code and business logic.

I shall investigate this tool and report further in due course. See Working with Expression Web.

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