Introduction

Who Should Read This Book?

Expression Web is a powerful web development product, and there are plenty of books about it. That puts readers in a tight spot when trying to figure out which book to purchase to learn how to use Expression Web to its fullest. I’ve read a lot of technical books in my career, and the ones I value the most are the ones that I keep going back to as a reference time and again as I use the technology they teach. If that’s the kind of book you appreciate, then this is the book for you.

In this book, I will show you how to use the features in Expression Web 4 for real-world web design. I’ll give you pointers on how to effectively use several features together to achieve a common goal. I’ll give you a strong foundation in the technologies involved (for example, Cascading Style Sheets [CSS], Extensible Hypertext Markup Language [XHTML], ASP.NET, PHP, and more) so you aren’t working in a vacuum.

I’ll wrap up the book by showing you how to use the new extensibility features in Expression Web 4 to develop add-ins using skills you likely already have as a web designer.

The goal of this book is to equip you to be a better web designer using Expression Web as one of the tools in your arsenal. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, keep reading!

Why Use Expression Web?

Ask any professional web designer which features are important for a web design application and he will tell you that it must adhere to current web standards and make creating and maintaining a standards-driven site easy. Not only that, but a solid web design tool should be created from the ground up to support dynamic content such as ASP.NET and PHP from a designer’s perspective. Expression Web meets all those needs.

You’ll not only be able to create dynamic, standards-compliant sites with Expression Web, but you’ll also be able to do so in a way that enables you to take advantage of your creativity. It doesn’t drag you down with complex dialogs and frustrating code changes. After using Expression Web for a while, you’ll never consider going back to your previous web design tool.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is broken up into multiple parts so you can quickly find the information you need. Here is the rundown on all the sections:

• Part I, “An Overview”—Part I comprises an overview of Expression Web. You’ll receive a complete tour of the Expression Web feature set, along with some tips and tricks on using the interface.

• Part II, “Creating Content in Expression Web 4”—The chapters in this part teach you how to create content and work with features in Expression Web that help you manage your page content and edit your pages.

• Part III, “Publishing and Managing Websites”—In this part, you’ll learn about publishing sites, managing your sites, and generating reports on your sites.

• Part IV, “Using CSS in Expression Web 4”—Instead of including CSS as an afterthought, I’ve dedicated two complete chapters to using this important design concept. You’ll learn not only the details of CSS in general, but also how to use the powerful CSS tools in Expression Web.

• Part V, “Scripting, DHTML, and Other Dynamic Content”—In this part, you’ll learn tricks to differentiate your site from the status quo. You’ll learn how to add dynamic components automatically in Expression Web. You’ll also learn how to read and write client-side JavaScript so you can understand what goes on under the covers when Expression Web adds code to your page.

• Part VI, “ASP.NET and PHP Development”—Expression Web fully supports Microsoft ASP.NET and provides some support for PHP. In this part, you’ll find out what ASP.NET gives you as a web designer and how to use Expression Web to create some pretty powerful site features, all without writing any code. You’ll also learn how to take advantage of the PHP support included in Expression Web.

• Part VII, “Managing Data with ASP.NET”—In this part, you’ll learn how to use ASP.NET to display and edit database data without having to write a bunch of code.

• Part VIII, “Creating Add-Ins Using JavaScript and HTML”—In this online-only section, you’ll see how you can easily create add-ins to extend the functionality of Expression Web 4 using JavaScript and HTML.

As a purchaser of this book, you are also entitled to a free copy of my e-book Creating Microsoft Expression Web 4 Add-ins. After the e-book is released, you’ll be able to find it, along with the code samples and sample files, on the website that accompanies this book at www.informit.com/title/9780789749192.

Special Elements

Throughout the book, you’ll find some special elements that are designed to make it easy to locate important information or special tips to help you get the most out of Expression Web.

When an important term is used for the first time, it is printed in italics and defined close by. When instructions require you to enter text or values into a dialog, the data you are to enter appears bolded.

Cross-References

Nothing’s worse than a technical book that assumes you will read it from beginning to end like a novel. Most folks use technical books like reference materials, so this book makes generous use of cross-references.

If a feature is mentioned that is covered elsewhere in the book, there is a cross-reference directing you to where you can find details on that topic.

Notes, Tips, Cautions, and Sidebars

You’ll find numerous bits of information in these special elements.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this book and find it to be an invaluable resource as you build sites with Expression Web 4.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it for you!

—Jim