Customer Reviews

Microsoft Expression Web 3.0 Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In a nut shell, it's very intuitive and easy to use. You don't have to know an ounce of code to make great websites. The program also makes writing and understanding HTML code a much easier task than it has been in the past. It's easy to find the answers and explanations you want and need while you create your website. Also, the FTP funtion is rock solid and makes it super easy to manage and upload you websites.

It's a good program and I'd certainly recommend it.

I recently purchased the upgrade for Expression Web 3.

I found the black interface screen very difficult to read. I searched for ways to change it and found that a lot of users don't like it but there is no way to change it.

Microsoft deleted VBA support in this upgrade. I use Expression Web VBA all the time, so I had to go back to using my old Expression Web version. I made the mistake of purchasing the product instead of downloading the free trial and I'm not going to go through the hassle of trying to return it.

I'd definitely advise downloading the free trial and taking a long look at it before you purchase it.

I have used Microsoft web editing software since the first edition of Front Page.

The latest version is slightly different from previous versions of Expressions, adding more whistles and bells. I am afraid it has more functions and options than I will ever use or need. It serves my purpose well. I maintain several web sites with it.

I had problems with the previous version of this product with installation. This new version installed and works almost flawless. I have recommended it to several people who have purchased it and also have been pleased with the product. I use it every day to update pages on my website. One nice feature it has is a checker to make sure you don't have errors in your code that will affect your positons in search engines and have your pages no display properly on the newer browsers.

I am not an expert web designer, but I found this product to be what I needed to create the websites that I desire. I am a longtime user of Front Page, and even though there is a learning curve to this program, the general gist is similar. There are many toutorials available to help you along...just check with Google. CSS is a great timesaver and now that I have learned how to use it, I will never go back to the table style of design. I have found the web standards included in this program to be just what I need to satisfy my website users.

This software is 100% different (not harder or easier) than FrontPage just different. I purchased a couple of Amazon books on the software and everything seems to be going well. I wish I could purge my brain of all FrontPage knowledge because it keeps getting in my way trying to learn this new package.

An update: I subsequently got Expression Web 4.0 and was very satisfied with it. I would recommend an upgrade to the 4.0, and not to the 3.0.

The following is my original post on the 3.0:

I really haven't spent much time to use the Expression Web 3.0, so I'm not going to write a comprehensive review. But I rushed here to put the following words down as a friendly caution to those who are upgrading from Expression Web 1.0:

Don't upgrade if both of the following are true:

(1) you have been managing a website using the Expression Web 1.0; and
(2) you want the 3.0 to manage the same website.

It is likely not going to work, and could be much worse. It could destroy your old website. I can't over emphasize this. I read some of the user's complaints and thought that it was probably a kind of problems that can be avoided. But I was wrong. Updating from 1.0 to 3.0 could indeed ruin your website. They don't seem to be compatible with each other. The version 3.0 would open an old website built using 1.0 but would break and damage a lot of display structures. If you have a relatively simple website, the kind of damages the 3.0 will do probably would make you spend more time to fix it than to create another one. The incompatibility goes beyond just subtle minor details; they are major structural issues that can render the website out of sorts.

If you are determined to try, make sure that you save a backup copy of your website so that you can fall back to the version 1.0, which you surely will.

Of course, if you plan to use the Expression Web 3.0 to create and manage new websites, it's a different story, and I can't comment on that as I did not use the software much.

But I did encounter a serious issue that is not related to compatibility. The copy and paste from one table to another is messed up. In 1.0, if you copy a few rows from a table and paste them to another page that has a similar table, the content will be automatically matched into the the new table cell by cell. In contrast, in 3.0, the multi-cell content will be pasted into the single cell where you click. How stupid this is! How could you justify an update of the software which looses a feature as essential as this?

Again, I haven't got much time on this and I don't intend to write a comprehensive review. I quickly uninstalled the 3.0 and went back to the old 1.0. I'm just so glad that I got out quickly enough that only one page of my website got messed up.

Expression web is very useful if a developer wants to design a site that uses ASP.NET.
I tried to use Dreamweaver but it no longer develops ASP.NET.

Its predecessor FrontPage tried to monopolize webpage design with special files and hosting requirements, but it did have scripting help for database integration.

The first version of Expression Web claimed to relinquish special Microsoft files and be compliant with web standards. I found it less friendly and spent a month trying to get it to do what Frontpage had previously done. It would not!

Most recently, I purchased Expression Web 3 and tried again to get it to do what Frontpage did back in 2003. No success!

It's probably fine for basic webpages . . . and may work with MS Access but don't try it with any other database.

JZ in Marietta GA

Installed fine. Would not start up program. Error screen came up every time to send to Microsoft for reporting. Program would never start up even after several fixes were done from research on the web.
I have never had software of any kind install & not be able to use. I have Web Expressions 2 and it works fine.
Very disappointed and had to uninstall. Still using Web Expression 2.