Flat Web

A Flat Web is a web that only contains a single directory (no Sub-Directories). This section describes how to create a Flat Web with FrontPage 98. This section also includes some usefull techniques if you are creating pages that don't use FrontPage Themes.

Note: GeoCities does provide sub-directories, so you can use themes at GeoCities. This section is only for those people who have chosen not to use FrontPage Themes.

Themes in FrontPage use subdirectories, if you want to a web that does not require sub-directories, these pages explain how to manually implement most of what FrontPage Themes offer. You should remove any themes from your pages, if you want the pages to work without sub-directories.

Advantages of Themes
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Apperance	.	Pages with graphics look better than plane text pages.
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Co-ordination	.	If you are graphically challenged like I am, Themes provide a co-ordinated set of graphics for your pages.
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Consistency	.	Themes give your pages a consistent look and feel for people visiting.
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Performance	.	By using the same graphic elements on several pages, the pages will load faster because the graphics can be loaded from the browsers cache. Note: your first page can still take a long time.
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Disadvantages of Themes
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Cookie-Cutter	.	Themes are a cookie-cutter approach to web page design. If you use a FrontPage theme, there will be other pages on the web that look similar to yours. Of course the content of your pages can make yours appear somewhat different. Also, by manually implementing the theme, you can combine the graphics in ways that FrontPage doesn't. FrontPage's standard Expedition Theme, doesn't produce the layout that I have on my pages (but then who else would want it).
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Templates

By using a template, all of your pages will have a common look and feel, as well as common positioning of the navigation buttons etc. (this is the idea of Shared Borders in FrontPage). A template page contains the common elements that will be on a set of your pages. Whenever you create a new page, you use your template page as a starter page, and then just fill in the content.

The easiest way to create a template, is to create your first content page, adding in dummy navigation buttons to other pages. When you get the basic layout for how you want your pages to look. Save the page under a new name, then delete the content specific to the page, but keep everything that you want on all your pages. As an example, my BlankPage, is the template I used to create these pages.

The Pages in the No Themes Section
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FlatWeb	.	This page
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HiJack	.	How to copy the graphics and other files from a FrontPage Theme
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Colors	.	How to set the base colors and background image for a page to match the FrontPage theme
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Fonts	.	How to add the style sheets for the FrontPage theme to your page
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Buttons	.	How to add buttons to your page
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Overlays	.	How to overlay text on graphics
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My Theme	.	My FrontPage Expedition Theme graphics pallette page
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BlankPage	.	My Template Page (used to create these pages)
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Flat Web

Advantages of Themes

Apperance

Co-ordination

Consistency

Performance

Disadvantages of Themes

Cookie-Cutter

Templates

The Pages in the No Themes Section