Microsoft Frontpage < Genuine ◎ >

In the annals of software history, few tools evoke such a polarized mixture of nostalgia, scorn, and genuine revolutionary spirit as Microsoft FrontPage . Before WordPress, before Wix, before Squarespace’s drag-and-drop utopia, there was a green application icon that promised to democratize the World Wide Web. For a brief, explosive period from 1997 to 2003, FrontPage was the gateway to the internet for millions.

Want a web-safe blue background, horizontal rule buttons, and animated GIF bullets? FrontPage had a "Theme" for that. It injected proprietary CSS and JavaScript that looked exactly like 1999. It was ugly then, and hilariously retro now, but it allowed a secretary or a small business owner to launch a site in an afternoon. microsoft frontpage

FrontPage built the bridge. It allowed a high school student in 1998 to create a "Home Page" for their band. It allowed a real estate agent to put listings online. It allowed the "mom and pop" shop to have an email form. It lowered the barrier to entry so low that anyone with a copy of Office could become a "webmaster." In the annals of software history, few tools