Microsoft FrontPage Surpasses 5 Million UsersLeading Web Development Tool User Base Grows More Than 40 Percent During Last Year

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 23, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the installed base for its best-selling FrontPage® Web site creation and management tool has soared to more than 5 million users – more than a 40 percent increase since October 1999. Strong support from both Internet service providers and independent software vendors has helped establish FrontPage as the leading Web site creation and management tool for both novices and experienced Web-site developers. Since Microsoft’s acquisition of FrontPage from Vermeer Technologies in 1995, marking an important move into the Web authoring space, the tool has received many prestigious awards, including the 15th annual Computer Shopper’s Choice award and PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice award.

Business users, consumers and Web professionals continue to use FrontPage 2000 in new and innovative ways for creating professional Internet and intranet sites faster and more easily. Its ease of use and seamless integration with Microsoft® Office applications make FrontPage 2000 the best choice for creating small and large business, government, nonprofit, education and personal Web sites.

Independent Software Vendors Add Value to FrontPage Web Solution

ISVs continue to bolster the sales and success of FrontPage as they create compelling add-on products and services that integrate with it. This increased functionality helps users create total solutions for areas such as e-commerce, document management, graphics editing and Web-site administration.

“Companies are continuing to expand their Web sites to include critical e-business functions,”
said Bob LaGarde, founder and CEO of LaGarde Software Inc., which offers StoreFront, the leading e-commerce plug-in for FrontPage.
“Using the built-in functionality of FrontPage coupled with the e-tools in StoreFront, customers now have a complete solution for launching successful and profitable e-business sites.”

ISPs also recommend FrontPage to their Web-site-hosting customers as a means of creating, managing and publishing content for the Internet, as well as for adding sophisticated functionality like databases, search forms and hit counters to their sites. FrontPage is supported by thousands of Web-site-hosting companies worldwide, including major industry firms like Verio Inc., EarthLink Inc., IMC Online, Interliant Inc., iNNERHOST Inc. and Advanced Internet Technologies Inc., which cater to small and large businesses alike.

“Users of FrontPage make up 90 percent of our customers,”
said Michael Schneider, vice president of IMC Online.
“We offer hosting on Windows NT® and Windows® 2000-based servers, so FrontPage allows us to easily integrate various application offerings and plug-ins. Since we support FrontPage Server Extensions, everyone can experience the full functionality of FrontPage.”

FrontPage Offers Powerful Site Management With Unprecedented Ease of Use

The FrontPage 2000 Web site creation and management tool offers benefits to Web-site designers of all levels, particularly in the area of manageability. In addition to the application’s category-leading site-management features and easy-to-use tools for making page alterations, FrontPage provides wizards and templates that save users considerable time by guiding them through common steps involved in Web-site development.

“As many as 60,000 of the domains we host are created and managed with FrontPage,”
said Ed McDaries, chief operating officer of Advanced Internet Technologies, one of the largest hosting firms in the country.
“FrontPage has been a very successful offering as customers enjoy the ease with which it can be used to update their sites quickly.”

FrontPage is ideal for users who don’t have the resources to hire a professional Web-site designer, since users can make edits directly to their sites. While FrontPage is simple enough for new Web enthusiasts, it provides the power, flexibility and features necessary for creating highly professional and effective sites.

“We are extremely pleased that FrontPage 2000 has continued to gain widespread adoption among businesses and personal users,”
said Kelly Weadock, product manager for FrontPage at Microsoft.
“Surpassing an installed base of 5 million highlights the fact that FrontPage is a versatile and easy-to-use tool for creating all types of Internet and intranet sites.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft, FrontPage, Windows NT and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.

Related Posts