Read my article in the Microsoft Expression November Newsletter

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From Design is Philosophy – the Pink & Yellow Media Blog:

A month or so ago Microsoft contacted me and asked if I would write an article on Expression Web for their Expression Newsletter. How could I say no to such an opportunity? After some back and forth about the topic I landed on an article on how to create a Pure CSS Drop-Down menu. Over time I’ve encountered numerous solutions, most of which were clunky and didn’t work properly. So the tutorial demonstrates how to create a fully functional CSS-only drop-down menu utilizing the excellent CSS features in Expression Web.

That’s not to say you have to use Expression Web to get something out of the article though. You can follow the tutorial and get the same results even if you’re using Notepad to build your sites. It’s just that Expression Web makes it a hell of a lot easier to manage.

This article comes hot on the heels of my book Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours which contains an expanded tutorial on the same topic that also covers a layers-based drop-down menu. If you are an Expression Web 2 user of if you are considering buying or switching over to this excellent web authoring and publishing platform I humbly suggest you pick up a copy for yourself. It’s a quick read and it gives you hour-by-hour instructions on how to create a web site from scratch with the application. And once you’re done, you’ll have a fully working and standards based web site at your disposal. I wrote it as the book I wish someone had written when I started out and from the response I’ve gotten so far people are learning a lot from it. Which is what I set out to do.

If you’re interested in a preview of the kind of content you’ll find in the book or you just want to know how to make a Pure CSS Drop-Down menu, you can read the full article, The No-Code Way to a Pure CSS Horizontal Drop-Down Menu with Expression Web, here or subscribe to the Expression Web Newsletter.

If you want to read more tutorials and articles on everything form Expression Web to CSS, design and WordPress customization, visit Design is Philosophy – the Pink & Yellow Media Blog.

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The Book is Here!

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I received two huge boxes full of copies of my book this morning. This means it’s only a matter of a few days before it hits shelves throughout North America and the internet. So smash that piggy bank and get ready!

Expression Web 2 Meets WordPress

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So the Reader’s Companion Site is slowly taking shape. Powered by WordPress and custom designed using Expression Design and Expression Web 2, the site showcases many of the tools and techniques taught in the book including the hidden text sliding doors buttons on the top of the page, advanced positioning and dedicated individualized styles for different sections.

Feel free to rummage around the CSS to figure out how everything fits together. And if you have any questions I’ll gladly post them and the answer right here on the site. Think of this site as a further learning tool and a stepping stone further into the world of web design.

Like I said, this site is powered by WordPress – the best and most popular free blogging platform out there. For many the thought of having to re-design a blog from scratch seems like a daunting task. Others can’t get their head around the fact that just because a site is running on WordPress doesn’t mean it has to look like a blog. Hopefully this site will serve as an example and show you that a blog really doesn’t have to be a blog.

Expression Web 2 is the perfect tool to dissect and redesign themes for blogging platforms like WordPress. If you want to learn how to do this, swing by my official blog where I discuss blog design and the concept of WordPress as a CMS (Content Management System).

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Stay Tuned!

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Welcome to the companion site to the book Sams Teach Yourself Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours. Over the next month this site will slowly take shape and provide links to lesson files, further reading, reader submissions, a forum and lots of other stuff. Stay tuned!

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