I think it depends upon what you mean by a "great-looking...business
website" and the goals and scope of what you are planning. I have seen great
looking, fully functional Publisher built sites and crappy sites built with
more sophisticated programs that are intended specifically for web design.
Publisher is not a web editor. It is a Desktop Publishing Program that is
best used for relatively simple, small static websites. If you already use
it to produce print media in your business it can make it easy for you to
establish a web presence for your brand. However, the more dynamic functions
you want to include and the larger the site, the more limited Publisher will
be. If you have realistic expectations, then Publisher can be a good tool,
but Web Expression, Dreamweaver and other such programs are built
specifically for web building...and thus are a better choice if you want
something more sophisticated. At the same time if you choose to use Web
Expression then plan on a big learning curve as it is generally recommended
that you have a basic understanding of HTML coding and CSS.
Keep in mind that though Publisher can produce html code that is cross
browser compatible, it cannot convert all print formatting into web
formatted html code that is cross browser compatible, nor does it produce
"standards compliant" code. There are things you can do in print that will
never translate to web format, no matter what program you use. This simply
means that there are designs that will print...but will not convert to html
that is cross browser compatible. Therefore you need to test your pages as
you build them in both IE and at least FireFox and change your design
accordingly.
I would start with reading this article: Using Publisher for web sites :
http://msmvps.com/blogs/dbartosik/articles/80566.aspx
Plan your Web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA100742431033.aspx
Prepare, publish, and maintain your Publisher Web site:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/publisher/HA100947601033.aspx
A few sample Publisher sites:
http://www.beltonstud.com/
http://www.conifers.ukgo.com/
http://www.maryannfarley.com/
http://devonviewcaravans.co.uk/
http://www.makingsenseofeducation.co.uk/
http://www.summitcts.com/ (uses the insert html code fragment feature to
insert a dynamic menu)
http://www.bratislava.gr/ (two languages...click the flag in the upper left
corner for English)
http://www.bollnascamping.se/ (another two language and centering site)
http://www.nflaace.org/index.htm
http://www.interalliancegroup.com/
Once again, it all depends on what you your goals are for your site, but you
can produce a good looking and functional business site with Publisher. Read
through the posts for the last month and you should get a pretty good idea
of what the limitations and problems are with using Publisher, and then
decide for yourself.
DavidF
