Expression Web 4.0 frequently asked questions

This article provides some of the frequently asked question (FAQ) about Microsoft Expression Web 4.0

Original product version:   Expression Web 4.0
Original KB number:   2509312

General and sales questions

What is Microsoft Expression Web 4?

Expression Web 4 is a professional development and design tool to create modern, standards-based Web sites that use PHP, HTML/XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET, or ASP.NET AJAX.

How can I purchase Expression Web 4?

Expression Web 4 is available as part of Expression Studio 4 Web Professional or Expression Studio 4 Ultimate. It can be purchased from a range of resellers and online resellers or can be purchased for immediate download from Microsoft's online store.

What are the upgrade options and prices?

If you own Expression Web 3, you can upgrade to Expression Web 4 for free. Just download the trial of Expression Web 4 to the machine on which you have Expression Web 3 installed. The version 4 trial will find the existing license and convert from a trial to a perpetual product.

Qualifying customers, including owners of Office, versions 1 and 2 of any Expression product, and any Adobe Creative Suite product, can upgrade to Expression Web 4 for US $79.

Any version 1 or 2 Expression customer (any product) can upgrade to the full Expression Studio 4 Ultimate for an estimated retail price of US $349 or Expression Studio 4 Web Professional for an estimated retail price of US$79.

In what languages is Expression Web 4 available?

Each of the Expression products is available in the following languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, and Korean.

What resources come with Expression Web 4?

Expression Web 4 will include several resources to help users get started with the application, including a printed Getting Started and online help and tutorials.

Product-specific questions

Who is the target audience for Expression Web 4?

Expression Web 4 is targeted at professional Web developers and designers who are building standards-based XHTML Web sites and applications. Expression Web supports PHP, HTML/XHTML, XML/XSLT, CSS, JavaScript, ASP.NET or ASP.NET AJAX, Silverlight, Flash, Windows Media, and Photoshop as well as workflow integration with Visual Studio and Expression Studio.

Does Expression Web 4 create content for all browsers?

Yes. Expression Web 4 supports XHTML and CSS standards and enables Web developers and designers to easily build browser-agnostic sites. Expression Web 4 also incorporates rich accessibility support to help build the accessible, standards-conformant Web sites.

How does Expression Web 4 compare to Office FrontPage® 2003 and Visual Studio as a Web design/development tool?

Expression Web 4 is a product for professional Web developers and designers that combine the best of both FrontPage and Visual Studio technologies in a new user interface for creating Web sites with HTML/XHTML, CSS, XML/ XSLT, PHP, and ASP.NET 4. Where appropriate, the user interface and features of Expression Web 4 and Visual Studio are identical (such as for ASP.NET control properties).

How does Expression Web 4 reduce development and design complexity?

Expression Web 4 provides seamless integration with Visual Studio 2008 & 2010 and ASP.NET 4, enabling designers and developers to work together using products that they are most comfortable with. Designers and Web developers can easily lay out XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, and dynamic functionality using Expression Web 4 and take advantage of many ASP.NET specific features like Master Pages for templating, and drag and drop controls. The project can then be handed over to Visual Studio developers, enabling them to extend the functionality through advanced server-side code and business logic.

Support question

Is customer support offered with Expression Trial versions?

Formal support isn't offered for this Expression Trials.