Cheap Web Page Construction Kit 6.0 (Software) (Windows NT, Linux, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Unix, Macintosh) Price

That's precisely the mindset that Macmillan hopes to satisfy with Web Page Construction Kit 6.0. Like similar WYSIWYG Web design packages in the same price range, this kit gives novice to moderately skilled users all the tools they'll need to create and manage a functional, attractive Web site without ever having to learn HTML. But the most striking advantage of Macmillan's Construction Kit is that it provides an easy upgrade path in case you're later inspired to take on more advanced design.

Essentially, the kit consists of a "light" version of SoftPress's Freeway 3 (Freeway 3 LE), a more heavy-hitting (and much more expensive) Web design program that compares to Adobe's GoLive 5.0 and Macromedia's Dreamweaver 4.0. Like the full version of Freeway, Freeway LE provides a robust, user-friendly interface that should be very familiar to anyone who's ever done desktop publishing--especially in Quark Xpress 4.1, which even shares many keyboard shortcuts with Freeway. And the similarities go beyond appearance, with features such as strong typographic control and master pages for elements like navigation bars and headers that stay consistent throughout a site (which can be an enormous time saver).

This similarity should give graphic designers a leg up in learning Freeway, but even nondesigners shouldn't find the curve too steep. And here's the best part: should you later decide to upgrade to the full version of Freeway (which allows you to use cascading style sheets and import Photoshop files, among other things), SoftPress will give you as much as half off if you already own Freeway LE.

While Freeway LE is clearly the heart of this bundle, you'll find a few other things, too, if you give the box a good shake. Web Page Construction Kit 6.0 comes with hundreds of professionally designed backgrounds, 5,000 photos, graphics, and animations, a textbook-style manual that includes design tips and techniques, and--seemingly tucked in as an afterthought--a nearly 500-page e-book, Creative HTML Design, a $40-value manual by well-respected Web gurus Lynda and William Weinman. --Paul Hughes