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You've got an idea, you're ready to start coding, but hold on, there's a lot of thinking to do before you start getting domain names and drawing up page layouts.
An effective website needs planning, research and design before the coding starts. Would you build a house without drawing up plans and deciding what materials to use? The consequences might not be as dramatic, but it will make the difference between success and failure.
We have been building websites since 1995, long before tutorials, manuals or classes were available. Developing a system to work with clients new to the web was essential. Made up of tasks and planning documents, worksheets and resource materials, this system continually evolves as the web changes.
We used the system basics to present an outline of information and elements necessary for you to build your own website.
What You Need to Know: Static and Dynamic Websites
A static website only changes when someone edits the website's code and uploads it to the server. It can be linked to hosted payment and forms-processing sites, but does not perform those functions by itself.
A dynamic website (database-driven) can be edited through a web interface, comments added with the click of a button and provides visitors with information they request.
A static website can be created quite easily and can be maintained by someone with a little bit of HTML knowledge. Anson-Bowles offers tutorials and workshops for static website building.
A dynamic website is built using complex programming languages, most having a steep learning curve. You get a lot of functionality with it, allowing new users to add content, upload photos or change pages.
Dynamic websites like Ebay, Facebook, Amazon have paid thousands of dollars and used teams of programmers to get the level of functionality you experience. Investing more in an online presence results in websites demonstrating higher levels of interaction. It can be quite difficult to determine how much the functionality you see on a specific site will cost in programming and development.
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