Respond Fast!
Web standards compliant
XHTML, CSS and a CMS such as
Textpattern makes it easier to adapt and develop
Technical Intro
Technology is rapidly developing and learning to adapt is a daily challenge. It seems like everyone will have wireless mobile web access before too long. How can web designers keep up with it all? Aren't the web sites in use today going to be redundant tomorrow?
Web designers have had to adapt to change right from the start. Browsers like Netscape have come and gone. Internet Explorer is still very difficult to code for. Mozilla and Opera may or may not succeed. Web standards have been around for over a decade but have been largely ignored by designers forced by circumstances to design non-standard table-based Microsoft-based websites. But web standards are increasing in favour and user-and-designer-friendly Firefox is taking a large chunk of the Internet Explorer market share. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Web Standards Solution
Any self-respecting web designer now knows that the separation of content and presentation using XHTML and CSS has many advantages over old methods. Behind every web page is the source code that the browsers understand and interpret. It used to be cluttered with bloated code and little content in comparison. Altering one web page was difficult enough, but wading through page after page of inline styling made upgrading a site a daunting and costly operation. Standards-based sites now have pages consisting of outline structure and content with all the styling and presentation such as layout, graphics, colours and fonts in a separate document called a Cascading Style Sheet. The fonts for the whole site can now be altered with a single change to the CSS. Non-technical writers can now easily find the content and change it with ease.
Simple To Use
A content management system (CMS) such as Textpattern enhances this ease of use even further, both for the designer and for the content writer. The designer goes into the Presentation section and puts small chunks of XHTML or CSS into containers called forms. Page templates are created with pointers to the forms. These pointers can easily be positioned in a variety of ways making the page templates highly flexible and adaptable. All the writer has to do is go into the Content section, write their article, select a few refinements if desired, and press the Publish button. The Textpattern software inserts the content in the appropriate form in the appropriate page template and dynamically produces a web page! I've come to take it for granted but it really is quite magical and the folks who have created Textpattern have my utmost respect.
Bottom Line Benefits
The benefits of web-standards compliant XHTML, CSS and CMS are many. Time and money are saved even for non-profit organisations. It is easier to construct yet will last much longer. Maintenance and upgrading of sites is greatly simplified. Computer illiterate people can write articles. Visitor logs are built into TXP so it is easy to see what pages people are visiting, what search terms they are using and if there are any errors occurring. This makes possible fast and timely responses to negative and positive events. 01010 can help you set up a simple-to-use, standards-compliant website that will grow with you as you stride forward into an ever changing and challenging web. Contact about any of this is very welcome.