Selecting
a website designer requires careful consideration because not only do
you want the most bang for your buck but you also want a well designed
website. You also want a website that is highly portable and can be
easily edited in case you switch webmasters.
Here
are some questions and points to consider before you select a
website designer. If these concerns are not met, then you may be in for
trouble down the road when you want to switch webmasters or switch to a
different hosting company.
What software will be used to build your website? There
are several software applications that can be used to build websites.
Two of the most popular are Microsoft Frontpage and Macromedia
Dreamweaver. These applications used to be great for beginners but
recently they have become increasingly complex where most beginners
require extensive training to fully master their features. Some
so-called webmasters have taken to using Frontpage or Dreamweaver
because they don't understand the underlying principles of hypertext
markup language (HTML).
What are the disadvantages of using Frontpage or Dreamweaver? Once
the necessary software skills are mastered for Frontpage or
Dreamweaver, some very nice looking websites can be created. However,
if you switch webmasters or want to make changes on your own then you
will need to shell out hundreds of dollars to purchase the Frontpage or
Dreamweaver software yourself and spend countless and frustrating
hours trying to learn each program. Additionally, both Frontpage and
Dreamweaver create extremely bloated HTML code which causes your
website to load slower than normal. Not only does it load slower but it
also requires more bandwidth out of your hosting account.
Will my website be compatible with most hosting services? Typically,
Frontpage-created websites require that Linux-based hosting providers
will need to install software called Frontpage Extensions onto your
hosting account. If they don't have these extensions to install then
you will have to go elsewhere for hosting. This can severely limit your
options because the best hosting companies are increasingly using
high-quality Linux servers to provide hosting services. Pure HTML-based websites do not require Frontpage Extensions.
Will my website be compatible on all browsers such as the popular Firefox? Maybe.
Some websites created with Frontpage or Dreamweaver do not display
properly for viewers who choose to use safer browsers such as Firefox
or Mozilla. In the case of Frontpage, much of the code is not fully
compliant with WC3 standards and therefore will cause problems when
viewed with Mozilla or Firefox. With the up-coming popularity of these
alternative internet browsers, do you really want to take that chance?
If I change webmasters, will my new webmaster be able to make changes to my website? This
depends on the version of Frontpage or Dreamweaver that was used. This
is because there are various versions of Frontpage or Dreamweaver and
some of the newer templates may not be compatible with older versions
of Frontpage. Pure HTML-based websites are the easiest websites for any
webmaster worth his salt to be able to make changes to.
Are you willing to purchase and supply a new webmaster with Frontpage or Dreamweaver? Some
webmasters are really picky about what software they use to create
websites. They might insist that you provide them with a licensed
copy of the software with which your website was created. Are you
willing to spend hundreds of dollars to accommodate later changes to
your website?
Here are some other questions to consider before you employ a webmaster...
How many years experience does your webmaster have?
Can your webmaster candidate create pure HTML-based websites without using Frontpage or Dreamweaver?
Is your webmaster candidate able to show you a portfolio of completed HTML-based websites?
Is your webmaster candidate able to give you references of other satisfied clients whom you may call?
Now
armed with this information, you should be able to make better
decisions about who you hire to create your website. Remember, a good
webmaster can create pure HTML-based websites without using Frontpage
or Dreamweaver and you'll end up with a portable website to which any
good webmaster can make later changes for you.
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