Better Web Development, part 3: Methods and Techniques
In the last eight years, I have made lots of advances with my web development. I am always learning new methods, new tools, and new strategies on the path to intelligent web development. These are tips I’ve learned from my progress so far.
(Inspired by the Graphic Push article “The Path to Intelligent HTML“)
Methods and Techniques
Templates - YES
Dreamweaver has them. GoLive has them. Visual Studio 2005 has “Master Pages,” which are basically the same thing. For static small and medium sized websites, I have found no reason not to use the template systems available in these applications. I had long eschewed using these proprietary template systems, prefering a non-proprietary system that runs on the server. Script includes or SSI can be used to make “header” and “footer” files that form the foundation of a template system, and are good options for large sites or sites with a lot of custom scripting.
But for smaller sites, especially if you want to make the most out of your editing tool, go ahead and use the template systems they offer. You might have to swallow some pride when you do so, but once you’ve made it through a good-sized project using such a system, I’ll bet you’ll like it. You’ll be creating pages faster than ever! The individual page editing is a painless, automated process. The template markup is in the form of HTML comments, so you won’t be sacrificing your HTML validation. It’s safe and easy. Just relax, take a deep breath, and give it a shot.
3rd Party Scripts - YES
Something else I was once loath to use were 3rd party scripts. I avoided them at all costs, from simple javascript functions to full-blown web-based applications. I was proud, stubborn, and oh so very picky about my code. I wanted to do everything myself. What an idiot I was! (This was before I learned the value of my own time.) I did benefit in the beginning, because I learned a lot more this way. But there were downsides, mostly rooted from the extra time committment. By spending so much time on the rudimentary code, I didn’t have time to make user-friendly and powerful systems.
Eventually I started using 3rd party scripts, some of which turned out to be very useful packages. A perfect example is Wordpress, a host-it-yourself blog package. With Wordpress, I can take advantage of all the tools I wouldn’t have had time to make myself - like a truly user-friendly administration system, a beautiful template architecture, a plugin architecture, RSS feeds, and more.
Wordpress has such a good plugin interface, in fact, that there is a whole community of developers out there creating free plugins that anybody can use. So now I can take advantage of even more features that I don’t have to spend my own time on. What a system! Converting normal templates to the Wordpress system is a piece of cake, and very easy to manage.
Content Management - YES
For almost any size site, content management is an enormous benefit. Even for sites that require a lot of custom scripting, it’s worth it. I consider it an up-front cost with long-term savings. It’s an easy decision for my clients: why not pay an extra $1500 today, if it will save you $5000 in update costs over the lifetime of the site? (just example costs, of course) But it’s not only an advantage for the client, it’s an advantage during development, too. Making templates for modern content management systems is easy enough once you get familiar with the system, and suddenly you have a robust, user-friendly administration system that you can hand over to your users.
Wordpress can be used as a content management tool, but for sites that need a bulkier content management tool, I use Joomla (it used to be known as Mambo). Joomla is as incredible for large-scale content management as Wordpress is for blogging.