QUESTION:

Why should I care how my website is coded?

The code that makes a site work may be invisible to the site owner and the end user, but it has a direct effect on the site’s success and maintenance. The way the site is built will determine:

• How fast the pages load.
• Whether all users can use or even see all elements in the site.
• How time-consuming/expensive it will be to make future changes to the site.
• How much of the site’s text will be readable by spiders, and will show up in search engine results.
• How consistent the pages look on various browsers and operating systems.

Building a site with CSS (cascading style sheets) provides several benefits. Content is more easily edited. Site-wide design is easy to update, sometimes as simple as the change of a few lines of code. (A straight-html site requires changing the code on every single page.) Also, CSS done well can create lean, quick-loading pages.

We have also found that building a site on a CMS (content management system) makes maintenance and updating quicker and easier, whether you’re doing it in-house or hiring it out. Changes don’t require special coding skills.

For more detail on these and other methods of site building, please read this.

Return to the Questions page...

Have a question that's not answered here? Ask it!

Still wondering if we'd be right for your project? Tell us more.