There are various approaches to designing and building websites both for ourselves and for clients. There is no definitive right answer, but there are pros and cons to each approach and to how each approach is implemented. These are the kinds of strategic decisions a consultant is most important for.
Concerns include:
- What is the initial impression? Does it look professional?
- Cost
- Security
- Site maintenance
- Search optimization
- How adaptable is it to various devices (phones, tablets, computers?)
Broad Approaches include:
- Custom coding using your own SQL database design, CSS and HTML. Possible Perl and Javascript. These are expensive to design, but can be secure and customized perfectly. Where is custom coding the best answer? What problems will you face?
- Using a content management system like WordPress or Drupal. These allow you to produce a site much faster and less expensively, but tend to have many security issues and may not be as a perfectly suited to you if you have special needs. Where are these the best answers? What issues will you face. Both Wordpress and Drupal are open source and can be hosted anywhere. Where should these be hosted? What are the pros and cons?
- Hosted websites with their own custom proprietary tools like Weebly, Squarespace, Wix and Homestead. These offer very fast development and they take care of the security issues, but limit your flexibility. When is this is good answer. What experience do we have with these and how has it worked out?
We will discuss our use and experience with these systems and approaches. Hopefully everyone will participate and share.