Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

Table of Contents

Writing the code for a website will actually take place in union with the design creation of a website. The two must be done simultaneously to promote the balance of form and function. Both form and function will be based upon the information architecture that was discussed previously in this paper. The information can be thought of as the foundation of the site around which all other aspects are based.

With any website, there will be a lot of programming to do. Some of this programming can be done by “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editors such as Microsoft Frontpage or Macromedia Dreamweaver but it is best to hand-code the initial foundation of the site mainly so that it is better understood by the developers. Hand-coding initial pages will also help to ensure that there is no unnecessary markup included in the webpages. Hand-coding is done with a text editor and a basic knowledge of Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). HTML “defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes.” (webopedia.com)The most basic elements of websites are made with HTML, the agreed upon standard to create and display webpages in a format that all web-browsers will be able to understand.
There are many new and emerging technologies that are only starting to become standards on the world wide web, but many of them are better options than using only standard HTML, which has served as the traditional foundation for websites.

One of the most heralded technological developments in recent Internet history is eXtensible Markup Language (XML).

XML is defined by Norman Walsh of XML.com as “…a markup language for documents containing structured information.” He continues, “Structured information contains both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role that content plays (for example, content in a section heading has a different meaning from content in a footnote, which means something different than content in a figure caption or content in a database table, etc.). Almost all documents have some structure. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. The XML specification defines a standard way to add markup to documents.”
(Walsh, 1998, xml.com)

Without getting too in depth into the possibilities of XML, it is necessary to note that XML will most likely play a substantial role in the future of the Internet. Since successful sites will plan for future technologies, it is best to stay abreast of emerging trends, and plan for them as best as possible. XML is still a very expensive technology to implement, but preparing a site for transition to the technology will save companies money in the long-run. One way to be prepared for the transition to XML is by using the current technologies of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to layout webpages and eXtensible Hyper Text Markup Language (XHTML) to display the information. The use of these technologies offers a way to separate form and function as well as saving extraordinary amounts of time when site redesigns are necessary.

Appendices
(All in a single document) Appendix 1-1: Overture Search Term
Research Tool

Appendix 1-2: Wordtracker Search Query Research Tool

Appendix 1-3: Google Sets Website Theme Research Tool

Appendix 1-4: Reach/ Acquire/ Convert/ Retain

Chart Appendix 2-5: Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth Information Architecture Flowchart

Appendix 2-6: Search Engine Themes Pyramid Information Architecture Example

Appendix 2-7: Webpage Download Time by File Size Chart

Appendix 2-8: Expected Locations for Common E-commerce Elements

Appendix 2-9: Website Usability Checklist

Appendix 2-10: Text Vs.Code Ratio/ Content Near the Top of Souce Code Examples

Appendix 3-11: Overture Bid Price Tool

Appendix 3-12: Webalizer Website Visitor Tracking Tool

Appendix 3-13: AW STATS Website Visitor Tracking Tool Appendix

3-14: Clicktracks Website Statistics
Analysis Tool

References
Author Notes

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Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites Table of Contents

Planning, Developing, and Promoting a Successful Small Business Website

Writing Website Code for Small Business Page 22

XHTML and Design Considerations

Planning, Developing, and Promoting Successful Small Business Websites

Table of Contents

Writing Website Code for Small Business
Page 22