Today, two experienced developers argue whether it's
better to hand code your HTML, or create Web pages in a WEBSITE HOSTING
editor. Don't miss the opposition's arguments -- they might
just change your opinion on this controversy...
Deadlines.
These are the bane of most Web developers' lives, and
often, as projects get more and more complex, any way to increase work speed
and productivity is greatly appreciated!
To put it simply: hand coding is finicky. When you're
hand coding, it's all too easy to forget to hit "tab" -- when you
arrive at the end of your code, you discover that every single line is out of
whack! You can easily avoid these kinds of hand coding misadventures with the
help of a good WEBSITE HOSTING editor.
The Basics
WEBSITE TEMPLATES , such as
Dreamweaver, allow users to create their Websites as an all-in-one-process. For
instance, you click "insert image" and select an image, and
Dreamweaver simply inserts the code in the background. Hand coding the HTML to
achieve this same result will take much longer (in most cases) and you can
easily misprint a word, or miss out a quote, which will necessitate tedious
code debugging later, and cost you yet more time.
Similarly, it's extremely easy to insert a table, an
image, or some complex JavaScript. These tasks, too, are achieved with the
click of a button, rather than the laborious hand typing that plain code. Your WEBSITE
TEMPLATES editor neatly keeps track of all these tags, and prevents the
possibility of syntax mistakes. Many can even notify you of any errors you
may have in pre-existing code -- they automatically clean HTML, find tags that
aren't needed, and even include a spell-checker (something a lot of people,
including myself, often need!).
The end product is neatly-tabbed, consistent code -- a
godsend in situations where you need to add to the existing code but you don't
have a WEBSITE HOSTING editor handy, or when server side code, which really
cannot be implemented via this sort of editor, needs to be incorporated.
A Designer's Dream
A lot of designers are just that: they're absolute
wizards in Photoshop, for example. But when it comes to coding their design,
they're lost! Often it's easier to put it off and waste time, rather than face
up to the task of working out where to put tables and how their attractive
layout can actually be put together in HTML code.
It really is convenient to simply open up your site in an
editor, and view the layout as it will appear in a browser -- especially for
those who have trouble visualising how all those <tr> and <td> tags
actually create the layout! This is why so many designers find it easier to cut
up their images, fire up a WEBSITE HOSTING editor, and simply insert them
into a new HTML document. Their template is basically ready for use in around 5
minutes. They provide a range of other advantages, too.
Enhancing the Site
WEBSITE TEMPLATES also make it extremely easy to add
dynamic and obscure elements to your site! Want a JavaScript rollover menu?
It's as simple as clicking a button -- no fuss at all! You can use the same
method to add forms and CSS, and to top it all off, some even allow you to add
fully-featured server side code. Many people will not want to spend countless
hours trying to figure out how their code will actually work, and no wonder.
Why do that, when it's already been done for you and packaged up into a single,
simple program?
Maintaining Site Structure
What really is an advantage to using WEBSITE HOSTING is
that all your pages and elements can be viewed live in a "tree" view,
so you can really get a feel for the way your site is laid out -- not to
mention easily double-check which pages link to which! With the press of a
button, you can update links site-wide, or search and replace over your entire
site.
Team Interaction
Many WEBSITE TEMPLATES also provide a great tool for
interacting with others. If all the designers in a team working on a particular
project use the same editor, you can easily transfer sites to others for their
input and amendments.
The User-Friendly Alternative
These allow designers to
use templates, and they're a quick and easy way for the less-savvy user to edit
their files on the home computer. Many clients, too, now want to edit their
sites in some way, and unless they use a complex content management system it
can be very difficult. Often a WEBSITE HOSTING editor will be the most direct
and hassle-free method by which they can edit the content without having to
wade through hundreds of lines of code.
All in all a WEBSITE HOSTING editor lets you make quick
changes to other people's (sometimes messy) code, and to quickly create and
manage your own sites with a minimum of fuss and technical knowledge. It's a
tool that many designers swear by -- and it's easy to see why. Hand coding
might be more prestigious, but for simplicity, flexibility, and ease of use,
sometimes you just can't go past a WEBSITE HOSTING editor.