Development
Before any code can be written a comprehensive specification for the project must be completed. This must outline what is expected from the initial project and also look at the future, i.e. what future development may be required and what will, inevitably be, stage 2, whether the second stage comes in one year or five.
The code you choose to develop your website in is crucial. The latest code may not be the best, for example classic asp (active server pages, Microsoft) is being 'replaced' by asp.net (the newer version), and one would think if developing a site today we would use asp.net, which is marginally a better technology than classic asp. However, let us say, that you require Exit Low to initially develop your solution and then you intend to employ in-house contract developers to further your project, if we develop the solution in classic asp the average wage of your in-house team will be £15 per hour, in asp.net the average wage would be £50 per employee. If you are on a budget we would suggest classic asp.
There are other options for code too, known as open source code, an example of this would be php (PHP: Hypertext Pre-processor), this too is a flexible code and is widely used. Good php programmers are hard to find though as asp programmers are more highly paid.
Once the coding begins, it is done in stages, in a similar way to the design process. The client is shown the various changes in a timely manner to approve the development; this requires no coding knowledge and is a good way to keep the client in the loop.
Databases
There are a few kinds of databases associated with online solutions:
- MS SQL
- mysql
- Access
- Oracle
Realistically you will be making a choice between MS SQL and mysql as Oracle is for very large projects and access more suits very small/personal projects.
MS SQL is the Microsoft solution and mssql is the free open source solution. The two options are fairly similar and the query strings used to question the databases are virtually the same. It is difficult to recommend one or the other, but we would always err on the side of the Microsoft database.
Please
contact us for more information.
