Static and Dynamic
Websites can be built in either a static way where all the pages are created manually and linked up internally in a manual way or by using a Content Management System where pages are added by using an administration interface and pages appear automatically. Each method for building the website has advantages and disadvantages.

Static Website

Pros

• The website technology is simple and the web designer will know how to add pages later
• The initial design can be done in Photoshop with placeholder text. The design is creative and can be changed easily before being made browsable
• Uploading pages and images is easy since the designer has done it many times
• The website will be a unique creation
• No database is required for a basic website, allowing for less technical knowledge and perhaps cheaper hosting costs

Cons

• The website will have to be maintained by the web designer as the technology is generally too advanced for the client to use
• It will take longer to create the website if there are a lot of pages
• The designer will have to make sure that the website is Search Engine Friendly by designing it like that from the beginning
• It will cost more if additional functionality has to be manually programmed

Content Management System

Pros

• There are a lot of free templates out there for most CMSs
• It is very easy to add new pages when the site is already complete and the administrative area is understood
• Free plugins can add a lot of powerful functionality while only paying for the implementation time by the designer
• The original developers of the CMS are always updating the package, making it more secure and efficient
• The CMS is already Search Engine Friendly

Cons

• Using a widely used template might make your website look like a spam site by Google and thus ranked low
• Changing a template can be tricky and time-consuming
• Creating a good template from scratch is time-consuming
• There is a steep learning curve for the designer if he hasn’t used the particular CMS before, adding onto the cost and time required
• Possible increased hosting costs, since most CMSs require a database on the domain as well
• A learning curve when it comes to using the administrative area of the CMS
• The CMS file structure is widely known, allowing hackers to know the inner workings of your website
• The original programmers might stop supporting the CMS and no updates will follow
• Upgrading the CMS to the latest version can be a nightmare
• If something in the CMS stops working it can be difficult to browse through the code to find the problem, adding to maintenance costs

How to choose the solution for your website

You would choose a static website development if :

• That is the only way your designer knows how to make a website
• If your branding is pretty complex and you want a unique looking website
• Your website is small (about 5 pages) and you don’t intend updating it a lot
• Your web hosting package does not include a database
• You don’t have time to update the website yourself anyway and will pay the designer to update it now and then

You would choose a CMS solution if :

• You don’t mind spending more in the beginning to be able to add a lot of content later in-house
• You need a website quick and do not mind too much that the design is vaguely based on a template
• You need the powerful plugin functionality that comes with the CMS
• You need a new look and you want all the functionality
• You have the requirement and time to update the website in-house

CMS Examples
Here are a couple of examples of free CMS software that can be downloaded and used to create your website :

• Wordpress (Cognite.co.za was built using this)
• Mambo / Joomla
• Drupal
• OpenACS

Conclusion
Both static and CMS websites can work for you. Listen to what your web designer can do since you will likely be working with him for a while to come. Contact Us if you need any help with choosing the right solution.

Bandwidth – Bandwidth is basically the amount of data that is transferred across the internet to your PC. If you have a broadband connection such as ADSL, 3G etc then your bandwidth capabilities are more, resulting in faster browsing and downloading speeds.

Browser – Your browser is the desktop software application that you use to browse web pages. These can be Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari etc.

Page Timeout - A timeout occurs when you view a web page, but the website server takes too long to send the page to your browser and a timeout occurs.

Business Branding Pack - Logo, Business card, Letterhead and other business stationary…

Cache - The cache of your browser is way to store images and pages on your PC so that you do not have to download it again when viewing the same page. A problem might occur when an image or file is updated, but your browser still loads the old version from your PC instead of getting the new version from the website.

Click-through Rate (CTR) - This is the percentage of people that view your website advert and clicks on it to get to your website.

Conversion Rate - This is the percentage of visitors that arrive at your website and actually contacts you to make a purchase or makes a purchase through your online shopping cart.

Credit Card Payment Gateway - There are multiple South African companies that offer credit card payment services. Usually your company will need to be registered as a merchant at your bank and use your online merchant ID to perform credit card processing.

Database – This is a selection of files that represent the tables of an excel spreadsheet, split into columns (fields) and rows (records). Databases allows your website to perform advanced information processing functions.

Design Savings Account - Graphic Design Agency retainer.

Email Servers – Email servers are split up between POP3 (receiving) and SMTP(sending) servers. When you set up an email account you will generally have to provide these server addresses such as pop.mydomain.co.za and smtp.mydomain.co.za.

Flash - This is a technology to allow advanced animation and interfaces using the Adobe (Formerly Macromedia) Flash package and player.

Freeware – This is software applications that are made available for free download and usage. Both private and commercial use are allowed.

FTP – This stands for File Transfer Protocol and allows Cognite to transfer website files to your webserver, thus updating your website. Without the FTP connection details (server address, user id and password), we will not be able to connect and upload new files.

Google Analytics – This is a service provided by Google that tracks your visitor behaviour on your website. A small piece of software code is installed on each page of your website and that helps with the tracking. The analytics helps you to make better decisions about the health of your website.

Impressions – Each time a Google Adword or similar advert is made available for viewing (Not specifically noticed) it is called an impression. You might have thousands of ad impressions for each click-through to your website.

Javascript – This is a scripting language that helps a web page to perform advanced interface functions. Javascript is downloaded with the web page and is executed on your PC, thus saving unnecessary page loads.

Online Advertising - See SEO Alternative, Google Adwords PPC

Open File – An open file is generally the name given to the original design document of a piece of artwork. This might be in the form of a Photoshop (PSD), Corel Draw, Quark, Indesign files. These files may be changed later if an update is required.

RSS – Really Simple Syndication is a way to make your content easily available to subscribers using a RSS reader software application. When you update your website with a new page where RSS has been set up, the subscriber will automatically be alerted.

Server-side and Client-side - These terms refer to where processing occurs regarding the viewing and interaction of a web page. When something happens server-side, the page is altered on the web server before being sent to your browser for viewing. When processing happens client-side, the special processing will happen inside your browser on the page already downloaded.

SSL - Secure Socket Layer is a way to encrypt the information that is being sent between your browser and the web page you are viewing. This is generally used on Internet Banking websites so that passwords and IDs are difficult to intercept.

Stockart - This can refer to logos, photos and other imagery that you might have of your company and it might refer to high quality photos available on the internet that may be used in graphic design projects.

Traffic – This refers to the activity of visitors on your website. If you have a lot of visitors to your website then you have a lot of website traffic.

Bandwidth Usage - This refers to the amount of data that is transferred either from or to your web server. When your website is hosted it will attract visitors that view the pages. Each page that is downloaded will require the server to send data to the visitor’s browser. The page and the images sent then adds to the amount of data used (bandwidth used). Email attachments received and sent also adds to the bandwidth.

Website – A website is a collection of pages and images that are connected to each other with links and made available for viewing through the global network called the internet.

Website Hosting - See Cognite’s service.