Web Design Technology

Web Detailer has been developing websites for well over 10 years. Many new developers consider us a bit "Old School". This page attempts to explain, in hopefully simple terms, how the Web Detailer consistently creates sites that adhere to time-tested, industry standards and why we almost never use newer/cutting edge web technologies.

First, lets look at the two major groups of web technologies.

• Client Side - requires the visitor's web browser to process the code.
• Server Side - requires the web server to analyze the request prior to sending the information to the client's browser for final page display.

Client-Side Markup/Style Languages

• HTML - All browsers understand basic HTML markup to some degree. Unfortunately, there are a lot of versions of HTML and many browser developers have even created their own HTML extensions. Since all browsers are not created equal, the World-Wide-Web Consortium was formed to develop standards. Web Detailer websites are W3C complant.
• XHTML - An XML-based subset and extension of HTML4.0, which is the current standard HTML version. Since future browsers will likely be XML-based, we currently develop code that is W3C/XHTML 1.0 transitional, ensuring our sites are past, present & future browser friendly.
• CSS ( Cascading Style Sheets ) - used to externalize and control how a web page is visually presented. When it comes to CSS, the pros far out weight the cons, the Web Detailer uses CSS extensively. CSS done the right way, makes a website highly optimized and super fast!.

Client-Side Scripting

Client-side scripting languages requires the user's browser to have add-ons installed in order to display or enhance a webpage. If the browser does not have the ability, is configured incorrectly or is not upgraded to handle the instructions, the page may not display correctly or fail completely.

• Javascript - a scripting language used to make sites dynamic. Often used to take control of the browser and launch pop-ups. Which is why many users block javascripts, rendering all javascripts ineffective.
• FLASH - a multimedia platform for adding animation and interactivity to a website. Example: Youtube uses Flash to embed their videos. While we admit Flash is "cool" and has it's place in online marketing, it's usually a very bad idea to use Flash as your sites only navigation or to hold your sites content, since search engines can't read Flash.
• Frames - while not a Scripting language, frames are a common HTML extension that causes a lot of issues. Frames-based sites make website maintenance easier ( good for your developer ), however, in almost all cases frames will cause Seach Engine Optimization nightmares.

Server-Side Scripting

Server-side scripting is a web server technology that is used to generate dynamic web pages. Since the work is all done on the website server, the browser's capabilities are much less important, as long as, the script sends out valid HTML code. The Web Detailer uses a mix of Perl and PHP to create dynamic web applications that are fast and browser friendly.

Summary

So, Web Detailer isn't really all that "old school". In fact, most companies will add another zero to your invoice if you asked for your website to be 100% W3C/XHTML/CSS-Optimized and future browser compliant. Web Detailer just isn't "trendy" enough to jump aboard the bells-and-whistles-bus, especially when it is at the cost your website's lead generation capabilities.