Most web development projects include one or more of the following elements...

• Database design and creation
• Server-side computer programming
• Client-side computer programming
• Web page design

Each of these elements has to work in its own right, and in cooperation with the other elements. The more complex the project, the harder it is to bring it all together and make it work correctly.

How to keep the cost down

Here's how you can make sure your web development costs don't run over budget...

1. Insist every aspect of the development is described in an Agreement document, and make sure both you and the developer sign it
2. Don't make changes after work has started

The key to achieving the second of these two items lies with the first. You should insist that an Agreement document be created, and sit in on the process.

You need both end-users and developers in the same room, working through each aspect of the development. The end result must be a document that fully describes the development, is clear (unambiguous), and easily understood by both users and programmers.

Every minute you invest creating this document greatly increases your chance of bringing the project in on budget.

Why it's worth it

Many of the problems that usually cause headaches during a complex development could have been discovered in advance, if an Agreement document had been created. When users and programmers get together and discuss their respective needs thoroughly, the resulting development is far more likely to go smoothly.

This kind of interaction forces both users and programmers to think through what's actually required to make the system work. The ongoing interaction reduces the risk that person A assumes person B knows what they're talking about.

Users are committing to a specific set of functions for an agreed price. The developer is committing to develop those functions for an agreed price. This means both users and developers have a self-interest in being thorough.

Should a user change his/her mind about something after the Agreement document is signed, the cost of development must be renegotiated. This punishes the user for failing to think things through.

Should the developer discover he/she hasn't fully understood what's required to complete some aspect of the project, he/she can't ask for more money. This punishes the developer for failing to break down each stage of the development and understand what's involved in completing it.

Assuming you do your part, you won't need to make changes after the work has started. As a result, you'll bring the project in on budget even if the developer hasn't done his/her job properly.

Functions are used to perform a well defined task that is normally repeated at various places within a web site, web application, or other software application. The function sometimes needs certain information before performing its task, and sometimes returns a value to the calling page or program.

An example of how to use a simple function in PHP:

 function showMessage() {
echo "{$_SESSION["message"]}"; }

The above example shows a very simple function that displays the contents of a session variable called 'message'. The idea being that while a user is using a web site, etc, various messages are generated and stored in the 'message' session variable. Whenever the showMessage function is called, the contents of the session variable are displayed. So, for example, when the user logs on, you could display a message saying that they have done so. Likewise, when they log off, a different message could be displayed.

Calling a function

To call the showMessage function, you would just need to include the line:

showMessage()

in the web page (wrapped in php tags to distinguish it from normall HTML).

Passing values to a function

Often, a function requires one or more input values in order to perform its task. For example, take the following example that takes two numbers as input, and adds them together. The result is then returned to the calling web page or program.

function addNumbers($number1,$number2) {
$answer = $number1 + $number2;
return $answer; }

In the calling program we would have something similar to the following:

$number1 = "5";
$number2 = "6";
$sumOfNumbers = addNumbers($number1,$number2);
echo "$sumOfNumbers";

Obviously, in a real program you would not have the numbers hardcoded like this, but they would be obtained from user input or by some other means. Notice also that although the name of the returned variable is $answer, the calling program makes no reference to that. We could, if we wanted to, change the calling program to:

$answer = addNumbers($number1,$number2);
echo "$answer";

which might make things slightly easier to understand.

Most beginners get screwed up when it comes to website building. Often than not, this is what exactly holding them back to make money online. If you are one of them, let me tell you one thing for sure; building websites is not as difficult as what you might think. Well, I am not saying that it is just a piece of cake either, but learning to build websites worth the investment and effort.

This article is about that, learning to build websites the easy way; much easier than you might ever think before...

Easy Website Theme

Everyone knows something about anything, including you. This can be your passion, hobby or experience from the job. You will get nothing if you keep that knowledge for yourself and even if you share them in the offline world. However, internet can be totally different. You can get paid for your knowledge sharing through various monetization plans. It works for me and will work for you too.

But then you might ask, If building website is that easy, why most fails building a successful website?

The answer is simply because, they fail to recognize and act upon the significant difference between offline and online trade. In the Internet, people look for information through Search Engine (SE) and web pages that ranked in the first page will benefit the most. Therefore, it is critical for you to optimize your web pages for certain targeted keywords so that you can rank high in the SE Ranking Position (SERP).

Easy Web Building Tool

You can build your website with other free website building software. Wordpress and Blogger are probably the most popular free web building tool available in the Internet. However, both offer less flexibility and professional looks since they are geared towards personal blog or online diary than for business ventures. Nevertheless, you can use both to get some feel of how to build a great website.

In my opinion, you should consider buying advanced website builder if you are serious about making money online. These softwares offer additional features compared to free tools such as flexible web editing and built in SE Optimization (SEO) tools. The initial investment can be easily recovered by the earnings potential you will be getting. I prefer Site Build It as my web building tool.

Easy Traffic Generation

Traffic is the one that will determine your success. Although the more traffic is better, nothing can beat the targeted one ever. Therefore, keep your marketing campaign to the most reliable and targeted sources so that you can enjoy very high conversion rate (percentage of visitors that turn to customers). Article marketing is free and among the most effective Internet marketing campaign.

Since you are the master or the so called "guru" in your field, writing a good article should not a big deal at all. Keep on writing great contents to attract more traffic. Best of all, it works forever. Part from that, you can connect your website with others through some social networking. Networking builds relationship and trust, which then makes your monetization effort much easier.