Web site builders are online tools which anyone can use to build a professional looking Web site without programming and have it hosted instantly. No software to buy, no code to learn, all you need is to be a little Internet savvy and know how to click your mouse.

Most business owners today know that having a web site is an essential component of marketing. In the past, the choices were to hire a professional web designer, hire a local teenager to create a site for mall money, or learn to do it yourself. Often the last two options, which were the least expensive, were how small businesses had to go. The results are often not what businesses need to grow, reach, and impress new potential customers.

If you operate, manage or are the owner of a business, you surely must realize the increase in e-commerce taking place today. Many businesses find themselves searching for the best way to increase their exposure on the internet, and for most a website is the first course of action. As most businesses operate on firm budgets, finding cost effective solutions are usually one of the first thoughts when looking to make new purchases. When it comes to creating a website there are many affordable software programs that can produce professional results. Business software should be capable of handling your needs today and in the future. Business are always changing, adding new products, changing or removing old products, offering specials, having sales, etc. By choosing a business website builder over a professional web designer you will be able to make changes to your website whenever you want to. Another benefit is that you will be avoiding the high costs associated with developing the website and costs for making any necessary changes.

Website Builder tools advantages to you are increased revenue, cost control, caters to the large demand existing for web designing in the SME sector and can increase the client base without adding to your overhead. The advantage that your customers gets is a professional quality website, up and running in minutes and a User friendly and easily customizable interfaces and gives a complete website with all its frills and features and Sleek and attractive professional designs.

As more and more people are starting their own small/home business many are finding that having a website is an important factor to consider. When one starts to consider building a website, especially the novice, many questions arise including.... can I create a website myself or should I hire a professional?

Hiring a professional is a great way to go if you can afford to. Although there are several things to keep in mind: how much will it cost; how much will ongoing maintenance cost; what will changes cost; how long will changes take, etc. As a result, many people opt to build their own website and begin searching for software that can easily help them.

As you start searching for an easy web site builder, there are some factors that you should take into consideration so that your new software will serve you now and the future.

One of the first things to consider is your computer ability. If you despise computers and software and find them confusing and frustrating then building your own website can be quite a task, one that you may not want to finish. However, if you enjoy working with computers and learning new things or if you just have the patience to stick with it, then building a website is within your grasp. If you still feel that you want to build your own site you should choose software that is easy to use and user friendly.

There is quite a variety of easy web site building software on the market today. In addition, some of the software available today is very expensive, geared more for the professional web designer, and come with a huge learning curve.

A very important factor to consider, one that will vastly improve the ease of the program, is whether or not it includes a WYSIWYG editor. WYSIWYG stands for "what you see is what you get" and if you purchase a product with this feature you will be creating your website in an environment similar to a word processor - so if you are comfortable using a word processor creating a website shouldn't be too much for you.

In the past, the options for small businesses to get a site developed have changed dramatically. There are now sophisticated "site builder" tools available to small business owners, bundled with many web hosting packages. By using templates, and a content management system to manage updates to the site, it became easier to set up and maintain a web site, and many development companies have canned this functionality, for a fee. Hosting providers are increasingly offering tools to automate the web site building process, and with good reason. This new option has many benefits, as long as the business owner recognizes that there are trade offs and limitations to getting a web site this way.

One of the biggest attractions for site building tools is the cost. It won't necessarily cost less to get your site this way, but it does provide a way to spread the cost over time.

Many people are concerned with building their own website, fearing boring designs and complexity. However, it is now becoming apparent that there are many custom web site builder software products on the market that promise dynamic layouts, professional templates, and user friendly web design tools. The professional web designers know there are a few more things to know, but sometimes they find some irony in the fact that web developers, in their quest to improve and better the web, have made themselves "optional". Most site building tools today are very robust, making it simple to add forms, searching, maps, guest books, calendars, and a whole variety of elements to a web site. Even better, the hosting company sometimes offers an entire suite of services - the site builder, email marketing, search engine optimization and statistics, all in one package along with the hosting.

So, why would anyone hire a professional? First, the site building tools, though increasingly robust, often lack in design and layout flexibility. For example, they might depend on a standard layout that has a banner across the top, menu down the side. If you want to have your navigation across the top and perhaps a sub banner under it, you might not have that option. Many businesses have already outgrown their first or second site, and want something customized to their business. Since all site builders differ, it is possible that you could want features and functionality within your site which is not available within the system. Still, some site builders support development languages like PHP, making it possible to customize the site with the help of a programmer. Some site builders include ecommerce, but they do not all do it the same way. A few utilize PayPal® - but not credit cards. Some use a proprietary payment processing service and won't accommodate anything else. The bottom line is that it is important to look at sites that were built using the tool you're considering and research all of the features that are included; to be sure that everything you want to do is possible.

There is also a possibility that the service will require you to keep some branding on the site telling people that you used their tool. This is more common with the free site builders - which pay for themselves by putting ads on your site. If your goal is to build a business web site, it's really not worth sacrificing your professional image by getting something free, which screams CHEAP.

A tool can make things happen - but if you don't know what to make happen, it is either a useless tool or a dangerous one. There is a learning curve to knowing how to present information online (called information architecture in the profession), as well as for using the site builder. In other word, the fuller featured the tool; the more there is to learn. If you aren't familiar with color theory, use of typography, information architecture, navigation and interface design, page layout and design, you can potentially make something that will hurt your business more than help it. So, unless you are already computer and web savvy, figuring out all the features within your web hosting and site builder package can be time consuming and frustrating.

Fortunately, there are ways that a small business can take advantage of these new options and still create a functional and professional web site. One way is simply to take the time to research the available tools, and find the one that has the most features and flexibility, meeting your functional requirements. In other words, spend the time to learn the things a seasoned pro would bring to the table. The internet is a massive library of "how to" information, where you can literally teach yourself anything - and with enough time spent, you could potentially learn how to layout information, what colors and fonts work well together, how to conduct your marketing online and optimize the site for search engines.

Another approach would be to hire a professional designer simply to get you "off the ground" by handling the administrative set up of your new site package, creating the look of the site and developing the initial structure. That person could also teach you how to manage the content and make changes by yourself going forward. This middle ground approach ensures that your site benefits your business and makes a good impression. Depending on whether you use an editing tool or a site builder, you may still be able to take advantage of "pay as you go" pricing and the easy content management features of a site builder.

The first step for a small business owner thinking about having a web site needs to be an honest assessment of how much time, money, talent, patience and computer savvy he or she has, with a clear understanding of the available options. Once this is determined, any small business which needs to be online can be.

In addition, most dynamic website building software programs incorporate other useful tools that aid in the construction of a impressive site layout. Many programs include an html editor, text editor, and a WYSIWYG editor, making it easy for the novice or professional to achieve great results. There are many important factors to consider when purchasing an html editor / website builder. On of the most important benefits, in my opinion, is selecting software that can handle your ever growing business, today and in the future.

What Is PHP?

The full form of PHP is Hypertext PreProcessor and is a server-side scripting language. The PHP code can be combined with regular HTML tags and parsed on the server. The creator of PHP, Rasmus Lerdorf first displayed the language in the form of a Perl script . In 1997 it was adapted by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski to use a C-written compiler. They completely reconstructed the original PHP into the web language that we know and use today.

Uses of PHP

It is used in the creation of dynamic web pages. Web developers like it because of its fast parsing and flexibility and versatility. PHP is a popular tool for managing a form's data after it is submitted and comes built in with many different interfaces and API's. It has database capability built into the language, the most common database being MySQL. Typically the PHP can connect to any SQL enabled database.

The Syntax of PHP is similar in structure to Perl and C where curly braces { } define blocks of code and semi-colons specify the end of a statement PHP is as easy to learn as Perl. It maintains all the traditional loops, if/else, and subroutines that are expected in a programming language. One difference between the two is that the code'?' is embedded in with the HTML; you could however, use a separate file. The PHP code is different from HTML code by use of the opening and closing tags. When it finds a PHP file, it tells the server to scan through for these tags, and execute the code in between them. The server recognizes a PHP enabled file by its extension, .php. These are essentially HTML files with PHP codes in them.

Getting Started

To start PHP requires a server with PHP installed and a simple ASCII text editor such as Notepad or VI, eMacs, Kate, etc. for a UNIX/Linux machine.

What are the problems faced by PHP?

It is case sensitive. For example if you name a variable $MyVar, you cannot call it as $myvar or $mYvAr. In case you forget to close your curly brackets, then it helps to indent lines inside the curly braces so that any missing braces can be spotted easily.

The greatest breakthrough of the Web 2.0 age is the advances made in web page coding. Previously, an interactive web page would require you to click on the control to trigger the action, then the request would be sent to the web pages server, and you were stuck waiting for the page to reload. This is an inconvenience on your part, as you are stuck waiting. Similarly, if you are the owner of the webpage, it is an inconvenience to your users to have to wait. Furthermore, if you are offering your services or products, you are losing potential customers and gaining downtime on your webpage.

But AJAX, which stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a new type of web coding technology which allows you to create an interactive website that does not need to reload and communicate with the server every time an action is taken. For you as a web page owner, this means faster loading times for your customers, as well as more interaction with the page on the end users' side.

AJAX uses a combination of Java, XML, HTML, and CSS coding, all rolled into one to create a unique and interactive web pages.

Are you wondering where AJAX has been employed on the Web? Ever used Google Maps? Google Maps allows you to drag the map, zoom in and out, as well as set markers on the map without the need to bee constantly interacting with Google's server.

If you want to create a unique and interactive webpage with less loading time, allowing your members to view more in less time, AJAX coding is the way to go.