Here are essential things that you have to understand in web development.

1. Web appearance and Usability

Most newcomers often think that appearance of web site is the measurement of how it will fare in terms of traffic and visitors visiting the site but this premise is not totally true.

Yes, appearance is really important in web design but it is not the sole measurement of success of a site. Of course it will not be good to see if the site is shabby and not maintained properly but aside from appearance, you have to consider the usability of each content and links that you have posted there.

If example you posted large beautiful image but it is unrelated to content of your site, do you think your reader will appreciate that? No, viewers will likely appreciate a relatively small image related to your content than an image that is totally unrelated no matter how pretty it is.

Usability is a key in web design. Do not just put pretty but totally unnecessary images. All images and links should be useful to your site.

If you are building a portfolio, post only related sample projects that you have previously work and you don't have to mention the projects that you did not accept.

If you want use the site to sell products, it will be better if you describe them in brief and concise way and avoid unnecessary description.

2. Purpose

What is the purpose of your web site? Do you want to earn additional income? Do you want to use the site to display your portfolio? Or do you want to sell and trade goods?

Purpose will likely to give you the design that you need. If you are a member of affiliate marketing, then you have to post marketing ads to your site to generate income through pay-per-click method.

If you are designing a web site to use it as your portfolio, then you have to post there your resume and sample projects that you have done in the past.

If you would like to sell or trade goods, then you can have to post all your products, pricelist and payment options in the web site.

3. Information

Information enriched websites are the ones who always get new visitors everyday. There are many web sites being launched in the Internet everyday but not all these web sites will offer new and updated information everyday or every week. Most of these web sites will likely to offer the same articles and tidbits for the rest of the year.

If you don't update your site often, your visitors will likely to loose interest in visiting your site, as there will be another site to offer new and more exciting articles and contents.

Competition is hard in web sites that is why you have to keep it updated to current new trends and new information to make them return to your site.

You can consider weekly newsletter as part of your web design. This is one way to keep your site interesting and informative to readers.

Millions of web designers and developers have chosen Adobe Dreamweaver as their software of choice for website creation. Even with the incredible amount of built-in functionality that comes standard with Dreamweaver, there are many web applications that require a vast amount of hand coding to implement. Web Developer Suite from WebAssist is a Dreamweaver extension bundle that helps eliminate hand coding and opens up a vast dynamic frontier for the average Dreamweaver user.

Web Developer Suite consists of the following individual WebAssist Dreamweaver extensions:

• DataAssist - for complete database administration
• SecurityAssist - for user management, login, cookies and sessions
• Digital File Pro - for mastering file upload and download
• Universal Email - for processing form email on your website
• Dynamic Dropdowns - for dynamic dropdown menu creation
• Cookies Toolkit - add server-side cookies with one click
• Pro Maps for Google - dynamic or static Google maps API integration
• Validation Toolkit - for validating any type of form information
• iRite - for integrating WYSIWYG text editors into websites
• Database Starter Kits - for both PHP and ASP

Each extension is installed individually within the Dreamweaver extension manager, and is accessed via the WebAssist toolbar added to Dreamweaver. The real value of the Web Developer Suite lies in the ability to code advanced website function in a fraction of the time it would take to hand code. Each extension operates from a wizard-like interface that clearly walks you through the steps needed to configure your task.

DataAssist creates complete database administration page sets with a few clicks of the mouse. Automatically generate web pages that add, delete, update, view or search your database. If you use Dreamweaver templates, DataAssist allows you to use your site template when generating pages. The resulting pages flow seamlessly into your website and are fully customizable via CSS.

SecurityAssist generates all the pages and code needed to create secure user registration and log in pages for your site. It teams up with Cookies Toolkit to utilize cookies and session variables to prevent unauthorized access to any pages you wish to restrict on your website.

If you need a Dreamweaver extension to control digital file upload and download, Digital File Pro is the extension of choice. Through a wizard-like interface, you can easily enable database file upload and download through your website. It's an excellent tool for webmasters who provide digital files such as MP3s, e-books, PDFs, images, photos, videos and any other type of downloadable file format.

Web Developer Suite also includes Universal Email, which is an extremely handy extension for emailing form input from your website. Universal Email even operates without a database, so it makes a great tool for emailing website contact form submissions. Emails can be formatted as text or HTML, and Universal Email includes a WYSIWYG HTML editor for creating your HTML email messages.

Pro Maps for Google inserts static or dynamic Google maps into your website. Addresses can be entered manually, from a file or even from your database recordset. The Google map API is fully configurable, with custom pointers, map controls and size. It's an excellent extension for inserting maps into dynamic websites.

Web Developer Suite also includes Validation Toolkit, which is WebAssist's form validation extension. Validate your form input client-side or server-side with a wide assortment of validation rules. By controlling form data input on your website, you can help reduce spam submissions and protect the integrity of your data.

The final Dreamweaver extension included in the Web Developer Suite is WebAssist's WYSIWYG form field text editor, iRite. Based on the popular FCKeditor, iRite allows you to insert a text editor in a Dreamweaver form for inputting valid XHTML code without needing any knowledge of HTML. iRite is a great extension for developing custom content management systems or just a simple way for clients to keep their own websites updated.

Web Developer Suite from WebAssist is an excellent addition to anyone's Dreamweaver toolbox. The cost of Web Developer Suite is a steal for the enormous amount of website function that is packaged in the bundle. Web designers can offer much greater website functionality to their clients and recoup the cost of the extensions in one project. There is no restriction on the number of sites you can build with Web Developer Suite, and no restrictive "per site" licensing. For web designers looking to push their websites to a new level, WebAssist Web Developer Suite is a must-have Dreamweaver add-on.

First of all, what is a Content Management System?

A Content Management System, or CMS for short, is an application designed to facilitate the creation and management of content.

So, do you need a CMS?

Whether or not you may need a CMS solution depends on the size of your website, the amount of traffic you receive, your skills as a webmaster, the number of users who will be adding content to the website, and many other factors.

Website Size

The content of a large website can be very difficult and tedious to maintain if a content management system is not used. Most CMS solutions will store the content in a database in an organized fashion. The administration interface of the CMS should provide an easy way to manage the content.

On the other hand, a CMS solution for a small website may be overkill. A website with a small number of pages is easy to maintain, but may need a content management system solution as it grows.

Website Traffic

The amount of traffic a website receives can be a significant factor in deciding whether or not to use a CMS. Static html pages have always been the fastest loading, whereas dynamic pages need to be compiled or pull information from a database. The processing behind these operations can add time to the loading of the page. It is important to consider the amount of processing that takes place behind the scenes in a content management system. Fortunately, there are many lightweight CMS solutions these days for high traffic websites.

Webmaster Technical Skills

A content management system can be an easy solution for a webmaster who lacks the necessary skill set to create their own website. Most CMS solutions contain a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. The editor allows for the creation of website content without HTML or other website specific knowledge.

There are many templates available which can be easily installed in many content management systems. Some of these templates are free and some come with a small cost. Another solution to creating the look for your website would be to hire a website designer. This can come with a significant cost, but you'd be getting the exact look and feel you want for your website.

Website Users

In many situations, a website will have more than one content provider. In this case, it may be beneficial to consider a content management solution, as a good CMS system will have the ability check in and check out content. The purpose of check in and check out is to prevent more than one user from editing the same content at the same time. Multiple users on a static website can create many problems with content updates without the help of a CMS system.

Conclusions

There are certainly other factors to consider in whether or not to use a content management system, but hopefully the information contained above will help you in making an informed decision.