Web development encompasses many stages i.e. Planning, Analysis, Web design, Implementation, Promotion and Innovation. Each of these stages requires use of different sets of tools and professionals with varied skill sets.

Planning and Analysis don't require as many software tools as the experience of the web master or project director. They need working knowledge with all aspects of server and database. Familiarity with Operating Systems and the Internet server applications are required. Experience with IP networks, programming languages and database development are also essential. The two most common Operating Systems used are Windows NT/2000 and Unix, although many also use Linux. Most commonly used Internet programming languages include PERL, CGI, ActiveX, ASP, and Java among others.

In the next stage of Web designing, tools such as HTML Meta tags, JavaScript, CGI, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia DreamWeaver and Adobe Photoshop are used. Web templates, graphic designs, photographs, texts, clippings, audio and video are also included, as per the requirements. Flash helps in animation that gives an identity to a website. Visual Basic is the most common language for scripting and SQL with other database engines are used for database management on the website. To create Search Engine Optimized content, tools such as Overture are used. Once the most popularly searched words in your industry are identified and short-listed, the content creators write content using these search words. This ensures that your website lists high in the search engines and directories.

In the Implementation stage, the website is implemented and tested on various browsers. Any functional errors, if found, are corrected. The Promotion and Innovation stages, help in marketing a website. Pay-Per-Click Search Engine Promotion, Loyalty Programs, Email Campaigns and Online Games are some tools used for website promotion. Tools such as site statistics software and reporting from site searches let you know what exactly your visitors are looking for. The content and marketing strategies are then adjusted accordingly. A website also needs to be maintained and continuously evaluated and updated with respect to content, presentation, layout and technical aspects.

Use of good web development tools ensures that your pages have good content, Meta tags, a high link popularity score, appropriate keywords and visual appeal. Although web development tools are essential, it also takes a seasoned team of programmers, graphic designers, content creators, consultants and marketing staff to work in tandem to create a technically sound, visually appealing and highly functional website. A well-planned site, apart from being high in functionality, is also easy to re-design or alter, at a later stage.

Internet is the new media that has been creating a buzz everywhere lately. Be it an aspiring musician or model or a successful organization, everyone now wants to make their presence felt on the new media, the much hyped and talked about internet. And this online presence is often done by creating a website or webpage containing useful information along with media files that help to highlight the USP of the individual or organization. The main idea is to get an edge over competition by venturing into a newly and still largely untapped region. But this "untapped region" is not so untapped after all. It's a common trend for businesses and individuals to go online in the present day and this has again effectively introduced a new area of competition. There are millions of websites and webpages scattered all over the World Wide Web and the numbers are growing every single second. So how does a particular site stand out from its competitors, attract more clients and exert the maximum influence?

In order to answer this question, we need to understand the source of visitors to any website. There can be many sources like hyperlinks from a particular page, word of mouth and viral procedures. However, the primary source of visitor to any website is through the search engines. Search engines list websites on the basis of a number of parameters and the ones listed on the first page, especially towards the top, gets more visitors than the others. In order to get a website listed on the top of any search engine result index, a whole lot of technical issues need to be taken care of. These are known as search engine optimization techniques. However, it's not just these techniques that would help a website to gain advantage over its competitions. The SEO techniques require support from the design aspects too. For example a particular website with very good search engine listing would attract a lot of visitors but if it does not have a proper navigation facility, the visitors would not be able to find what they are looking for and would eventually abandon the site.

It is definitely not possible by any one person to handle all the aspects of an effective website. So the best possible option is to go for professional help. One good thing is, presently there are several companies that offer professional website development service at an affordable rate. However, it's best to have an overview of the services they offer before entrusting one with the job. A firm that offers a whole bunch of services right from the development of the site, the designing aspects and search engine optimization techniques to support each other would surely be the best choice.

Thus it could be concluded that website development services are quite essential in order to have an effective website developed, for individuals or organizations interested in making their presence felt on the internet and gain advantage over competitions.

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.