Home » Technology » Home Office Software » How To Build and Maintain Your Web Site

How To Build and Maintain Your Web Site

© Faith Sloan

There are a number of tools that can be used for building and maintaining a Web site. In order to better understand the market, I will categorize these tools in two ways.

First are the "off-the-shelf" Web Authoring Tools (i.e. Microsoft's FrontPage, Adobe's PageMill, and Allaire's HomeSite). These are software products that are loaded onto your computer and used to develop a Web site. Once you have created the site on your computer, you must upload those files to a Web Hosting Server in order to put your work on the Internet. The cost of the software ranges from $99 to $299. In addition, regular upgrades must be purchased as they are released if you wish for your software to remain current. Finally, your Web site must be hosted once it is created. There are literally thousands of professional hosting companies from which to choose, with hosting packages costing from $20 to $50 a month.

The second type of Web site development products are "online" or "server based" Web authoring tools. The software for creating a Web site is not loaded onto your computer. Instead, it resides and is maintained on the server of the company providing the server. One excellent example of this is Big Planet's Dynamic Web Page (DWP). In the case of Dynamic Web Page (DWP), the software is located on the DWP servers at Big Planet. Access to the software is available to DWP owners via the Internet. Any changes made by the owner of the site reside on the server and the Web site is automatically updated.

Continuous upgrades to the server-based software are free and are performed by the server company. In addition to the availability of the Web authoring tool, a monthly hosting fee is usually charged.

There are distinct advantages to a server based Web authoring tool. One of the most important is the fact that other than the initial setup fee, you will not pay for software upgrades. Also, there is no need to upload files to a professional hosting server. This process can be a difficult one and requires additional software applications. Also, the simplest off-the-shelf" Web authoring tool is much more difficult to understand and use than the average server based product.

The DWP is an online Web page building tool that has been developed by Big Planet, enabling a user to go online via the Internet and construct a functional Web site in a matter of minutes. By following simple step-by-step instructions, a user can build and publish a professional looking Web site without the need to learn HTML programming. In fact, building and maintaining a Web site using DWP is so easy that a user without previous Internet experience can master it with a minimal amount of effort. In addition, a user with extensive technology experience can use the product as well.