Why the Source Code Matters
Unlike a print brochure or a magazine ad, a website is never "done". Ever.
So the way that a website is built will have an enormous impact on how much it will cost to maintain and expand over time. A site that has been developed with valid, well-formed HTML code and a site developed with invalid, sloppy HTML code may look identical in a browser, but their impact on the bottom line (not to mention your SEO) will be completely different. We have seen more than one business fail as a direct result of the ever-increasing costs incurred from trying to maintain poorly written source code and bad technical processes.
Two Source Code Examples
The following examples show the HTML source code for the navigation links on two different websites (click to view larger).
As you're looking at the following source file examples, ask yourself which one would you rather update? More importantly, which one do you think costs more to maintain over time?
Which one do you think cost a little more up front?
Dense Code Example:
(click to view larger)
The dense navigation links in the example to the left were probably created using Dreamweaver by someone who never saw what the code looked like underneath. What's worse, this code is on every page of its website. In order to update these navigation links, it will be necessary for someone to update this code... on every page of the site. Even if it's maintained in a Dreamweaver template (which this example is not), updating the code is still a multi-step process. You have to update the template, then update all of the pages that use it, then upload the edited pages to the site.
If your website has few visitors, it's not a big deal. But if your website is an online store with 400,000 products doing tens of thousands of dollars of global business daily, you have a major, expensive problem every time you need to make a change to the site.
Clear Code Example
Clear Navigation Links in HTML Source Code
The clear navigation links example comes from the source HTML of this website, and were done by hand. The styles and layout for this site are controlled with the website's Cascading Style Sheet, and the links are maintained in a separate "include" file, which is inserted into every page on the Circuit Riders website by a short line of PHP script. To update the navigation links for the Circuit Riders website is a simple matter of updating that one file and uploading it to the live site.
Working smart takes a little more time because you need to take more care with your code, so it costs more up-front. However, the payoff is immediate, and lasting. The work quickly pays for itself, and all costs are amortized repeatedly over time; the savings will continue through the life span of the website and the business.
Reduce Your Risk Now
If you want to reduce the risk you face as you make business decisions involving your website, make sure you have a website that you – and your budget – can live with. Contact Us without obligation to discuss your business website needs. Call (412) 422-1611. We're on Eastern time.
