Scripting for Your Website
Although most web hosting companies will offer basic site builders embedded with HTML coding, it is always good to have a little knowledge of other scripting languages, especially if you want your site to stand out. There are a number of different scripts available; some are rather basic while others are more complex and offer unique features. For this reason, you should first consider how easy a particular language is to work with before deciding on a favorite.
Keep it Simple
There is nothing wrong with having vast knowledge on a variety of scripts but you just may be wasting your time. For instance, if you are hosting on a Linux platform with a provider that only offers PHP and Perl, all your knowledge on ASP scripting could be useless. You should consider other web technologies that may impact programming languages as well. While the MS SQL Server can be converted to support scripts like PHP, this database system is more suited for ASP as they are both Microsoft products. If you are essentially a webmaster in training, the amount of support a particular script has is also very important. A good choice would be open-source solutions such as PHP, Perl or Python as they respectively have large communities of users who publish self-help resources throughout the web.
Scripting Features
After finding a script you feel comfortable with, it’s time to dig a little deeper to find out what it can do. There are some programming languages specifically designed to remain current as new web technologies are developed. One perfect example is AJAX, a toolkit Microsoft distributes to help ensure that developers are up to date with their ASP.NET scripts. All the popular languages today can be greatly enhanced to do far more than create a simple web page. With various add-on components, they can be used to create shopping carts, chat rooms and blogs just to name a few items. By doing your homework on a specific script, you will have a better idea of what a particular web host can offer.
Recommendations
We recommend that anyone new to the world of web development go with an open-source language. These scripts tend to be much easier to work with more resources available to help you grasp them faster. As your online presence grows and the site becomes popular, you will be able to make quick adjustments to support the rapid expansion.
If you choose to script in a proprietary language such as ASP, take note that your web hosting plan may be a little more expensive. Because the provider has to pay to use these technologies, they recover the costs by passing it down to their customers. Being more advanced than most scripts, ASP is generally harder to learn and also lacks the support of open-source solutions.
You can get by without any knowledge on programming scripts, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get far. These powerful web languages can work wonders at enhancing the appearance and functionality of your site. All it takes is the knowledge of one script to give you that competitive edge needed to succeed online.
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