CHOOSING WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE IS BEST FOR YOU
This page will give you a lot of information you need to know, while working with me on your website. The first major question is: how do you want your site to be built? Many people don't know there are many structural ways to build a site. I want to make sure your site is built in a way that best fits your needs and addresses whether you or I will be updating the site after it's completion. Basically, you have 4 options, and I will break down the pros and cons of each option.
1. BUILDING AN HTML SITE
HTML sites are best for: people who want a highly customized design, want a web designer to do the updates, or aren't afraid to learn a little bit of code to update their own sites. Sites built this way can have highly unique components and be built at a lower cost than using a Content Management System. The down sides are you either have a continual cost, needing the web designer to do updates, or you have to learn how to do the updates yourself in code. If you don't see yourself making many updates, a pure html site is ideal. If your site is more like a blog with continual updates needed, I recommend looking into having your site built with a content management system. Artist Portfolio sites are best suited as HTML sites, unless updating your own site is essential, or you are phobic of coding and computers; then I would consider using a content management system.
2. BUILDING A SITE WITHIN A CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)
Many people are not aware that most non-profit websites and business websites are built within a content management system or CMS. Blogging software is a kind of CMS. If you are a non-profit or business, I recommend building or redesigning your site with a CMS. Exceptions, would be if you have highly customized components to your site or if someone on your team will be doing most of the edits and already knows html. Even though CMS's are initially more expensive to build, you rarely need a web designer to make updates, you can do the updates yourself. This saves you money in the long run. Even individuals can find benefit from having their site built with a CMS. If you wan't to have control over the edits made to your site, and the idea of working on the computer and learning a small amount of coding is confusing to you, using a CMS eliminates that confusion. Your edits are made in a more visual intuitive manner.
My favorite Content Management System is Concrete5. It is a smaller, simpler, more intuitive CMS than more popular CMS's. I like Concrete5 for many reasons, but most important—my clients will find updating their own site easy and intuitive. I have seen some CMS's that are so complicated and bloated with unnecessary features that I think the developers forgot that the whole point of CMS's being developed is to make updating sites easier for the client. There are particular times where I may find it better to use a different CMS, but my most popular choice will be Concrete5.
3. A HYBRID OF THE TWO - HTML & A CMS
You are not stuck to choose one or the other, the third option is a hybrid of straight HTML and a CMS. The overall site can be constructed within the CMS for general updating of text content, while highly customized components can be constructed in pure HTML. This makes updating content by the client possible while also have unique designs requests or custom interactive components accomplished all in one site. If those custom components built outside of the CMS are not going to change much, or you are willing to pay a designer to maintain just that section, then you are getting the best of both worlds with a hybrid site.
4.FLASH
In certain circles, Flash is very popular for it's visual glitz. It is the best web solution for animation and creating the highest aesthetic control within a website. But, Flash has many pitfalls: long download times, little search engine optimization, labor intensive, and costly. This technology works nicely when it is used sparingly on parts of a website, but I rarely would recommend a whole website built in Flash. If aesthetics is your only concern, then Flash is for you and your website; otherwise, I would not recommend building Flash site for any client.