9 November 2008
Hi James,

Wow, that is a pretty loaded question... especially in this industry! But, I would offer you this.

Proprietary software, such as Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP), or Cold Fusion usually come with a higher price tag. Whereas Open Source, such as PHP, JSP, or even Python are more inexpensive both in the development and in the final hosting of a project.

Open Source programming is just as capable of creating and maintaining enterprise level software solutions as their more expensive Proprietary counterparts.

So, while the programming depends mainly on the developer, more so than the language, you want to stay away from languages that will produce a lot of over-head and long-term hosting expense; for example ASP sites are typically slower in benchmark tests than the same applications developed in PHP and Windows-Based hosting is typically higher than Unix.

But, another concern would be, (I always come back to this) architecture. Sites should be developed with consideration to current WAI and U.S. 508 standards for accessibility and usability, the CSS and HTML should validate and care in deployment should always take in to account multi-platform and multi-browser compatibility.

The choices can be confusing and they will vary depending on what type of developer you talk to, but overhead and price are factors that are hard to argue. Outside of that, please interview any prospective web designers to get a feel for their capabilities, review their portfolio, and definitely ask about how they develop toward current web standards.

Hope that helps!

11 November 2008
In short ...Yes!

Different coding types suit different website requirements. Straight-forward brochure type sites really only need to be done in html, whereas a database driven site will generally use php.

html is the basic code for websites and is very robust when written to industry standards. However php, asp, cgi and other languages are more sensitive and require specific types of hosting platforms/programmes in order to work, and are therefore normally more expensive in terms of development and running costs.

Some designers use Flash to create 'fancy' navigation buttons - however I don't as some viewers may not be able to view Flash - and therefore not be able to navigate your site - as well as it being costly and not always of benefit to the site.

As a rule I code using the most basic (and tested) language that will produce the desired result for the client - in this way costs are minimised and more importantly the sites themselves are more likely to work as expected across all web browsers and computer settings.

19 November 2008
Depends on what you would like from your website

ASP and PHP are the 2 main dynamic programming languages which work with databases

it also depends on what kind of hosting company your website is hosted with.

21 November 2008
James,

Your web designer or developer should know which programming language would be best for you. A lot of times it depends on what he or she has knowledge of, and the needs of the site. PHP is an open source language, which means is widely used and almost every hosting provider supports it. ASP or ColdFusion are typically more expensive.

2 December 2008
From the point of view of what the site looks like, it makes very little difference which language is used. It probably does matter when thinking about long-term maintenance of the site, and potentially transferring maintenance and development to another company. Unless you have a site with very high visitor loads, or very complex processing requirements, all modern languages are plenty efficient enough.

Open source languages like PHP, Ruby and Perl have low barriers for developers to use (no licence fees, large public communities) so there are many developers using them. Proprietary languages like ASP and ASP.NET require often-expensive annual licences, and so tend to be used by larger companies. Proprietory languages also tend to require proprietory server software to run with.

12 January 2009
Hi James,

The thing that's most important is if your web hosts supports the language your designer is proposing, so make sure you check before hand.

There isn't a major difference in output between the languages, but the behind-the-scenes capabilities can vary a bit between them.

Choose a designer first and foremost without worrying about the language. The only time it should be a concern is if your host doesn't support it, or it's going to prohibit you getting the kind of result you're after.

Just make sure to discuss everything with your designer before you start so you have a clear idea that you can get exactly what you want.

Hope this helps and all the best,

Jordan Burnett