Web Development Information

Andy Farrell is Managing Director of Gravitymax, a content management system developer based in Sydney, Australia.


MORE RESOURCES:
Top 25 Back-End Web Development Tools - Netguru
Top 25 Back-End Web Development Tools  Netguru

Securing WebAssembly in Web Development - NASSCOM Community
Securing WebAssembly in Web Development  NASSCOM Community

accessiBe Launches accessFlow, Comprehensive Tool for Driving Native Accessibility in Web Development Projects - PR Newswire
accessiBe Launches accessFlow, Comprehensive Tool for Driving Native Accessibility in Web Development Projects  PR Newswire

Most used languages among software developers globally 2024 - Statista
Most used languages among software developers globally 2024  Statista

Top 5 Uses of WebAssembly for Web Developers - The New Stack
Top 5 Uses of WebAssembly for Web Developers  The New Stack

Top 15 Front-End Technologies in 2025 - DesignRush
Top 15 Front-End Technologies in 2025  DesignRush

Best Website Builder and Design Service Reviews of 2025 - Business.com
Best Website Builder and Design Service Reviews of 2025  Business.com

12 Essential Atom Packages for Web Development - SitePoint
12 Essential Atom Packages for Web Development  SitePoint

Dynamic web apps with HTMX, Python, and Django - InfoWorld
Dynamic web apps with HTMX, Python, and Django  InfoWorld

Elon Musk’s DOGE website has been defaced because anyone can edit it - The Verge
Elon Musk’s DOGE website has been defaced because anyone can edit it  The Verge

15 Critical Security Tips for Web Development in 2024 - Netguru
15 Critical Security Tips for Web Development in 2024  Netguru

Web Design and Development - Muskegon Community College
Web Design and Development  Muskegon Community College

UA Little Rock Student Gains International Experience as Web Development Intern in Australia - University of Arkansas at Little Rock
UA Little Rock Student Gains International Experience as Web Development Intern in Australia  University of Arkansas at Little Rock

How to Use Node Js for Backend Web Development in 2024 - Simplilearn
How to Use Node Js for Backend Web Development in 2024  Simplilearn

Rediscover the Joy of Early Web Development With XSLT - The New Stack
Rediscover the Joy of Early Web Development With XSLT  The New Stack

Top Web Developer Interview Questions and Answers (2025) - Simplilearn
Top Web Developer Interview Questions and Answers (2025)  Simplilearn

Python’s Frameworks Comparison: Django, Pyramid, Flask, Sanic, Tornado, BottlePy and More - Netguru
Python’s Frameworks Comparison: Django, Pyramid, Flask, Sanic, Tornado, BottlePy and More  Netguru

16 Top Web Development Trends in 2025 - Netguru
16 Top Web Development Trends in 2025  Netguru

Web App Development Cost: Comprehensive Guide for 2025 - Netguru
Web App Development Cost: Comprehensive Guide for 2025  Netguru

Top 10 Web Development Podcasts for Beginners You Need in Your Ears - Netguru
Top 10 Web Development Podcasts for Beginners You Need in Your Ears  Netguru

How To Become A Entry-Level Web Developer in 2025 - Simplilearn
How To Become A Entry-Level Web Developer in 2025  Simplilearn

DOGE.gov Debacle: How a Government Website Went to the Dogs and What It Means for Cybersecurity - Security Boulevard
DOGE.gov Debacle: How a Government Website Went to the Dogs and What It Means for Cybersecurity  Security Boulevard

SEO and Web Design: How to Build a Website That Ranks (2025) - Shopify
SEO and Web Design: How to Build a Website That Ranks (2025)  Shopify

Essential Web Developer Skills for 2025 - Simplilearn
Essential Web Developer Skills for 2025  Simplilearn

Elon Musk's DOGE Website Database Vulnerability Let Anyone Make Entries Directly - CybersecurityNews
Elon Musk's DOGE Website Database Vulnerability Let Anyone Make Entries Directly  CybersecurityNews

AI and the Web Developer's Future - CMSWire
AI and the Web Developer's Future  CMSWire

9 Web Development and Design Conferences To Know & Attend in 2025 - DesignRush
9 Web Development and Design Conferences To Know & Attend in 2025  DesignRush

Web Development Trends in 2024: A Shift Back to Simplicity - The New Stack
Web Development Trends in 2024: A Shift Back to Simplicity  The New Stack

2024: Rising Senior Uses Computer Science Coursework to Thrive in Web Development Role - Muhlenberg College
2024: Rising Senior Uses Computer Science Coursework to Thrive in Web Development Role  Muhlenberg College

The Future Role of AI in Web Development: What to Expect - DesignRush
The Future Role of AI in Web Development: What to Expect  DesignRush

100 Programming Languages List & Best Ones to Learn - Simplilearn
100 Programming Languages List & Best Ones to Learn  Simplilearn

Webflow Debuts Industry-First Website Experience Platform (WXP), Superpowers Web Development with New AI Products, Tools, and Capabilities - PR Newswire
Webflow Debuts Industry-First Website Experience Platform (WXP), Superpowers Web Development with New AI Products, Tools, and Capabilities  PR Newswire

20 Most Popular Python IDEs in 2025: Code Like a Pro - Simplilearn
20 Most Popular Python IDEs in 2025: Code Like a Pro  Simplilearn

Web Development Frameworks, Tools and Techniques for 2024 - Netguru
Web Development Frameworks, Tools and Techniques for 2024  Netguru

Northeastern grad goes from schooling to working full time at web development startup he created - Northeastern University
Northeastern grad goes from schooling to working full time at web development startup he created  Northeastern University

How Much does Website Development Cost in 2022? - Appinventiv
How Much does Website Development Cost in 2022?  Appinventiv

Best PHP Frameworks for Web Development in 2024 - Simplilearn
Best PHP Frameworks for Web Development in 2024  Simplilearn

StackBlitz achieves $4M ARR in 4 weeks for their AI web development platform with Claude - Anthropic
StackBlitz achieves $4M ARR in 4 weeks for their AI web development platform with Claude  Anthropic

University Libraries IT hosts web development workshop - UNM Newsroom
University Libraries IT hosts web development workshop  UNM Newsroom

15 Best Bay Area Web Design & Development Agencies (2025) - DesignRush
15 Best Bay Area Web Design & Development Agencies (2025)  DesignRush

26 Best APAC Web and Software Development Companies in 2025 - DesignRush
26 Best APAC Web and Software Development Companies in 2025  DesignRush

Understanding Web 4.0: The Future of an Intelligent Internet - Netguru
Understanding Web 4.0: The Future of an Intelligent Internet  Netguru

3 Python web frameworks for beautiful front ends - InfoWorld
3 Python web frameworks for beautiful front ends  InfoWorld

StackBlitz Bolt.new blurs boundaries between web development and skilled use of AI prompts - DevClass
StackBlitz Bolt.new blurs boundaries between web development and skilled use of AI prompts  DevClass

10 of the best web development courses you can take online for free - Mashable
10 of the best web development courses you can take online for free  Mashable

The Rise of Rust and WebAssembly in Web Development - The New Stack
The Rise of Rust and WebAssembly in Web Development  The New Stack

24 Top Frontend Technologies to Use in 2025 - Netguru
24 Top Frontend Technologies to Use in 2025  Netguru

12 Web Development Trends To Watch in 2025 - Shopify
12 Web Development Trends To Watch in 2025  Shopify

Register for AIM’s free web development course by Sept. 10 - Silicon Prairie News
Register for AIM’s free web development course by Sept. 10  Silicon Prairie News

Use These 15 Top Web Development Tools For Ecommerce Sites (2024) - Shopify
Use These 15 Top Web Development Tools For Ecommerce Sites (2024)  Shopify

Top Web Frameworks to Learn and Tips to Build a Career in Web Development - Simplilearn
Top Web Frameworks to Learn and Tips to Build a Career in Web Development  Simplilearn

Top 10 Frontend Development Trends in 2024 - Netguru
Top 10 Frontend Development Trends in 2024  Netguru

Python vs. C # : A Comprehensive Guide for 2024 - Netguru
Python vs. C # : A Comprehensive Guide for 2024  Netguru

20 Best Twin Cities Web Design & Development Agencies in 2025 - DesignRush
20 Best Twin Cities Web Design & Development Agencies in 2025  DesignRush

The Ultimate Guide to Python Web Development for 2024 - Simplilearn
The Ultimate Guide to Python Web Development for 2024  Simplilearn

An Eye for Art: Westminster artist uses creative skills in web development - Baltimore Sun
An Eye for Art: Westminster artist uses creative skills in web development  Baltimore Sun

Top 10 Web Development Tools and Tips to Become a Successful Web Developer - Simplilearn
Top 10 Web Development Tools and Tips to Become a Successful Web Developer  Simplilearn

Top 10 Front End Languages: A Beginner's Guide - Simplilearn
Top 10 Front End Languages: A Beginner's Guide  Simplilearn

DesignRush Reveals the Top Web Development Agencies in December 2024 - DesignRush
DesignRush Reveals the Top Web Development Agencies in December 2024  DesignRush

Golang Crash Course Part 7- Web Development in Go | by Ben Meehan | Jan, 2025 - Medium
Golang Crash Course Part 7- Web Development in Go | by Ben Meehan | Jan, 2025  Medium

The only 4 steps you need to take to learn web development - Fortune
The only 4 steps you need to take to learn web development  Fortune

Would You Use AI To Develop a Website? It's Easier Than You Think - How-To Geek
Would You Use AI To Develop a Website? It's Easier Than You Think  How-To Geek

Best web design software of 2024 - TechRadar
Best web design software of 2024  TechRadar

12 Web Development Trends To Watch in 2025 - Shopify
12 Web Development Trends To Watch in 2025  Shopify

Is Web Development Approaching Its Peak as We Head Into 2025? - IoT Business News
Is Web Development Approaching Its Peak as We Head Into 2025?  IoT Business News

Your Guide To the Best Backend Languages For 2025 - Simplilearn
Your Guide To the Best Backend Languages For 2025  Simplilearn

HeartCore Partners with NTT Data Business Brains - GlobeNewswire
HeartCore Partners with NTT Data Business Brains  GlobeNewswire

Top Web Design Trends for 2025 - Designmodo
Top Web Design Trends for 2025  Designmodo

23 In-Demand Full Stack Developer Skills in 2025 - Simplilearn
23 In-Demand Full Stack Developer Skills in 2025  Simplilearn

RoR vs Node.js: A Comparison of Frameworks for Web Development in 2023 - Netguru
RoR vs Node.js: A Comparison of Frameworks for Web Development in 2023  Netguru

Web Design Statistics By UI/UX, Market Size, Web Development, Industry and Demographics - Coolest Gadgets
Web Design Statistics By UI/UX, Market Size, Web Development, Industry and Demographics  Coolest Gadgets

Best website builder service of 2025: The top 13 compared - TechRadar
Best website builder service of 2025: The top 13 compared  TechRadar

Accelerate web application development and ROI with Microsoft Power Pages - Microsoft
Accelerate web application development and ROI with Microsoft Power Pages  Microsoft

New Web Development Tool Pulls Design Tokens From Figma - The New Stack
New Web Development Tool Pulls Design Tokens From Figma  The New Stack

Best Web Design Companies Toronto - Search Engine People
Best Web Design Companies Toronto  Search Engine People

15 Best Lehigh Valley Web Design & Development Agencies for 2025 - DesignRush
15 Best Lehigh Valley Web Design & Development Agencies for 2025  DesignRush

Where web developers are commanding the biggest salaries - Fortune
Where web developers are commanding the biggest salaries  Fortune

Learn CSS Box Model and its Properties with Examples - Simplilearn
Learn CSS Box Model and its Properties with Examples  Simplilearn

How to Simulate Mobile Devices with Device Mode in Chrome - SitePoint
How to Simulate Mobile Devices with Device Mode in Chrome  SitePoint

Expert Predictions for Web Development in 2025 - TechRound
Expert Predictions for Web Development in 2025  TechRound

Best web development tool of 2024 - TechRadar
Best web development tool of 2024  TechRadar

Florida Keys Tourism Council seeks advertising, web development services providers - KeysNews.com
Florida Keys Tourism Council seeks advertising, web development services providers  KeysNews.com

Generative AI for Web Developers - O'Reilly Media
Generative AI for Web Developers  O'Reilly Media

Improve Your Web App Performance: 11 Tips for 2024 - Netguru
Improve Your Web App Performance: 11 Tips for 2024  Netguru

Frontend Costs: The Essential Guide to Website Development in 2024 - Netguru
Frontend Costs: The Essential Guide to Website Development in 2024  Netguru

38 Web Development Stats You Should Know in 2024 - Influencer Marketing Hub
38 Web Development Stats You Should Know in 2024  Influencer Marketing Hub

World Bank Group - International Development, Poverty and Sustainability - World Bank Group
World Bank Group - International Development, Poverty and Sustainability  World Bank Group

Web Development | Website Design for Yachting Companies - Yachting Pages
Web Development | Website Design for Yachting Companies  Yachting Pages

An In-Depth Comparison of Node.js vs. PHP in 2023 - Netguru
An In-Depth Comparison of Node.js vs. PHP in 2023  Netguru

Free Internship 2025 on Python | AI | ML | Data Science | Web Development! - Sakshi Education English
Free Internship 2025 on Python | AI | ML | Data Science | Web Development!  Sakshi Education English

The best websites for finding developers - Business.com
The best websites for finding developers  Business.com

10 Must-Have WordPress Website Design Tools in 2025 - DesignRush
10 Must-Have WordPress Website Design Tools in 2025  DesignRush

11 Best Interactive Website Designs in 2025 - DesignRush
11 Best Interactive Website Designs in 2025  DesignRush

How to Build a Stunning Portfolio Website as a Web Developer - SitePoint
How to Build a Stunning Portfolio Website as a Web Developer  SitePoint

What is HTTP/3? The next-generation web protocol - InfoWorld
What is HTTP/3? The next-generation web protocol  InfoWorld

The 5 Best Web Development Courses Worth Taking in 2024 - TechRepublic
The 5 Best Web Development Courses Worth Taking in 2024  TechRepublic

Introducing the Edge 2024 web platform top developer needs dashboard - Windows Blog
Introducing the Edge 2024 web platform top developer needs dashboard  Windows Blog

KWDK Introduces Groundbreaking Innovations in Web Development and Digital Marketing - GlobeNewswire
KWDK Introduces Groundbreaking Innovations in Web Development and Digital Marketing  GlobeNewswire

Developer Tools: What’s Ahead in 2025? - The New Stack
Developer Tools: What’s Ahead in 2025?  The New Stack

Top 10 Java Backend Frameworks in 2024 - Netguru
Top 10 Java Backend Frameworks in 2024  Netguru


Build or Buy a CMS?


Creating a content management system either from scratch, or using pre-existing building blocks, may sound like the ultimate way to get the exact solution you require.

However, careful analyses often reveals dangerous pitfalls and serious short comings with many custom built content management systems.

In comparison to today's mature, tested and carefully designed products, most home-grown systems are quirky, poorly thought-out, and difficult to maintain.

However, even now many will seriously consider custom development. Like any IT custom development project, you could be taking on serious risk when it comes to delivering your project on time and budget, not to mention the downside of expensive support and the lack of upgrades in the future.

Two main reasons organisations choose to build

Perceived Flexibility

The decision to build rather than buy is frequently based on the assertion that no off-the-shelf product could possibly meet the specific business needs of the organisation.

For many developers, customisation efforts quickly mean abandoning consistent architectures, or processes, in favour of meeting seemingly complex requirements. Such an approach is short-sighted, paying no respect to the need for change, and a consistent model to ensure scalability, security and true-flexibility.

In reality, the information management and publishing requirements of a broad range of possible applications can be successfully contained in a well thought out system. If requirements are found that do not fit the system, instead of developing at a tangent to meet some specific unusual need (and thereby creating an island of development investment), we rather prefer to adjust the system, so the need can be met predictably again and again.

With that in mind:

  • .A good CMS should offer a dynamic Information Store that allows any conceivable structure of content to be created. Any number of meta-data fields can be defined and complex database record structures can be configured, enabling structured data to be managed with the same ease as free-form articles. All this without any custom programming, and in a consistent interface for managing information.
  • The template system must truly separate presentation and content, and eliminates the need for any programming in order to create flexible page functionality. This may be made possible through a system of Skins (the HTML) and Views (the rules that bind information to presentation), and some form of rendering or mark-up language.
    The end result is a template building system with extraordinary flexibility, enabling complex web applications including online catalogue based shops, portals and directories to be deployed rapidly, with no custom-ASP programming.

Cost

Some web development firms frequently promise to deliver a powerful CMS for an up front cost that may sound attractive.

It is a well known fact that IT development projects frequently run well over time and budget expectations. Heading down the custom development path is almost guaranteed to result in project blow-outs, missed deadlines, and unexpected complications.

Close examination of many custom CMS implementations reveals serious oversights in the design of the publishing engine and the flexibility of the system.

Considering a robust product based solution represents many person- years of development time, it is little wonder a comparable custom system cannot be constructed in a matter of a few weeks or months from scratch.

For example, many custom-built systems lack the following important features:

  • 100% audit trail and roll back: Quickly built custom systems frequently present live database records to the web site visitors, rather than versioning approved content, and moving into a flat file format that can be more quickly served, with less load on your live web server.
    This is risky from a security point of view, and could leave your organisation exposed to unnecessary legal risks because of a lack of historical data on your web site publishing.
  • True separation of presentation and business logic. Instead, templates are custom built with programming code, and presentation, in a single page, creating a tightly inter-dependent code base that is complex to maintain. Design changes need to be made by programmers rather than designers, meaning the cost of change is time consuming and expensive. There is system for managing template functionality, therefore change require further development. Cost of ownership rapidly escalates as the inevitable need for changes continues.
  • Consistent user interface for managing different structures of information, or content. Instead, many systems bolt-on separate modules, that don't truly integrate into the core platform, function differently, and don't work with the same security or publishing model.
  • Integrated security, down to the field level. Unless there is a consistent model for managing user permissions across all aspects of the system, security is difficult to manage, let along understand.
  • True support for concurrent users, with proper record-locking, and item check-out. In a complex web based client-server environment, proper management of concurrent attempts to edit information is critical to ensuring authors do not stomp on each others work.

The face of custom development

Heading down the custom development path is not for the faint hearted.

  • Custom development is time consuming, and requires considerable diligence in scoping and planning requirements to avoid becoming an iteratively resource hungry monster.
  • Web development is not like building desktop applications. The nature of the Internet creates inherently complex requirements from a client-server perspective. There are many layers of technology ranging from client-side browsed based code (such as DHTML, JavaScript, Flash) to Server-Side languages (VBScript, Jscript, PHP etc), query languages and procedures (SQL), server components (C, Java, VB) and more. Development of a sophisticated solution demands a clear understanding of all these layers.
  • Managing web based application and database servers running a customised solution is more complex than managing a documented product.
  • Testing on different platforms, and loads, can be extremely time consuming.
  • Documentation may never be written to cover 100% custom systems, or elements of a customised system. Working with pre-existing building blocks that are not properly documented, or are really only code libraries, can be as time consuming as building from scratch.
  • Support for a non-standard custom system can be painful to extract, and expensive to continue.
  • Maintenance is more complex, more time consuming and more likely to be fraught with the problems of undocumented functions, that have been long forgotten by programmers that have moved onto other projects.

Working with a proven solution

Better CMS products are not merely tools, or a collection of loosely defined modules. They are proven, solid solutions, that can be installed and operated out of the box.

  • Deploying a product leverages the expertise of a team focussed on development of a solution that has enjoyed the attention and tuning of thousands of hours of development.
  • Through minimal levels of configuration, a good system can meet the content management needs of a broad range of applications.
  • Customisation of your business presentation layer is fast, thanks to a well defined flexible template system that is managed by the product.
  • Deployment times are typically weeks not months, and cost a fraction of the product license cost - not a multiple of it - like some so-called heavy weight solutions.
  • Training and support, plus the on-going commitment to provide you a working solution that can grow with your needs, is a core part of the products vision.
  • Documentation is consistently organised, and growing as the system expands.
  • Online training is growing and becoming more sophisticated.

 In comparison: Buy vs Build

 

Buy

Build

·         Lower cost of ownership

·         Higher cost of ownership

·         Rapid deployment

·         Lengthy deployment

·         Rapid integration

·         Slow integration

·         High level of functionality

·         Low-moderate functionality

·         Easy to use and maintain

·         Harder to use, complex maintenance

·         Follows best practices

·         Custom design may be poor

·         Features you could never afford to build

·         Lacks sophisticated features

·         Committed support

·         Contingent support

·         Upgrades and improvements

·         Limited or no upgrades

·         High quality

·         Low Quality

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