Code
Executable programming code. In the context of a website, the term is often used to differentiate it from content. There are two main types of code in a website:
Code is usually managed in files and stored in a source code management system. Code is subject to the developers' workflow and testing process, not the editorial process to which content is subject.
Related Chapter Sections:
-
Balancing Front-End and Back-End
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
Front-end development requires some knowledge of how code is managed. This is called dev-ops.
-
Inputs and Outputs
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
Inputs and outputs for Chapter 19: Implement the Design.
-
Elements and Principles of Web Design
Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
Design, regardless of its form, adheres to certain elements and principles. The web throws a few wrenches in these principles, and it's important to understand that for your project.
-
Templating and Design Components
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
HTML documents don’t normally exist as actual files anywhere — they're just assembled from fragments of HTML. And, there is often a lot of repeat between these fragments. This is where templating and design components come in.
-
Front-Ends and Back-Ends
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
Before we dive into code, let's touch quickly on the concept of front-end and back-end development.
-
Testing the Site
Chapter 22: Test and Launch the Site
There are three axes that a QA issue can turn on when testing the site: public vs. private, absolute vs. partial, and uncontained vs. contained.
-
Deployment
Chapter 22: Test and Launch the Site
It's time to launch the site. With all that we've done up to this point, this should actually be one of the least stressful parts of the project.
-
The Toolbox: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Frameworks
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
So, what are all of these different languages, like HTML, and CSS, and JavaScript? They're the basic building blocks of the front-end, visible web experience.
-
Front-End in Action
Chapter 19: Implement the Design
So, what does all of this front-end development and server ops look like in action? And why does it matter to the end user? The answer is in compatibility, accessibility, and performance.
-
Verifying the Decision with a Proof of Concept (POC)
Chapter 16: Select a Content Management System
With a proof of concept, the vendor works with the actual customer team to implement some solutions to project requirements. It’s a deeper dive, where the customer can get hands-on with the system and interact with the vendor’s team
-
Inputs and Outputs
Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
Inputs and outputs for Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design.
-
Governance and Ownership
Chapter 23: Plan for Post-Launch Operations
An introduction to the three areas of web and digital governance.
-
The Site Itself: Adjustments to Your Big Investment
Chapter 24: Maintain and Improve
Beyond maintaining content, you'll also find yourself maintaining the site itself — the integrations, the next-phase updates, and the content management system in general.
-
Bells and Whistles
Chapter 17: Plan for Hosting
What we’ve explained in the rest of the chapter is the bare minimum you need to have a website connected to the internet. But there are some extra things to consider with hosting.
-
Templating and Output
Chapter 20: Implement the Back-End Functionality
Templating takes static HTML and mixes it with dynamic content. It's what makes a content management system work, and it's what we'll talk about here.
-
What People Want
Chapter 12: Write for People and Machines
The first rule of writing content is understanding that the focus isn’t on writing the words. The focus is on your site visitors reading the words.
-
Model Implementation
Chapter 20: Implement the Back-End Functionality
Remember that content model you created? It's time to convert that model into something your CMS can manage.
-
What is Design?
Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
Design covers a lot of ground. So what do we mean when we talk about design for your web project?
-
The Functional Question
Chapter 21: Migrate and Populate the Content
How will functional or logical aspects of the content work in the new CMS?
-
So … What Does Matter?
Chapter 18: Select an Integration Partner
What you’re looking for with an implementation partner is broad-based, long-term compatibility.
-
Designing for Mobile … and Beyond
Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
Your design will not live within one unique scenario. It will run free, stretched to whatever screen it's been asked to fill, mobile or otherwise. Planning for this is key.
-
Acquiring a Hosting Account
Chapter 17: Plan for Hosting
Before you worry about how to get a hosting account, you should find out if you even need to do it.
-
Uptime, Capacity, and Reliability
Chapter 17: Plan for Hosting
Your website needs to stay available, and hosting issues can severely affect that availability.
-
Aggregations
Chapter 20: Implement the Back-End Functionality
Content objects don’t exist in a vacuum. They usually have to be organized into larger structures — feeds, directories, listings — in order to provide some value. Here's where we talk about those aggregations.
-
Other Development Tasks
Chapter 20: Implement the Back-End Functionality
Beyond the main back-end development tasks there's quite a few other details to be handled.
-
Visual Design
Chapter 13: Develop the Graphic and Interface Design
When people think of “design,” they most often think of graphic design: of how something looks; of colors and typefaces. Web design takes these things into account, but also ties the looks to elements and building blocks for a templated design language.
-
The Procedural Question
Chapter 21: Migrate and Populate the Content
How will the actual bytes move from one disk to another, and what does the timing of that look like?
-
Planning the Content Model
Chapter 11: Model Your Content
A content model is all about connecting objects and defining fields. Here, we'll start looking at what that means for you content and your system.
-
The Short List and Request for Proposal (RFP)
Chapter 16: Select a Content Management System
Once you’ve notified a handful of vendors that you’ve decided not to move forward with them, you need to prepare an RFP for the remaining vendors.
-
Accountability, Authority, and Change
Chapter 23: Plan for Post-Launch Operations
A new website or web project is a clear signal for change: who will be accountable, who will have authority to make changes, and what levels of adoption will be required.
-
Roles and Responsibilities
Chapter 23: Plan for Post-Launch Operations
Before we begin hiring and moving people around, there's a need to understand who will do what on the new website.