build – Jadango Web Solutions

Yes we are great designers, but we are even better web developers. We understand the nuts and bolts of what makes a business succeed on the web. In everything we do, every platform we choose, every line of code we write, the end product is forefront in our minds. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MySQL, and PHP are our main tools of the trade. With each technology there are best practices to be followed. We have so many tips and tricks up our sleeve, it would be impossible to describe them all. Here we will attempt to breakdown the platforms and technologies we use, and give you a basic understanding of what lies behind the scenes.

Platform

It starts with choosing a great platform. We have the experience and abilities to build websites and applications completely from scratch, but it usually doesn’t make financial sense to reinvent the wheel.

Choosing the right platform is essential to your success online. We will help you through this process and ensure you select the right one for now and the future.

X-Cart

Our main application for e-commerce and a great many other uses has traditionally been X-Cart. X-Cart is a little known yet extremely powerful platform for building sites that sell products or services. X-Cart is completely customizable in ways that other platforms are not. In over 10 years of working with it, we have never found something that it could not be customized to do. X-Cart is self hosted, meaning you download the software and install it on your own hosting package. The PHP code runs on your site, templates and files are also on your site under yours and our complete control. Often this is the best solution for a truly custom site. And X-Cart can work as a content management software as well. The one time fee for the license is quite cost effective, usually less than $500. After that you just pay for upgrades on an as needed basis.

Shopify

We have also branched out to include Shopify as an e-commerce platform that we recommend. Shopify has proved itself to be a serious contender in this space, with over 200,000 merchants using it worldwide. The software is SAAS (software as a service) based, and you pay monthly for the license. That monthly fee includes quite a lot, hosting, SSL, and monthly merchant fees are all included. Shopify is harder to customize in the business logic arena, the code is not hosted on your server. Design changes, however, are a breeze. Several very large and successful merchants run Shopify, it takes much of the hassle out of running an online business and leaves you free to focus on what you are good at.

WordPress

If you know anything about the web you have probably heard of this one. WordPress accounts for more than 25% of the content of the entire internet. WordPress is a blog at heart, but it has been turned into a fantastic CMS (content management system) and it functions very well in that capacity. We have been working with WordPress since it’s very beginnings, and we are quite adept at putting this powerful platform to work for you. One of the key factors for WordPress’s success is that it is free. You still need to find a good place to host it and pay for that, but there are no licensing fees associated with the software. WordPress is great at making what we call “brochure sites” -corporate or personal websites that don’t need to actively sell products. That said, WordPress does have an e-commerce aspect through WooCommerce, which is growing in popularity and usage every day.

Technologies

There is no doubt that writing great code is an art form. Over the years we have honed our craft in the various languages of the web. Some are ubiquitous, and every site in the world uses them. Others have been chosen because we feel they fit the particular need or application in the best way, or because they are more cost effective. The vast majority of the tech we use is open source, which ensures no cost to you and an active, open development cycle.

HTML

HTML (hyper text markup language), is the basic building block of the web. For the most part we do not simply write HTML, it is generated by the final outcome of other technologies such as PHP and MySQL. Often we have a template engine in place that generates the final HTML that the browser actually reads. HTML provides the structure for the web page. The elements that you see on the screen are rendered via HTML. That structure is very important, not just to make your pages look good, but to make them function as well. We write semantic markups that will help your site display across all devices, and help make them search engine friendly.

CSS

CSS (cascading style sheets), controls the look and feel of the site or web application. Colors, sizes, and styles are all controlled via CSS. Even though it is a relatively simple language, it can take years to master. Today CSS is at the forefront of responsive design. Using media queries we can layout the page however you like for each targeted screen size, this means your site will be functional on computers, laptops, tablets, and of course smart phones!