By Joseph Cekauskas
Marketing Consultant & Strategist
JC Marketing Communications
Do you care? Of course you should.
There are many different languages that web developers use to craft a website … and you should be well-informed before you let someone build you an online web presence.
First up is “Classic ASP” …
“Classic” ASP is complex web creation language … indeed it is. And the few remaining developers who use it are proud to say so. Complexity doesn’t necessarily make something good … or bad.
It just makes the website MORE complicated. However, “Classic ASP” has security issues. Meaning, it can be hacked more readily. If the security of your website is not something you care about, that’s your call. However, if you go to your website someday and it’s a jumbled mess, you’ll not only lose potential sales, but was the gamble worth the aggravation?
Another downside to “Classic ASP” is that Classic ASP can only run on Windows servers. So you might be held hostage by a web developer who hosts only on Windows servers. You have VERY LIMITED options if YOU ever want to change hosting providers. Why? In the web world, Linux servers are much more common and readily available than Windows servers, by a WIDE margin. So “Classic ASP” developers limit your options.
The biggest downside to “Classic ASP” is that Microsoft, the company who developed Classic ASP, no longer supports, nor has any intention of improving Classic ASP! Note: “Classic ASP” is NOT the same as ASP.NET
Over the years, some interesting articles and posts have been made regarding the “Classic ASP” subject and can be found here:
- http://dotnetkicks.com/community/Classic_ASP_is_Dead
- http://www.stemkoski.com/asp-is-dead-microsoft-slit-asps-throat-and-left-it-to-bleed-out/
- http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173153
Secondly, there’s PHP …
PHP language websites, by comparison to ASP, are more complex, yet can run on both Linux and Windows servers. PHP is a complex language like ASP, but it doesn’t have the same security issues “Classic ASP” has, so unlike “Classic ASP,” PHP is complex in a good way and is very secure.
Thirdly, there’s Flash …
If you know of a web developer who builds full sites in Flash. I advise you to NOT go that route. As of 4.12.12, these websites become virtually, if not totally unsearchable on the web.
And then there’s HTML …
Look for a followup blog on that.