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Backend Website Development & Coding
Backend web development is as important
as front end website design. It is what makes your site functional
and robust. The backend is usually thought of as the software
and database that support a website, often using server-side code
and a database program such as Oracle, MySQL, Access or SQL Server,
to name a few.
We specialize in website programming, backend web development.
One of the aspects that sets us apart is our all-encompassing
approach. We can suggest numerous appropriate way to increase
profits by leveraging a newly created website. We can also implement
the strategies, no matter what they are, and no matter what technology
is needed. Call Oak Web Works today for all your backend web development
needs.
Why is backend Web development important?
Remember Rolodexs? If you haven't made
the connection, your email program is your 21st century Rolodex.
And why do I mention this? It's vital as a Web entrepreneur or
business person to continually build an email list. There are
many ways to do this, and we're going to look at a few in a minute.
But one simple and effective way is to make sure you always record
and keep most email addresses that you mail to throughout your
day. Your email program should allow you to create groups or categories
of people. So you should be able to create groups called 'Outside
Vendors', 'Prospects', 'Business Associates', or whatever is suitable
for your particular situation. For example, I write a lot of articles
online and have a list of people who accept and post my articles,
so 'Article People' is a group I have in my email program. Every
time I write a new article, I send an announcement to that group.
The reason for keeping and organizing
your day-to-day email addresses is so you can market to the later,
or at least remind them that you still exist. Depending on the
group, you could craft an email that would fit their particular
interests and drop them a line once in a while. You could also
import that list to your prospects database (you have a database
of potential customers, right?) and bring them 'into the fold'
as it were.
E-Marketing - Email Lists and Databases
If you cringed when you read about
having a prospects database above, if you felt like you were missing
the boat, if you felt that anybody who's anybody has a prospects
database so you must be nobody, don't fear or fret, I'm going
to tell you how to do it right now.
First of all, there are lots of different
databases and lots of different solutions. The software and solutions
you choose should be determined by your company size, budget and
your specific needs. For example, if you are a one-person show
who runs a website on your own, and have a modest budget, then
you're not going to want to buy an expensive database. And believe
me, they can get expensive. Microsoft SQL Server can run in the
many thousands of dollars. So your solution may be to use Microsoft
Excel as your 'database'. Or you can use an online, subscription-based
service. A good choice is AWeber (http://www.aweber.com). It is
reasonably priced, lets you manage your leads, and facilitates
sending regular email blasts to your lists. It also gives you
the code for html forms to insert into your website.
If you are a medium sized business,
and I define that by having 25-500 employees and a budget to have
a Web or technical person, and preferably a database administrator,
then a Microsoft Access or MySQL database may be appropriate for
you. MySQL database software is actually free for download, but
is difficult to handle. There is no graphical user interface to
help you. It is completely set up, managed and administered by
command line only. And you'll need to SQL (structured query language).
So you really need someone in your organization who knows how
to handle MySQL or has the time to learn it if you choose to use
this database package.
If you're a large company and have
the money to spend, and hundreds of thousands of leads to manage,
then a more robust database may be necessary. In this case Oracle
or Microsoft SQL Server may be the way for you to go. Of course
you'll need to hire a database administrator to handle this software.
And you'll need to hook the database up to all your systems including
any CRM packages you may have, supply chain, inventory, etc. There
are many other databases in existence to choose from that have
not been mentioned here as well. And remember, it is always best
to keep your database on a seperate physical machine than your
website server machine. This is the case for security and performance
reasons.
So there's many things to consider
when determining what to use for a database. But why have a database
in the first place? In this day and age, any business that does
not take full advantage of the standard technology in existence
presently is going to lose its competitive edge. Notice I used
the words 'standard technology'. I am not referring to bleeding
edge technology. In other words, Microsoft Excel and Word are
standard business technologies. RSS and XML Web services are a
little more cutting edge and would not be considered standard.
You don't need to rush out and buy and learn all kinds of new
and exciting technologies to be in business today. But you have
to take advantage of the common tools of our day. And one such
tool is undoubtedly the database.
Rolodexs are big and unwieldy. Databases
are tiny and nimble. Since the lifeblood of a business is sales,
and since sales is precipitated by leads, a nice little database
software program that stores and manages your leads is obviously
vital to your business.
