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Hand Coding vs Template Websites

Sacred Spaces websites are hand coded. Written clearly, cleanly, with no unnecessary code, specifically to suit your business - by a human being. We choose not to use software programs to generate code or content, setup navigation or design layout.

Keeping your website simple (in a good way), and text based, is a valuable tool when it comes to Search Engines indexing everything on your website, and also when it comes to user friendliness. By hand coding, we can control the back end, making sure everything is available for indexing. We advise, for example, that if you have a video where you are speaking or teaching, include a link to the transcript as text. For both Google and other Search Engines, and your visitors who may not be able to hear the sound.

"Google can now index most types of pages and files. In general, however, search engines are text based. This means in order to be crawled and indexed, your content needs to be in text format. (Google can now index text content contained in Flash files, but other search engines may not.) This doesn't mean that you can't include rich media content such as Flash or videos on your site; it just means that any content you embed in these files should also be available in text format or it won't be accessible to search engines. The examples below focus on the most common types of non-text content, but the guidelines are similar for any other types: Provide text equivalents for all non-text files.

This will not only increase Googlebot's ability to successfully crawl and index your content; it will also make your content more accessible. Many people, for example users with visual impairments, who use screen readers, or have low bandwidth connections, cannot see images on web pages, and providing text equivalents widens your audience."

Code Editors

Code Editors such as Dreamweaver and FrontPage use code to build code, to build code. The results can be 90% code and only 10% content on your pages. Lines and lines of code, and very little content can result in:-
- Google may stop crawling the page before the end, and move on
- The page will not be indexed properly, or possibly not at all
- It will be longer before Google returns to the page again because it has resulted in a low quality score
- Your ranking in search results will be lower than it could be

Hand Coding avoids using unnecessary code to produce the layout and content.

Deprecated Code

Hand Coding avoids incorrect code (as long as the designer is up to date). Sacred Spaces websites are built according to the WC3 guidelines (World Wide Web Consortium). These guys regulate and standardise web design and development code internationally. Code is constantly updated and older code deprecated. As new Browsers are released, some code needs updating and changing so everything still displays correctly in the new Browser version.

Quality of Code and Content

Have a look around the internet. You will soon find a page with spelling errors in the content. Web designers spelling coding "coding". Businesses in "Sydeny". Pizza stores using "fetta". Mistakes in Meta Tags, Page Titles and page Descriptions. Sacred Spaces guarantees perfect spelling and grammar in your content, and your code.

Design Limitations of Templates

Using templates can limit your layout, colours and fonts. Depending on the template, you will see words sitting over words, sentences dropping off the bottom of their containing boxes, lines through text and images not sitting neatly. Template software usually allows 3-5 colour choices for background, borders and font, and limited font style choices and sizes. Hand coding gives you unlimited options for colour, font, layout and attention to every detail. Anyone who has worked with me, will know I can move an image by 1px, to make it right, and adjust colours by shades of shades until you are happy.

Short Cuts

Code programs like Dreamweaver, were originally developed for people who didn't want to learn code. Those making hobby sites and just having fun. There were never meant to replace hands on coding by professionals. However over the last few years, professionals have opted for fast and easy methods to build sites, substituting technical work for drag and drop applications. There are shortcut programs for everything. We believe these do not produce a quality, long term investment for businesses online. Most clients who come to us for repairs and upgrades, have had a drag and drop site built in a very short space of time. Some or all of the above issues are represented, and significantly reduce ranking, search ability, quality of visitor experience and their bottom line.

Streamlined SEO

Also, for optimal Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization, they can choose the exact content and key phrases pertaining to their specific targeted audience, focus only on the relevant details, and bypass all extraneous factors that come with templates, such as widgets, advertisements, and unnecessary overloaded scripts, therefore increasing exposure and quality traffic to their websites.

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