Using a website editor is like making a cake from a boxed mix - hand-coding is like baking from scratch. You'll get a cake either way - but one will have better ingredients and quality. There's more to being a good website designer than simply churning out HTML code.
KNXU Communications creates 'hand-coded' sites written with “clean and lean” browser-friendly code that can override defaults that might negatively alter the website’s display on the web visitors’ computers or browsers
A technically efficient hand-coder can create leaner code - using 2 commands to cause an effect, rather than 4. It gives the files less weight, and makes them easier to download across a variety of browsers. The hand-coder also has more control over the design and style of the site, overriding defaults and making more exact specifications to elements such as color, fonts and sizes.
The search engines are better able to index web pages that are hand-coded, with lighter file size, fewer coded commands.
- streamlined code - less code results in smaller file sizes and faster load time.
- better search engine results - using an external style sheet creates less code for the web bots to crawl through, allowing them to focus on keywords and text content without sifting through meaningless code.
- search Engines better understand correct use of code. Use of HTML tags that are easily understood by search engines.
- maintenance and update ease - With CSS located in an external style sheet, updates and changes are easier and faster. If you choose to change the color of a link site-wide, you change ONE bit of CSS code in the external stylesheet.
- Better Design Consistency - Because you have styled elements with CSS, you will not have any errors due to having forgotten or simply missed restyling something like a link. With consistency you have increased the chances of an enjoyable experience for the viewer.
- Do you know what your code means?
