10 Web Development Tips Part 2

Wednesday, December 5th, 2007

This article is part 2 of our 10 web development tips series. If you’re interested in part 1, click here. This articles will deal more with some tips that can help you with your asp/php/javascript/etc code. Here are 10 tips that will surely help, regardless of what language you code in:

1 - Refine Your Own Naming Convention
This can apply to making sure you use specific prefixes, capitalization, underscores or extensions for every project you work on. This will make it easier to look back on older projects if past files are named similarly to current ones. eg. lowercaseUppercaseUppercase.asp

2 - Keep One Connection String File
Keep your connection strings in one file. Although Dreamweaver and other programs support a Global Search and Replace if you do choose to constantly redefine your connection string, it’ll make life umpteen times easier if you use one file for all your connection strings.

3 - Keep Your CSS In a CSS File
Even though it may be tempting to do really quick inline CSS, you might end up paying for it later.

4 - Distance Yourself From Tables
In my experience, table users often use tables because they aren’t strong in CSS, it usually isn’t by choice. If you’re still stuck in table mode, get away from tables little by little. You’ll soon start to notice that updates are easier and your code looks a lot cleaner.

5 - Clean Your SQL Database
Not only should you apply your naming conventions to your SQL database and its table names, you should be cleaning it periodically making sure there aren’t extra unused columns. Sometimes, old data used for testing may cause problems when developing new code

6 - Do Your Form Validation As You Go
This is the last remedial task you want to be thinking of when you’re done your application. Validate as you go along and try to develop a system. If you can build up a function list that apply to your current application and future projects, even better.

7 - Backup Your Files Before Major Changes
There is nothing worse then working on an update only to find out it doesn’t work. Be sure to backup your files. Bonus marks if you’ve developed a naming convention for backups. eg. oldFile_Dec5.asp

8 - Take The Time To Comment
Although repetitive and excessive commenting can leave you with a bloated filesize, it will be useful when you revisit your files.

9 - Foresee Any Problems or Potential Features And Adjust Accordingly
If you think or know that your client will need a specific feature built-in later, build the framework when it’s convenient to you or put in extra comments that will make inserting the feature easier.

10 - Take a Break
Not only is it strenuous to sit at a computer for extended hours of any given day, but to be looking at letters at 10 point is a whole other ballpark. Take the time to stretch your legs and get a deep breaths of fresh air.

That’s all for now, hope that helps. If you’re interested, click here for part 1.