I have been going back and forth in different approaches for designing the prese

Question

I have been going back and forth in different approaches for designing the presentation layer for websites.

Many people swear by one of the different CMS packages which is too constraining and inflexible. Many people suggest writing the HTML by hand which seems not to scale in the case of many pages.

I have a new web application I am designing and I really want to have a "correct" and "elegant" and practical approach in how I architect it.

Has anyone done this in a way in which they are happy with and can plug in various modules and libraries with no problems?

Any tips or pitfalls I should watch for?

Explanation / Answer

If you want to ensure standards compliance, simplicity and consistency (i.e. correctness and elegance), writing your HTML and CSS by hand is the way to go. Every competent designer I have worked with does so. That level of control is necessary to get the results you want. I don't find the economy of scale to be at all limiting. Like any other scalability problem, it can be managed with the correct tools (reuse and so forth).

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.