Server Side Includes

We are going to tell you a little bit about how we create these websites. This information is the same on all the websites that we create.

We use what is known as "server side includes" to make your editing simple. Each site will have a folder called includes. All the files in this folder are added to your web pages on the server side. (It doesn't matter if you understand how this works, just know that it does work.)

HTML server side includes are dependant on Front Page Extensions. Any hosting plan with a cpanel will have Front Page Extensions available. If in doubt, check with your hosting company.

We use includes for many reasons. The main reason is so you can easily edit every site without having to go to each page to make changes. All the information that you would want to change that is universal for the site is in an includes file.

There are pros and cons to using this method. The main pros are ease of use for the webmaster, usable by beginners, fast and simple editing. The biggest con is the fact that Front Page Extensions are finicky and will break after certain actions. FTP is the prime offender of breaking these extensions. The good news is they are very easily fixed and your site will work the same as always. Fix Front Page Extensions

Why not use php? Php allows server side includes that are not dependant on Front Page Extensions. So it would seem to make more sense to use php instead of html to create sites. This is why most of the websites that you see out there that are either free or cheap are made using php. The downside of php code is it can't be edited very easily. It does not allow a 'normal' or 'page' view in an html editor. You have to know how to edit php code to make changes in a php website.

We wanted to create websites that are usable and editable by everyone so we choose to write our sites using html code. There is one minor inconvenience using html code but there are a lot more good reasons to use it.

So the bottom line is, we want you to have a website that you have total control over. So we offer all of our sites in html with server side includes.