vDezign Technologies

When accessing a website we usually use multiple Web technologies. We can split these technologies in two sections, depending on how they are used: client-side technologies and server-side technologies. The client-side technologies are used by the "client", and by that we understand the user's web browser (like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Netscape etc.). The server-side generates results processed by the server. For complex websites both server-side and client-side scripting is needed. The client-side manages the design and layout of the website and the server-side manages the core of the website, providing functionality and safety since clients (ie. Web browsers) can't manipulate the server directly.

Here is a list of technologies I use when building websites:

Client-side:
- HTML at W3C standards (XHTML).
- JavaScript (most commonly used client scripting technology)
- Style Sheets (CSS)
- DHTML (using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create dynamic Web pages)
- Flash (requires an add-on to most browsers)

Server-side:
- PHP (Hypertext Pre Processor)
- MySQL (for database management)

I am also coding XML/RSS and can build websites using the AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology. For website design I use Adobe's Photoshop and ImageReady.

Note: The Web server which will store the files of the website and process the server-side PHP scripts must run PHP. Usually it is an Apache server offering MySQL support too. You will find out if your Web server is running PHP or some other server-side technology (like ASP) by reading the "Hosting Package" previews.

AJAX is a combination of technologies used to load only small portions of web pages. This website uses AJAX so when you click a link on the left you will not be sent to another page like you normally would, instead you will see the main content changing. That way the images are not reloaded and web pages are not generate again, offering speed and decreasing overall bandwidth usage.
You should also read this article about AJAX on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_%28programming%29. AJAX has some major advantages but has it's disadvantages too, for some I have already found solutions, for others I am still experimenting.