Adding Functions to Your Web Portal Design
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
Functions for Web Portal Design
Designing and creating a Web Portal is useless unless you add functionality to the site. This takes adding scripts to the design which allow the Web Portal to function. Unless you know how to write scripts this can be difficult unless you know where to look for what you need. There are some Web sites that provide these functions that will add value to your Web Portal and exploit the power of the Web.
Deciding Which Scripts to Use for Your Web Portal Design
A Web Portal is created to allow interaction between their visitors and themselves. Without the use of scripts visitors would not be able to chat, leave a message, or complete a poll.
If you know where to look, there are over one thousand scripts organized by category that you can have free access to. One good place is www.cgi-resources.com. This site has Perl scripts that will run on UNIX servers. Another great site is www.aspin.com. Here you will find scripts that are programmed in ASP. These run on an NT server. Of course there are other repositories of scripts such as www.hotscripts.com, www.freeperlcode.com/guide/, and scriptsearch.internet.com which can provide a wealth of free scripts for use on your Web Portal design.
Before choosing any scripts, you need to determine what you want to accomplish. Some examples of what can be done with these components are Credit Card Processing, Chat, Calendars, Search Keyword or phrase search, Classified Ads, Rotate Banner Ads, Application Form, Shopping Cart, Quiz, Survey and Polls, and Links.
After you determine the functions your Web Portal design needs, simply search and choose a script. Make sure you check to see if there is a usage fee for the script you choose.
Some other things to consider are what type of support is included; does it contain documentation for use; can the script be modified to fit your Web Portal design; is the installation easy; is it remotely hosted or can you load it on your server; is the script administration easy; is there a site where you can demo the script. Also make sure you look at what other users have to say about the script.
Read all the comments as some users just do not get the idea of how the script should work and have no experience with scripting.
Installing the Scripts for Your Web Portal Design
Once you have chosen your scripts, your choices need to be installed and integrated into your Web Portal design. Most scripts are easy to install and take very little editing to customize the interface. Most scripts contain an install file which will guide you in this editing process. Normally there are only a few lines of the basic code that need altered to direct your server how to use the files.
The other alternative is to hire a Web developer or have the script installed by the person or company that developed it. Most script designers usually offer this service for a small fee.
