Frequently Asked Questions

What is the advantage of separating content from presentation?

There are a number of striking advantages to separating content from presentation. First and foremost, it makes a website much easier to maintain. By keeping all content in a database, a website owner can easily change the text on their site without any outside help. In fact, a database driven site is no harder to update than sending an email: A big improvement for anyone who has waited for weeks while a 'professional' updated their site for a hefty fee!

Another important way of separating content from presentation is to use external 'style sheets' to control a site's appearance. Because the aesthetic of a XHTML/CSS site is controlled by a single file, even a large 500 page website could be quickly renovated. If the presentation of such a site had been coded with traditional table and font tags, a redesign would require editing all 500 pages by hand. Which would you rather pay for?

Finally, a third, less apparent, benefit arises from separating content from presentation. Part of the reason that the international organizations that govern the Web created the XHTML, CSS, and XML specifications is to provide for the future. Very soon it will not be uncommon to have many household devices that are capable of accessing the internet. In fact, we are already starting to see this with cell phones, PDAs and webTV. In a perfect world, by keeping content pure, you can send the same content file to a variety of devices that will then interpret the data in the manner that makes the most sense.

If standards are so great, why don't more people use them?

There appear to be a number of reasons why many (most) designers are lagging desperately behind the times. By far the most important factor remains the 'browser wars' of the nineties. As many of us can remember, the first HTTP browser of importance was Netscape Navigator. Later, Microsoft introduced Internet Explorer and bundled it with the ubiquitous Windows operating system. During the intense competition that followed, both browser makers offered new and proprietary features while often blatantly ignoring the official specifications set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The results were a qualified disaster. The same code rendered differently on Netscape and IE, and many designers began offering 'Netscape Only' or 'IE Only' designs. During this period of crisis, designers developed a set of ad hoc techniques to create pages that would render acceptably on both major platforms. Luckily, with the impending collapse of interoperability on the horizon, browser makers finally came to their senses and began to adopt W3C standards in earnest.

Today, the browser wars are behind us, and support for standards is finally present in all major browsers. Nonetheless, many old-dog-designers have failed to learn the new abilities of the modern, robust, standards-based web -- let alone the ingenious thinking behind the standards in the first place.

Also, many sensible and talented designers have only recently begun to utilize standards heavily in their work. This is because it took time for compliant browsers to truly saturate the market, making the new designs viable to the average computer user. So it happens that we are on the cusp of a sea-change in design, where many of the most important locations on the web are just now making the migration to compliant XHTML/CSS based infrastructure. A few pages that have recently converted include:

I have heard some critics discuss Flash in a negative light, why is this?

Flash technology, with its support for rich media like streaming video, vector animation, and advanced scripting, is one of the single most powerful and exciting technologies available on the web. Unfortunately, for many years the technology was widely misused. Errant designers littered the web with annoying 'intros' that took forever to load, and critically impaired site function. Likewise, to this day many Flash designers lose sight of basic usability principles in favor of complicated special effects. When Flash is correctly implemented, utilizing databases and accessible user interfaces, it's power and beauty outshine everything else on the web.

With cross-platform, pixel perfect layouts, and support for a host of interesting technologies, it is not a surprise that Flash is the industry standard for presenting feature film websites and other artistically demanding or technically robust endeavors.

Can Firefly register a domain name for me?

Yes. Firefly offers .com, .net, .org and .biz domains for $15.00 per year. International suffixes (e.g. .co.uk) are priced upon request.

Can Firefly help me write the text for my site?

Yes. Firefly has extensive experience providing copy-writing, and editing services for clients.

Can you update my site for me?

Every site produced by Firefly includes a sophisticated and easy-to-use system that will allow you to update the text on your site by yourself. In the case of a more extensive site renovation, involving major structural or graphical changes, Firefly is happy to update your site for an hourly fee, or to arrange a service contract.

I already have a domain name, can I transfer it to Firefly?

Yes, you can. Firefly offers domain names for $15.00 a year, if you would like to transfer the name to us, please provide the name of your current registrar (e.g. Network Solutions) and your administrative details.

Why do I need a hosting account?

When a user views a website on their computer, they are retrieving the data for that site from a server. Servers are specialized computers that are configured to handle many such requests, and usually have significantly better connections to the internet than the common household or office network. A hosting account is simply a place on a remote server to store the files for your website, so that it can be accessed from any computer connected to the internet.

Do you provide web-hosting?

Yes. See our hosting page.

Do you offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Yes. Firefly's staff stays abreast of the latest information regarding current search algorithms and optimization techniques.

We need a Section 508 compliant website, is Firefly familiar with these standards?

Yes. All Firefly sites are XHTML compliant, and adhere to W3C standards. A Section 508 site is a quick and easy upgrade from our standard services.