Web design companies in Mississippi create applications for the Internet or a distributed network that runs from a web server to a browser. Most web developers also are skilled in related areas that include web design, web server administration and search engine optimization.

Web developers in Mississippi contribute to a set of guidelines that they consider to be best practices. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) maintains these standards that developers use to enhance and improve web-based technologies. These advancements counteract the effects of novice web developers who frequently do not adhere to accepted standards.

Mississippi web development generally falls into one of the following three areas:

1. Front-end development by a Mississippi web development company relates to the interaction of the website with the user. This includes the actual appearance of the website as well as the means used to display information and accept user input.

2. Back-end development refers to the database portion of web development. Mississippi back-end development includes the maintenance and administration of the database in addition to the storage and retrieval of information.

3. Middleware is the term used to describe software that connects the front end with the back end.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find experienced content developers to perform MS web development

Web development companies in Mississippi will be able to design the website, write and edit text, and document conversions. Content development also includes the creation of guest books or forums and site navigation.

I recommend: Ridgeland-based Morgan Web Design includes a content management system as an additional Mississippi web design service. Horn Lake-based BtcSoft uses Article Manager to provide content without HTML edits.

Locate Mississippi website developers that provide programming services

Website developers in Mississippi should be proficient in technologies that include CGI/PERL, HTML, Flash and JavaScript. These tools will create hyperlinks, e-mail auto responders, web page validation and user access.

I recommend: Picayune-based Faithful Visions develops web applications primarily in PHP and JavaScript. Pearl-based JNT Web Designs provides custom software development in PHP and MySQL to create dynamic websites.

Hire a Mississippi web development agency that creates websites with eCommerce capabilities

Your website will need features that include electronic funds transfer, online transaction processing and online shopping tools to sell products and services. Find a web developer in Mississippi that has experience in building these integrated tools to help you create a global market for your business.

I recommend: Madison-based We Simplify the Internet, or WSI, provides eCommerce solutions that include credit card processing, automatically generated invoices and a dynamic catalogue. Vicksburg-based Digital Reflections has an eCommerce website package that allows you to sell products and services online.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  The cost of a website is directly related to its level of functionality. The most inexpensive sites that web developers in Mississippi can make will do very little, but the cost will increase dramatically if you need a site with online payment processing, custom coding and advanced graphics. Web developers will need expertise in Flash and eCommerce development to provide these capabilities.
• •  Review the websites in the portfolio of web developers in Mississippi to see that they make a good general first impression on you with graphics that make the site look neither too sparse nor too busy. Additionally, you should check to see if the pages load quickly and are easy to navigate. A web developer should also have experience creating sites for your industry.