"How to Create a Website That Stands Out: Expert Interview with Insider Tips"

Recently, I interviewed an expert insider in the software industry. Although I will keep his name a secret, I had the opportunity to ask him about many tips and tricks for creating an engaging website. Here's what he had to say.

zakw2010: How would you explain how a website works?

Insider: A website is created using HTML code and served by a server when a domain name is entered. There are two types of websites: static and dynamic. Static websites have predetermined content and are pre-defined, while dynamic web apps can store profiles and perform various tasks. For example, Gmail is a dynamic web app that uses a back-end API to retrieve data for the front end, updating the list asynchronously. Static websites have canned data, while dynamic web apps can dynamically update data in the database, allowing for dynamic data updates when the page is refreshed.

ZW: What's the most challenging part of making a website?

Insider: Choose a reliable hosting provider with uptime guarantees and the desired hosting tools for static websites. Cloud platforms like Amazon AWS, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google GCP can be considered for advanced web apps. For essential web apps, choose a reliable hosting platform with the desired database and interfaces to create the desired app. For complex web apps, the decision becomes more complicated. Choose a reliable hosting provider with the desired database and interfaces for basic websites.

ZW: What's your preferred hosting platform?

Insider: I prefer Wix for basic websites and work with large corporations on custom web apps. I really prefer Vercel, a hosting platform for Next.js frameworks that allows for the creation of custom web apps. Vercel integrates with GitHub, allowing users to connect their Next.js app in GitHub and have it automatically deployed without any effort. I am currently working on various web apps using Vercel and GitHub.

ZW: For the static websites, once you publish the website, is there anything else you can do? I don't think you can update the content, but is there anything else you do after that? 

Insider: Google Analytics can be used to monitor web traffic and target specific audiences. This helps determine who is interacting with the website and where they are. The marketing side of the website and app is not essential, as time is better spent on creating the architecture and website. Go-to-market (GTM) teams are client-only and monitor the marketing process.

Due to their dynamic nature, dynamic websites constantly change content. Web apps, particularly in Next.js, have front-end back-end components that communicate with a dynamic back-end, which mainly consists of databases. The browser's front end connects to the back end, requesting information like new emails and serving them up. This system is constantly working to find and accept new information.

The back end retrieves the latest stats for sports stats and renders them on the front end. This can be done by updating sports stats every night, and the front end can display the latest stats. Also, blogs can be added to the back end, with the front end showing the latest sports-related blogs. This can be a great way to engage users and showcase their content.

ZW: Final question. What is the favorite website you've ever worked on?

Insider: Currently, I am working on a web app for a new cloud provider, such as Google Cloud, ORM, AWS, or Azure. The app serves as the console for the cloud and is entertaining due to its ability to start various back-end services and processes. I have also created a web app for the government, which is deployed globally and controls hardware like hundreds of Macs worldwide. The app is fun compared to the back-end, which the author created. Although it has been a while since the last project, the app is still going and is being managed by others.