Okay, so maybe the basketball metaphor’s kind of cheesy, but it made for a nice lead in my first contribution on ChurchMag.
When I started building websites I had some college training in HTML and CSS. That was over a decade ago, and since then I’ve learned a lot!
My first pro gig was creating what’s called wire-frames using PHP (an Open Source programming language and unarguably one of the most popular web development languages in use today). Eventually I graduated to a position as a full-fledged LAMP developer. In 2006, I moved into Microsoft’s ASP.NET and I’ve never looked back.
There was a time when building websites with Microsoft® ASP.NET was difficult. It required expensive tools and highly-specialized developers. While there are parts of the Microsoft empire that are still confined to only those with deep pockets and technical professionals, building websites using ASP.NET has become a snap with Microsoft Express tools. Hence, that’s why I’m here and excited about this opportunity. It’s my intent to bring another alternative to church bodies and groups looking for answers to solve tough technical challenges in a creative and inexpensive way. And let’s face it, getting high-tech is one of the largest challenges you probably face today.
What would you think if someone said you could build and host professional looking ASP.NET websites that included a SQL Server database back-end, classy looking web pages, and custom web applications for about $38 per year?
Crazy!
Good, because I’m going to teach you how to get crazy! It all starts with acquiring the tools to build such websites. You can obtain these tools by installing the Microsoft Web Platform Installer (currently version 3.0 as of this writing).
Note: Make sure your computer meets the system requirements. Once you’ve downloaded and installed the tools recommended by Microsoft’s WPI 3.0, you’ll be ready to start building ASP.NET websites.
Seriously—that’s all it takes to get started!
And fear not. I’ll be right with you on this new journey.
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