South River Internet Services has been programming web sites for many years. Beginning with web sites for fellow photographers in 1994, we've been learning more each year. Most recently we've been working with Allaire's (now part of Macromedia) ColdFusion to develop web sites, integrate databases and customize the user interface. We're also experienced with SQL, Access, ASP, Flash, Director, javascript, dhtml and cascading style sheets (css).

Once we've established an overall design for the client's web site, then programming of the site begins. We work closely with our client to create the content for the site. We can provide digital imaging services in-house, along with programming to code the site. Depending on the client's deadlines, the complexity of the site and the web applications our clients need, we'll recommend specialists where necessary.

As pages of the site are completed, they go up on a temporary internet site available only to our client and testers to make sure the code works properly for a wide variety of internet users (not all users have the latest browsers, so we have to tailor the code sometimes to make sure as wide an audience as possible can interact with the site).

SRIS specializes in Allaire's (now Macromedia's) ColdFusion programming. We also program using Microsoft's Active Server Pages. But for many reasons, we much prefer ColdFusion. ColdFusion is a much more mature and robust programming language, it is cross platform (it runs on several flavors of Unix, Linux and Windows NT and 2000), and it is much more secure than ASP. Microsoft's operating systems have several security holes in them, and using ColdFusion effectively fills those holes.

ColdFusion allows us to do many different things with web sites. It makes integrating many different databases into the web pages very easy. And so long as the databases use the same field names, the database are essentially interchangeable. We develop sites using MS Access, and usually deploy them with Access. But Access does have limits, and when a site approaches those linits, then it is easy to migrate to MS SQL or Oracle, for example.

ColdFusion also makes maintaining web sites easy. For example, for T. Rowe Proces Careers web site, we brake up the pages so that all the navigation (except for the home page) is in one page, which is used by all the pages in the site. This makes changing the navigation (adding a page or a new section) very easy. With forethought, even headers and sectional graphics can be incuded in the navigational page.

ColdFusion is also easily scalable. For small to medium volume sites, the site can easily run on a powerful shared server. Larger sites should run on a dedicated server, and high volume sites should use multiple servers with load balancing. Companies as diverse as Autobytel.com, Eastman Kodak, and DHL use ColdFusion to help them sell online, maintain hugh amounts of content or communicate with their customers.