SkillsTo create robust web-based applications, you need to blend various Internet technologies with traditional application development methodologies. The key to producing commercially viable business solutions is an awareness of what technologies exist, and how best to apply them.

The rate of change in the web-application industry is phenomenal, with new products, technologies and standards being created on an almost daily basis. What doesn't change so quickly, however, are the fundamentals. A good understanding of the web-architecture, relational database design, and a consistent and methodical approach to application development all contribute to ultimate success.

Forgecom can also ensure that your site complies with the UK's Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) by implementing the W3C's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). A big area of concern at the moment for companies needing to make sure their site is accessible to disabled people. We have the advice and know-how to put in place a fully compliant site.

Forgecom specialises in developing what is commonly referred to as the 'back-end' of websites. This generally involves integrating databases and services with websites using server-side programming. Virtually all the major e-commerce sites have this sort of technical architecture underpinning the services they provide.

Web-based technologies are increasingly being applied to create private internal systems in the form of Intranets. Forgecom have been involved in the creation of many types of Intranets, supporting a diverse range of business functions. Using a Web Services architecture, we have also been involved in linking internal Intranets with public facing Internet sites to support end to end business processes.

We specialise in data analysis, where business requirements are analysed and translated into a flexible and efficient data model. Once a 'normalised' logical data design has been created, we can then produce a physical database that can be integrated with a web application.

The diverse range of projects we have worked on has allowed us to gain experience in utilising and integrating many third-party products with our solutions. Some of these include...

- Mail Servers
- Bulletin Boards / Forums
- Automated Text messaging services
- Automated creation of documents in PDF format
- Automated image manipulation
- Automated exporting of report data for MS Excel
- Integration of third-party transaction services (Netbanx, Worldpay etc.)
- PGP E-mail encryption

There are many different ways of developing server-side web applications. Forgecom primarily specialise in two of the more popular technologies, MacroMedia's ColdFusion and Microsoft's ASP.NET We have developed and implemented a wide range of applications using these technologies.

In addition to .Net and ColdFusion, we have experience of many other related and complimentary technologies, including Web Services (SOAP, XML), COM, classic ASP, Visual Basic, MS Access, MS SQL Sever, Firebird and PostgreSQL