| Custom sites | STP files |
|---|---|
| aspx pages and webparts are upgradeable | upgrade possible only for webparts |
| manual editing of xml files (onet.xml, schema.xml) more control, more work, e.g. views must in lists must be created in xml. |
quicker development (WYSIWYG in SharePoint) |
| no direct SharePoint designer development | forms can be modified via SPD |
| one template for all languages | one template for each language |
| easier deployment – one wsp file for the project is created and deployed automatically with every build | solution must be created manually with postbuild.bat and wspbuilder |
| actions can be easily added when provisioning custom site | features must be activated manually |
| Custom lists can be be extended through ECB extensions | connections between webparts can be easily created |
Currently known problems with Custom site development
1. Cannot bind RowProvider, RowConsumer and simillar webparts programmatically, it is possible only in UI.
2. Cannot create a custom list based on document library type an error occurs.
One can upgrade from STP to Custom Site definition with SharePoint Solution Generator, but there are some limitations see this.
