Custom web part in Sharepoint site header

Question

I have some experience in SharePoint 2007, but this is my first project in SharePoint 2010. What I need to do is this, I will try to be as clear as possible:
1 - Create a web part that will call a web application passing via querystring some parameters (and this is easy), but I have a question: in SharePoint 2010 can I develop a simple web part just with SharePoint Designer (without visual studio)?
2 - I need to put the web part that I have just created in the header of my sharepoint site, I think I should put it on my masterpage so that the web part will be anywhere in my site. Can I do this thing? How?
Thank you for your support!

Ale

Answer 1

If you're developing a custom web part you should use Visual Studio. SPD (SharePoint Designer) is designed more for the maintenance of existing assets (master pages, page layouts, web parts, etc). Plus, I don't think it's even possible to create a 100% custom web part in SPD:

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en/sharepointcustomization/thread/63428ccd-729d-4d94-8a9b-d284b608929e

When you say "header" I assume you mean "at the top of the page" and not in the head tag. Master pages usually do not have their own web part zones like page layouts do:

http://www.novolocus.com/2008/10/13/so-can-you-put-web-part-zones-in-master-pages-or-what/.

That said, you can put a web part directly into a master page (which is effectively the same thing as dropping a custom user control into the master page). If your web part must go toward the top of the page, and must be in the master page, perhaps you could not use a web part at all and create a custom user control (an ascx file). You could then place your control toward the top of the the master page and it would be available on every page of the site (assuming multiple master pages aren't being used). This way you don't need to worry about web parts at all.