Chapter NET 3
DEVELOPING YOUR OWN WEB PAGES
Advantages of Web Publishing
•
Anyone Can Play
– You are the boss
•
Online Advantages
– Hyperlinks
– Active Pages
•
Low Costs
– No printing and mailing
There are advantages that Web publishing has over traditional publishing.
You can do your own thing, you are the boss.
Online pages have hyperlinks and can contain active elements such as so und and video.
The Web is a relatively cheap place to publish because you have no printing and mailing costs.
Disadvantages of Web Publishing
•
Investment in New Skills
– Specialized computer skills
•
Page Updates
– Must keep it fresh
•
Multiplicity of Platforms
– Browsers, computers, screens, plug-ins, ...
However:
Developing for the Web requires specialized computer skills in addition to traditional graphic communications.
Site pages need to be updated regularly to keep people coming back.
There are a wide variety of browsers, computers, screens, and plug-ins that you must take into consideration.
Web Site Issues
(Fig. 3-2 p. 99-100)
There are many issues to consider when developing a Web site.
What is my goal? Just what am I trying to accomplish?
Who is my audience? Who am I trying to reach?
How should I design the site to accomplish my goals and reach my audience?
How should the site be hosted?
An IPP or Internet Presence Provider is someone that hosts sites for others.
How are you charged?
Web Site Issues
(Fig. 3-2 p. 99-100)
How will you promote the site?
Who will do the actual development and coding?
Who will maintain it?
Do I have the rights for the content that I want to use?
Principles of Web Design
•
Make Your Site
– Interesting, Exciting, Intuitive
•
•
•
Simplicity is Important
Update Regularly
Consider Your Audience
To make a site a success, you need to make it interesting, exciting (but considering goals and audience), and
intuitive.
Keep it simple.
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Update it regularly with new ideas.
Consider the abilities and capabilities of your audience.
Flowchart - Page Relationship
One tool to help in site design is the flowchart. It shows the relationship between pages, not the links.
Storyboard - Page Layout Sketch
Another is the storyboard. It is a sketch of the layout of a page that is used by the person that will do the coding.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
•
•
•
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
HTML Tags: Page Instructions: <tag>
Create HTML Programs with:
– Text Editor
– HTML Editor
• Netscape Composer, Microsoft Word, Microsoft FrontPage, Adobe PageMill, ...
The language used to code a Web page is HTML, hypertext markup language.
The instructions are called tags and appear within angle brackets.
HTML can be created with a text editor or a specialized editor.
Some HTML editors include wizards which automatically generate pages from standard templates and your
selections.
Java, ActiveX, and Scripting Languages
•
Java
– Sun Microsystems
•
ActiveX
– Microsoft
•
Scripting Languages
– Microsoft VBScript
– Netscape JavaScript
Dynamic pages can be created using
Sun Microsystems Java Applets which are small Java programs.
Microsoft ActiveX which is object linking and imbedding. You imbed an object from another application into your
page.
Scripts are programs that are placed directly in HTML pages.
Publishing-Related Issues
•
•
•
Copyrights
Censorship
Security
Much of the work that is published on the Web is copyrighted.Unless permission is given, you do not have the right
to use it. An exception exists for teaching, news, parody, or criticism.
There are some limits to free speech. These laws are constantly changing but you must give them consideration if
publishing what could be interpreted as offensive or indecent material.
If you are gathering or publishing sensitive information, you should consider security measures to guard against
unauthorized use.
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Key Terms
ActiveX. A set of controls that enables programs or content (objects) of virtually any type to be embedded with a
Web page.
Applet. A small program that provides a dynamic or interactive quality to a Web page.
Flowchart. A series of boxes or other symbols, connected by lines, that shows how ideas fit together. Used in page
design to show the relationship between pages.
HTML. See Hypertext markeup language.
HTML Editor. A program that simplifies the creation of Web pages by automatically generating HTML code.
Hypertext markup language (HTML). The most widely used language for developing Web pages.
Internet presence provider (IPP). An organization whose servers host Web pages.
IPP. See Internet presence provider.
Java. A programming language, created at Sun Microsystems, that is used to add interactive or dynamic features to
Web pages. Used to create applets.
Markeup language. A language made up of tags or symbols that describes what a document should look like when
displayed.
Scripting language. A programming language that assists with supplying interactive or dynamic content to HTML
documents. VBScript and JavaScript are the most popular.
Storyboard. An ordered series of sketches that show what each page in a presentation or Web site should look like.
Used as communication between the designer and the person who codes Web pages.
Tag. An HTML code that sends a document-formatting instruction to a browser.
Web publishing. The process of developing for the Web.
Web site. A collection of Web pages belonging to an individual or organization.
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