1
The Environment
and the Tools
Web Design,
5th Edition
Chapter Objectives
 Describe the Internet and the World Wide Web
 Discuss ways to access the Internet and the web
 Categorize types of websites
 Identify web design tools
 Explain web design principles, roles, and required
skills
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The Internet and the World Wide Web
 A computer network consists of connected
computers, mobile devices, printers, and data
storage devices that share computing resources and
data
 The Internet is a worldwide public network that
connects millions of these private networks
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The Internet and the World Wide Web
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The Internet and the World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (web) is a part of the
Internet that consists of connected computers
called web servers that store electronic
documents called webpages
A webpage is a specially formatted document
that can contain images, text, interactive
elements, and hyperlinks, which are links to
other pages
A website is a group of related webpages
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Influence on Society
Communication
Education
Entertainment and News
E-commerce
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Communication





Bookmark / favorite
Shortcut
Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
Web-based chat
Instant messaging /
IM chat
 Mobile IM (MIM)
 Collaborative workspaces /
virtual meeting spaces
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 Blog
 Video sharing /
Video blogging
 Social networking
 Social bookmarking
 Massively multiplayer online
games (MMOGs)
 3D virtual worlds
 Wiki
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Communication
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Education
 You can take an online
course from an academic
institution to earn a degree
or certificate, or watch a
video or read a blog post by
an amateur expert
– Several universities and
academic institutions publish
some or all educational
materials online
 Formal and informal
education
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Entertainment and News
 Popular entertainment
sites include music,
videos, sports, games,
and more
 News websites allow
you to read news
stories, and some even
allow you to watch video
clips
– Some provide interactive
elements
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E-Commerce
 Electronic commerce or
e-commerce encompasses
a wide variety of online
business activities, including
consumer shopping and
investing and the exchange
of business data and
transactions within a
company or among multiple
companies
– Business-to-consumer (B2C)
– Business-to-business (B2B)
– Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
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Cable Internet Access
Allows users to connect to the Internet through
their cable line
Rapid transfer rates using a cable modem
connected to a CATV line
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Cable Internet Access
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Fixed and Mobile Wireless
Access
Internet connectivity that uses satellite
technology
Radio signals provide high-speed connection
– wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)
Standards classified by generation
– 3G
– 4G
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Telephone Line Access
The Public Switched Telephone Network
(PSTN) used to be the main way all users
connected to the Internet
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Dial-Up Lines
 A dial-up line is a temporary connection that uses
analog phone lines
 Least popular Internet access method
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Digital Dedicated Lines
A dedicated line is a constant connection
between two communications devices
Quality, consistency, and speed of the
connection are better than a dial-up line
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Digital Dedicated Lines
Three popular types of digital dedicated lines
– Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
– Digital subscriber lines (DSL)
• Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
– T-carrier lines
• T-1 line
• Fractional T-1 line
• T-3 line
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ISDN Lines
Integrated Services Digital Network
ISDN allows a single telephone line to carry
three or more signals (multiplexing)
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DSL
Digital subscriber line
– Transmits at fast speeds on existing standard
copper telephone wiring
– Some installations can provide a dial tone
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL)
– Faster to receive data than to send data
– Ideal for Internet access
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T-carrier Lines
 Any of several types of digital lines that carry multiple
signals over a single communications line
 Extremely fast data transfer rates
 T-1 line
– Most popular T-carrier line
– Fractional T-1
 T-3 line
– Equivalent to 28 T-1 lines
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Internet Service Providers
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
– Has permanent Internet connection
– Provides temporary connections
– Regional ISP
– National ISP
• EarthLink
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Web Browsers
A web browser is a specific software program
that requests, downloads, and displays
webpages stored on a web server
Some companies create mobile versions of
their websites
– Responsive web design (RWD)
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Web Browsers
Access webpages by entering its Uniform
Resource Locator (URL) into the browser’s
Address bar
URL is comprised of the protocol, domain
name and top-level domain designation
– Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
– Domain name can be an IP address or a text
version of this address
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Web Browsers
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Types of Websites
Personal
Organizational
/ Topical
Commercial
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Personal
 Limited developmental resources
 Uses:
– Promote employment credentials
– Share news and photos with friends and family
– Share common interests or hobbies
 Do not post information that can be misused
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Organizational / Topical
 Organizational websites
contain information on
particular organizations
 Topical websites focus on
a specific subject
 Not all information is
accurate
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Commercial
 Used to promote and sell a product or service
 More sophisticated commercial websites generally
produce greater revenue
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Search Tools
 Web-based search tools
– Search engines
• Keywords
 Search engines might use a variety of methods to
create its index
–
–
–
–
Spiders or robots
Meta tags
Metasearch engines
Search directories
 Search engine optimization (SEO)
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Search Tools
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Portals
 A portal is a website that offers a starting point for accessing
information
–
–
–
–
–
General consumer portal
Personal portal
Vertical portal
Corporate portal
Hyperlocal portal
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Web Design Tools
 Does the new technology meet currently accepted standards
for web development and design?
 What specifically can the new technology do to further the
purpose of my website?
 How will implementation of the new technology affect my
website’s visual appeal, accessibility, and usability?
 What impact will adding this technology have on security and
other website elements?
 What are the direct and indirect costs of implementing the new
technology?
 How soon will I see a return on investing in this new
technology?
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Markup Languages
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Extensible HTML (XHTML)
Wireless Markup Language (WML)
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Hypertext Markup Language
Markup language used to create webpages
Defines a webpage through HTML tags or
HTML markup language
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sets
standards for HTML
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Extensible Markup Language (XML),
Extensible HTML (XHTML), and
Wireless Markup Language (WML)
XML uses markups to define the content of a
webpage
XHTML is a markup language that is a
combination of the features of XML and HTML
WML is a subset of XML
– Used to design webpages for mobile browsers
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Cascading Style Sheets
Standardize the presentation of the content by
applying styles to such elements
– Font
– Margins
– Positioning
– Background colors
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Scripting Languages
 Programming languages used to write short
programs that run on the server or the browser
 Browsers must support this technology
 Scripting languages
–
–
–
–
Javascript
Active Server Pages (ASP)
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP)
MySQL
 Active content
 Malware
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Text and HTML Editors
A text editor is software used to create plain
(ASCII) text files
An HTML editor is a text editor enhanced with
special features that are used to more easily
insert HTML tags and their attributes
– HTML-Kit
– CoffeeCup
– BBEdit
– NoteTab
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WYSIWYG
 Packages that automatically generate HTML code
 There are packages available for every level of
expertise
–
–
–
–
Microsoft Expression Web
Adobe Dreamweaver
Ephox EditLive!
InnovaStudio WYSIWYG
Editor
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Web Templates and Content
Management Systems
 A web template is a predesigned model that can be
customized for fast website or webpage creation or
updating
 A content management system (CMS) facilitates the
management of web content development
– Content repository
 An intranet is a private network within a large
organization or commercial entity that uses Internet and
web technologies to share information among only its
members, employees, or business partners
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Web Design Roles
Web design can be done independently or with
a partner or group
Creative Role
– Content writer / editor
– SEO expert
– Web designer
– Web artist / graphic designer
– Multimedia producer
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Web Design Roles
Technical Role
– Web programmer
– Database developer
– Network / security administrator
Oversight Role
– Testers
– Web administrator / webmaster
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Chapter Summary
 Describe the Internet and the World Wide Web
 Discuss ways to access the Internet and the web
 Categorize types of websites
 Identify web design tools
 Explain web design principles, roles, and required
skills
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
44
1
The Environment
and the Tools
Web Design,
5th Edition