1
The Environment
and the Tools
Web Design,
3rd Edition
Chapter Objectives
 Describe the Internet and the World Wide Web
 Discuss ways to access the Internet and the Web
 Categorize types of Web sites
 Identify Web design tools
 Explain Web design roles
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
2
The Internet and the World Wide
Web
 The Internet is a worldwide public network that
connects millions of private networks
 A network is composed of several computers,
printers, and data file storage devices connected
together to share computing resources and data
 Internet 2 is a major cooperative initiative among
academia, industry, and the government to increase
the Internet’s possibilities and correct some of its
challenges
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
3
The Internet and the World Wide
Web
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
4
The Internet and the World Wide
Web
The World Wide Web (WWW or Web) consists
of Internet-connected computers called Web
servers on which Web pages are stored
A Web site is a group of related Web pages
– Starts with a home page
– Pages are linked together with a hyperlink, or link
Surfing the Web
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
5
Influence on Society
Communication
Education
Entertainment and News
Business
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
6
Communication
 Bookmarking / favorites
 Electronic mail (e-mail)
 Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
 Web-based chat
 IM chat
 Collaborative workspaces
 Virtual meeting spaces
 Weblog (blog)
– Video sharing (video blogging)
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
7
Communication
Social networking
Social bookmarking
Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)
3D virtual worlds
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
8
Education
 Formal and informal
teaching and learning
 Enhances traditional
teaching methods
– Instructors often publish
syllabi, grades, Web
page links for research,
and more for their
students
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
9
Entertainment
 Popular entertainment
sites include music,
videos, sports, games,
and more
 News Web sites allow
you to read news
stories, and some even
allow you to watch video
clips
– Some provide interactive
elements
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
10
Business
 Electronic commerce (ecommerce) is the practice of
conducting business
transactions online, such as
shopping
– Business-to-consumer (B2C)
• Banking, purchases
– Business-to-business (B2B)
• Majority of e-commerce
– Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
• eBay, craigslist
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
11
Ways to Access the Internet
and the Web
One way to access Web sites is through the
public switched telephone network (PSTN)
– Worldwide telephone system that handles voiceoriented telephone calls
– Integral part of computer communications
– Data, instructions, and information can be sent
using dial-up lines or dedicated lines
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
12
Ways to Access the Internet
and the Web
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
13
Dial-Up Lines
 A dial-up line is a temporary connection that uses
one or more analog phone lines
 Requires a modem on each end of the connection
 Two versions of Internet access using dial-up lines
– Regular dial-up
• Slowest and unusual for many of today’s online activities
– High-speed dial-up
• Uses acceleration servers
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
14
Digital Dedicated Lines
A dedicated line is a connection that always is
established between two communications
devices
Can be analog or digital
Quality, consistency, and speed of the
connection are better than a dial-up line
Businesses often use dedicated lines
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
15
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
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
16
ISDN Lines
Integrated Services Digital Network
ISDN allows a single telephone line to carry
three or more signals (multiplexing)
Faster than dial-up
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
17
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 users
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
18
T-carrier Lines
 Any of several types of digital lines that carry multiple
signals over a single communications line
 Extremely fast data transfer rates
 T1 Line
– Most popular T-carrier line
– Fractional T1
 T3 Line
– Equivalent to 28 T1 lines
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
19
Cable Television Lines
Allows users to connect to the Internet through
their cable line
Rapid transfer rates using a cable modem
connected to a CATV line
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
20
Fixed and Mobile Wireless
Access
Internet connectivity for users who do not have
access to services such as DSL or cable
Satellite technology used instead of telephone
lines
Radio signals provide high-speed connection
– Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi)
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
21
Internet Service Providers
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
– Has permanent Internet connection
– Provides temporary connections
– Regional ISP
– National ISP
• Earthlink
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
22
Web Browsers
A Web browser is a specific software program
that requests, downloads, and displays Web
pages stored on a Web server
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
23
Web Browsers
Access a Web page by entering its Uniform
Resource Locator (URL) into the Web
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
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
24
Web Browsers
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
25
Alternative Web Page Viewing
Devices
 Smartphones
– Can be used as a regular
cell phone and offers
other features
 Personal digital
assistant (PDA)
– Popular type of handheld
computer used to
manage personal
information and access
the Internet
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
26
Types of Web Sites
Personal
Organizational
/ Topical
Commercial
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
27
Personal
 Limited developmental resources
 Uses
– Advertise employment credentials
– Meet new friends
– Share common interests
 Do not post information that can be misused
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
28
Organizational / Topical
 Organization Web sites
contain information on
particular organizations
 Topical Web sites contain
information on the
developer’s interests and
hobbies
 Not all information is
accurate
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
29
Commercial
 Used to promote and
sell a product or service
 More complex
commercial Web sites
generally produce
greater revenue
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
30
Search Tools
 Web-based search tools
– Search engines-locates a Web page using keywords (Google)
• Keywords or phrase
– Metasearch engines-uses multiple search engines’ indexes (Dogpile)
– Search directories-build Web page index using human interaction (Open
Directory Project)
 Search engine might use a variety of methods to create its index (Web site
database)
– Spiders or robots—software that browses the Web to search for new
pages
– Meta tags-special codes on Web pages containing keywords
 Search engine optimization (SEO)-increase potential that page appears high
on results list
 Subject directories
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
31
Search Tools
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
32
Portals
A portal is a Web site that offers a starting
point for accessing information
– General consumer portal-AOL, MSN
– Personal portal-My Yahoo!
– Vertical portal-specific area of interest-USA.gov
– Corporate portal-entry point
For company’s employees
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
33
Web Design Tools
New “Hot” Technologies
 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 Web site?
 How will implementation of the new technology affect my Web
site’s visual appeal, accessibility, and usability?
 What impact will adding this technology have on security and
other Web site 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?
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
34
Markup Languages
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Extensible Markup Language (XML),
Extensible HTML (XHTML)
Wireless Markup Language (WML)
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
35
Hypertext Markup Language
Markup language used to create Web pages
Defines a Web page through tags or markups
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sets
standards for HTML
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
36
Extensible Markup Language (XML),
Extensible HTML (XHTML), and
Wireless Markup Language (WML)
XML uses markups to define the content of a
Web page
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 Web pages for microbrowsers
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
37
Cascading Style Sheets
Standardize the presentation of the content by
applying styles to such elements
– Type
– Margins
– Positioning
– Colors
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
38
Scripting Languages
 Used to make Web pages dynamic and interactive
 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
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
39
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®
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
40
WYSIWYG
 What you see is what you get
 Packages that automatically generate HTML code
 There are packages available for every level of
expertise
– Adobe GoLive®
– Adobe Dreamweaver®
– Microsoft Expression Web®
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
41
Web Templates and Other
Design Technologies
 A Web template is a predesigned model that can be
customized for fast Web site or Web page creation or
updating
 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
 A content management system (CMS) facilitates the
management of Web content development
– Content repository
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
42
Web Design Roles
Web design can be done independently or with
a partner or group
Creative Role
– Content writer / editor-create, revise text
– Web page designer-create Webpage
– Web artist / graphic designer-create original art,
photographs
– Multimedia producer-design and produce
animation, digital video, other media
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
43
Web Design Roles
Hi-Tech Role-Web site’s functionality and security
– Web programmer-skilled in scripting languages, handle
form data
– Database developer-plan, create, maintain complex
databases
– Network / security administrator-protect network from
internal and external threats
Oversight Role-managerial and admin. issues
– Content managers-determine overall goal, review content
– Webmaster-can assume all roles in small business setting,
broad range of skills
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
44
Chapter Summary
 Describe the Internet and the World Wide Web
 Discuss ways to access the Internet and the Web
 Categorize types of Web sites
 Identify Web design tools
 Explain Web design roles
Chapter 1: The Environment and the Tools
45
1
The Environment
and the Tools
Web Design,
3rd Edition