The Web Is Software in Software

Creation Data Matrix 2d barcode in Software The Web Is Software

The World Wide Web, or Web, includes software that sends information along the Internet s hardware Individual files on the Web contain information such as text, video, or animation These files are joined together like a giant spider web

1

The basic component of a Web page is a text document A text document contains words, letters, numbers, and other unique characters Special software called a Web browser interprets these files to display Web pages on your computer screen

The terms Web site and Web page do not refer to the same thing A Web site is a group of related files organized around a common topic A Web page is a single file within a Web site, which has a unique name A Web site s main page is typically called the home page The home page usually contains general information about the Web site

Design The home page is almost always the first page a user sees when visiting a Web site, so it is important for it to give a good first impression

A Web browser has two important functions It translates the text-based Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) used to create Web pages into a graphical Web page It lets the user move (or navigate) from one Web page to another Figure 11 shows the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser with some of its main components labeled

Web browsers such as Internet Explorer make it easy to move from one Web site to another How can you determine the address of the Web page shown here

Most Web sites can be placed into particular categories based on their main purpose The five major types of Web sites and their primary purposes are shown in Figure 12

The primary purpose of a commercial site is to sell or promote a company s products or services There are two main types of commercial sites

E-commerce Sites Buying and selling goods and services over the Internet is called electronic commerce, or e-commerce Shopping at an e-commerce site is different from going to a traditional store For example:

consumers expect a complete description of the items being sold photographs are often used to show consumers the items being sold photographs and other visuals are also used to encourage the consumer to buy the item

Corporate Presence Sites Some commercial Web sites do not sell anything These types of sites are often referred to as corporate presence Web sites Their job is to:

provide information about the company s products or services illustrate the company s history promote a positive image for the company For example, a pharmaceutical (drug) company would probably not sell any medications on its Web site However, it might discuss the research it is doing to improve the treatment of people with certain diseases

1

Many Web portals let users search the Web for information What are three features that you find useful in a Web portal

A Web portal is a Web site that provides a variety of services that people use every day As shown in Figure 13 above, most portals provide general news and business information Portals make it easy for people to access a variety of information from one single location

Informational sites serve one purpose to provide people with useful information One advantage that Web sites have over other informational sources such as magazines and books is that they are relatively easy to update Three types of informational sites are shown in Table 11 Types of Informational Sites

Site News sites Purpose Provide up-to-theminute local, national, and international news Provide information about federal, state, and local government activities and regulations Focus on certain problems or situations and suggest how individuals might respond Example CNN Web site