Webpages and Websites

A web page is a document that can contain text, graphics, sound, animation and is displayed on a browser. A website is a collection of webpages. All websites comprise the World Wide Web, which uses the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) over the internet protocol (IP) to share documents on the internet.

When a user surfs the internet they are sending requests for information which is found by the internet and displayed on the browser. HTML (hypertext markup language) has become the primary means of marking up plain text to create a more useful presentation. Just as a Microsoft Word Document file contains information on font size, color, and other data, HTML allows a web page designer to include information describing how the text should be displayed and linked. Browsers such as Explorer and Firefox interpret the HTML tags and display the webpage.

Website Technologies

• HTML-HyperText Markup Language
  HTML is a document specification that allows web designers to add meta-data to plain text. Meta-data is simply data that describes data. For example, some text is described as bold and other text as green.
• XML
  XML is a generalized document specification that entails only the rules that make HTML work. Since XML is generalized it can be used to store and transmit data describing anything. HTML, on the other hand, describes only text. XML is rapidly changing the way data is shared between computers.
• CSS-Cascading Style Sheets
  A relatively new tool designers can use to adjust the look and feel of a web page. Because it removes stylistic elements from the HTML it makes site maintenance much quicker and reduces costs in the long run.
• XSL
  XSL is to XML as CSS is to HTML.
• Server Side Script
  • SSI
  • PHP
  • Perl
  • ASP
  • JSP
  They are called "server side" because they execute on the server when a user requests a document. The document that gets returned to the user is generated on the fly by the script. Sending email automatically, interacting with the user through forms, or retrieving data from a database are tasks well suited to server-side scripting.
• JS or Javascript
  A language that, unlike the server-side languages, runs on the users browser. The capability of JS to do normal programming tasks like read or write data on the hard disk is nonexistent for security reasons. Its primary purpose is to increase usability and improve display characteristics beyond what HTML will allow.
• Flash
  Flash content is perhaps best described as a cross between JS and a motion picture. Flash is arranged into a series of frames that play in sequence like a movie. Programming language can be added to detect keystrokes and mouse clicks and jump to different frames in the movie. By creating multiple movie layers and precisely controlling when they are played, a flash developer is able to create an audiovisual impact that surpasses what is possible with other technologies.
• CMS
  A Content Management System is to a website what an operating system like Microsoft Windows® is to a personal computer. It is software that runs on a web server and allows a non-programmer to add, edit, and delete web pages. CMS's range in complexity from very simple blogs to sophisticated application frameworks that can be extended with modules. To build upon the Windows analogy, modules are applications like Word or Excel that run atop the CMS to perform specialized tasks. The advantage of using a CMS is that it a website can accept updates and added functionality with less expense.