Introduction to Web Development and Macromedia Dreamweaver Introduction

The Internet • Internet (aka the Net): a global network, connecting millions of computers. – Not controlled by any one organization. – Network: a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by communications facilities. • Local, regional, national, and international networks • The Internet grew out of an experiment that began in the 1960 s by the US Department of Defense.

The World Wide Web and Web Browsers • World Wide Web (aka WWW or the Web): the most popular service on the Internet. – The Web is made up of network servers (aka host computer) which… • support specially formatted documents • provides a means for sharing resources with many people at the same time – Client: your computer that accesses information from other servers.

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Accessing the Web • Web Page: identified by a unique address, or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that contains Web resources such as text, graphics, sound, video, and multimedia. • Web Browser: a software program that requests a Web page, interprets the code contained within the page, and then displays the contents of the Web page on your computer display device.

Web Browsers • Popular Web Browsers: – – – Microsoft Internet Explorer Netscape Navigator Mozilla Firefox • The initial home page can be set to individual users. • Web pages contain common elements: – – – Headings or titles Text Pictures or images Background enhancements Hyperlinks • Hyperlink (link): links to another place in the same Web page or to an entirely different Web page.

• Web Site: contains a home page, which is generally the first Web page visitors see when they enter the site. • Home Page: provides information about the Web site’s purpose and content. • To access the Web, you need a connection through an Internet Service Provider. – Internet Service Provider (ISP): a business that has a permanent Internet connection and provides temporary connections to individuals, companies, or other organizations. – Online Service Provider (OSP): provides additional member-only services. • America Online – Wireless Service Provider (WSP): provides Internet access to users with Web-enabled devices or wireless modems – All charge a fee – Point of Presence (POP): a telephone number that gives dial up access.

Types of Web Pages • Six Types: – – – Portal News Business/marketing Advocacy Informational Personal • • Business/Marketing Informational Web • Portal Web Page: • • • News Advocacy Web Page: contains Personal Web Page: contains factual provides a variety of contains news content articles that content that promotes published by an information, suchfrom as a Internet services relating describes current a cause, or sells to products or individual. research, statistics, single, convenient events. question, or idea. services. sports, scores, and so location.

Planning a Website • Planning Basics—Purpose: – Those who rush, design Web sites that are unorganized and difficult to navigate. • Visitors lose interest and don’t return – Consider: • Purpose and Goal – Create a focus by developing a purpose statement, which communicates the intention of the Web site. • Target Audience – The people who visit your site will determine whether it is a success

• New Web Technologies – Does your visitors have access to high-speed broadband media or dial up? • Web Site Comparison – Visit similar sites to see what you like, don’t like, and could make better.

Planning Basics--Content • Consider: – Value-Added Content • Look at the different types of content added and decide how to continually attract visitors – Text • • • Be brief and incorporate lists Use common words and simple language Check spelling and grammar – Images • Images are the most commonly used content after text

– Multimedia • Adds interactivity and action • Includes animation, audio, video • Do visitors need plug ins? – Plug in: extents the capability of a Web browser; often free downloads; includes Shockwave Player, Macromedia Flash, Real Player, etc. – Color Palette • Can enhance or detract from message

Designing a Web Site • Visitors can arrive at any page within a Web site by… – Hyperlinks – Search engines – Directory – Typing a Web address directly • Therefore, every page needs clear answers to the following: – Where am I? – Where do I go from here?

• Navigation: the pathway through your site, which should be obvious. • Navigation map: outlines the structure of the entire Web project, showing all the pages within the site and the connections from one page to others.

Developing a Web Site • Make text and images the main focus. – Then consider layout and color. • Development Basics: – Typography – Images – Page Layout – Color

r o F ple Typography m a x E • Typography: the appearance and arrangement of characters that make up your text. • Font: consists of all the characters available in a particular style and weight for a specific design. – Should be easy to read. • Typeface: the design of the text characters. – Subconsciously affects your reaction to the page. • Determine your purpose before choosing font. • Web-safe fonts: the more popular fonts and ones that most visitors are likely to have installed on their computers.

r o F ple m a x E Images F Ex or am ple • Without these, Web pages can be uninteresting graphically and will not motivate the visitor to investigate the page. • Think of the time it takes to download for visitors: – Background images or graphical menus

r o F ple Page Layout m a x E • Consider: – One page per topic – Control vertical/horizontal size of page – Start text on left because most read from left to right – Use concise statements; not too wordy

Color • Use color that add interest and vitality. • Use the right combination of colors to the tie the Web site together.

Review, Testing, and Publishing a Web Site • Reviewing and testing is an ongoing process. – – – Grammar/spelling Consistency Broken links Does it display property Colors • Publishing: the process of making it available to your visitors. – Involves the uploading of the Web site to a server. – Test after uploading.

Publishing Basics • Obtain a Domain Name: – IP address (Internet Protocol address): a number that uniquely identifies each computer or device connected to the Internet. • 199. 95. 72. 10 – Domain name: the text version of an IP address. • www. scsite. com – Uniform Resource Locator (URL): aka Web address which tells the server to locate the Web page. • Consists of a communication standard, such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), the domain name, and sometimes a path to a Web site.

• Domain names are unique and must be registered. – Accredited Registrar Director provides a list of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). • icann. org – Usually a cost per year – Consider: • • It is easy to pronounce, spell, and remember? Does it relate to your site? Can the business name be used? Are there trademark issues?

Acquire Server Space • ISPs that provide free server space often subject visitors to advertisements and pop-up windows. – Look into the company you get your Internet connection from. • Consider: – Monthly fee – Server space – Server size – Technical support

Upload the Web Site • Uploading: the process of transmitting from your computer all the files that comprise your Web site to the selected server or host computer. – Includes Web pages, images, audio, video, and animation

Methods and Tools Used to Create Web Pages • Several options: – Text editor • • • Microsoft Notepad Simple, easy-to-use programs User creates HTML – HTML editor • More sophisticated version of a text editor • Allows syntax highlighting, color-coding, etc. – Software applications • Microsoft Publisher, Word, Excel • Save as Web Page feature which converts the application into an HTML file. – WYSIWYG editor • Dreamweaver • What you see is what you get • No need to know HTML, but it is very helpful

HTML • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): an authoring language that defines the structure and layout of a document so that it displays as a Web page in a Web browser. • Web pages have two components: – Source code: contains tags and is program instructions. • Tags: control the appearance of the document content. – Document content: text and images that the browser displays.

• All HTML formats are the same. – Start with a left angle bracket (<) followed by the name of the tag – End with a right angle bracket (>) • Tags – Most have a start and an end tag and are called two-sided tags – The end tags are the same as the start tags except they are preceded by a forward slash (/) – One-sided tags: tags that do not have end tags.

• Attribute: additional information placed within the angle brackets of tags. • Value modifier: specifies conditions within a tag such as font type or size or placement of text.

• <H 1 ALIGN=“CENTER”>This is the largest header tag and the text will be centered</H 1> – H 1 is the HTML tag – Align is the attribute – Center is the value modifier • You place each tag around the text or section that you want to define (mark up) with that tag. • HTML tags are not case sensitive – Be consistent

• All documents require four basics tags: – <HTML></HTML> – <HEAD></HEAD> – <TITLE></TITLE> – <BODY></BODY>