blog-web log: a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies; "postings on a blog are usually in chronological order"
internet-a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
website- a computer connected to the internet that maintains a series of web pages on the World Wide Web; "the Israeli web site was damaged by hostile hackers".
URL-In computing, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a subset of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it.
modem-(from a combination of MOdulate and DEModulate) electronic equipment consisting of a device used to connect computers by a telephone line
image-An image (from Latin imago) is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject--usually a physical object or a person.
GIF-The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability.
PDF-Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system.
embed-is a computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions often with real-time computing constraints.
applications-Application software, also known as software application, application or app, is computer software designed to help the user to perform a singular or multiple related specific tasks.
gadget- a device or control that is very useful for a particular job
cybersafety-refers to the safe use of the Internet and ICT equipment/devices, including mobile phones.
HTML-which stands for HyperText Markup Language, is the predominant markup language for web pages. It provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists etc as well as for links, quotes, and other items.
Bitmap image-In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits.
vector image-Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics.
flash-An extremely popular multimedia authoring and playback system from Adobe. Flash formats are used for most of the animated ads and video clips on today's Web sites. Flash Lite is a version for mobile phones.
What different types of websites are there?
Commercial Website
The purpose of this type of website is to sell products or services. Commercial websites are used for promoting a business or service and are among the most common type of website on the internet. The Internet address often ends with .com.
Personal Website
The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about an individual or group. This type of website is run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include. The Internet address has a variety of endings.
Organizational Website
The purpose of this type of website is to advocate an individuals opinion or a groups point of view. A website where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or message boards. The Internet address often ends with .org.
Educational Website
The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about an educational establishment or to present information in an educational manner. The Internet address ends in .edu.
Entertainment Website
The purpose of this type of website is to entertain and provide amusement. The Internet address often ends with .com.
News Website
The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about current events, dedicated to dispensing news and commentary. The Internet address often ends with .com.
Blog
A website that is used to log online readings or to post online diaries; may include discussion forums or chat rooms. The Internet address has a variety of endings.
Hybrid Website
Many websites are a mixture of types. For example, a business web site may promote the businesses products, but may also host informative documents, such as white papers or provide news for it's visitors. Remember, information is the soul of the internet and if used wisely articles and informational pieces are a good hook to bring in visitors.
What are the benefits of having a website?
1. Far Cheaper and Much More Flexible Than Print Advertising
The Internet is extremely different from print advertising in that space is cheap, your advertisement is accessible for a longer period of time, the content can be changed without having to ask someone to do it for you (if you use a content management system) and you can potentially reach a wider audience.
This is not to say that you should not use other forms of advertising at all You can use it to entice people to visit your website and find out about your company and potentially open two-way communication between the potential customer and a sales person.
2. Market Expansion
The Internet has allowed businesses to break through the geographical barriers and become accessible, virtually, from any country in the world by a potential customer that has Internet access.
3. Diversify Revenue Streams
A website is not just a medium for representation of your company, it is a form of media from which everybody can acquire information. You can use this media to sell advertising space to other businesses.
A recent trend has risen where businesses feature their very own directory of complimentary services, where the visitor can search for information on a business that will enhance the use of your service. The business sells complimentary businesses a listing in their directory.
A good example is a catering company featuring a directory with businesses such as event co-coordinators, electronic equipment rental companies, etc.
4. 24 7 365
No more turning customers away when its time to close shop, putting up a note saying closed for public holiday , or leaving an irritating message on your answering service specifying your trading hours tell them to visit your website for information they are looking for.
5. Offer Convenience
It is far more convenient for a person to research a product on the Internet than it is to get in a car, drive somewhere and look for or ask someone for information on a product. Also, a potential customer won t have to judge a call centre agent to determine whether he/she has their best interests in mind, or just wants to make a sale.
The potential customer can visit your website whenever they like in their own privacy and comfort, without the stresses and distractions that exist in the real world .
Your website is a self-service medium for example, instead of having to wait in a long cue to pay your TV License, you can now do it electronically through the TV License website.
6. Add Value and Satisfaction
By offering convenience, a point of reference and that touch of individualized customer service, you ultimately add value to your offering and your customers experience a higher level of satisfaction.
Your website can add value in other ways too, by featuring tips, advice and general interest content you can entertain your customers. This will also help them remember you better.
7. Standardize Sales Performance
By looking at which approached / pitches have worked in the past and those which have not, you can produce the ultimate pitch and use it with your website, so that you use it on every customer. No more training of sales people and waiting for them to get a feel for your line of trade.
8. Improve credibility
A website gives you the opportunity to tell potential customers what you are about and why you deserve their trust and confidence. In fact, many people use the internet for pre-purchase research so that they can determine for themselves whether a particular supplier or brand is worthy of their patronage, and won t take them for a ride.
The Internet also allows for Viral Marketing where your website visitors spread positive word-of-mouth about your business - your customers do your marketing!
9. Promote your Brick n Mortar Presence
Getting lost trying to find a place can be frustrating for a potential customer. You can publish what they call a dummy map on your website, which shows directions and landmarks graphically, and the potential customer can print it out when looking for your Brick n Mortar premises.
You might advertise a promotion on your website encouraging the visitor to visit your Brick n Mortar premises (e.g.. At a branch near you! ).
Also, if you recently moved to a new location, you will have to wait for the next 'phone directory to come out before people figure out where you currently are. Because a website is flexible you can change the content as you like you can change you contact details instantly and lower the risk of losing customers when moving to a new location.
10. Growth Opportunity
A website serves as a great place to refer potential investors to, to show them what your company is about, what it has achieved and what it can achieve in future.
11. Two-Way Communicative Marketing
Customers can quickly and easily give feedback on your product and/or marketing approach.
12. Cheap Market Research
You can use features on your website such as visitor polls, online surveys and your website statistics to find out what your customers like more and how they feel about certain aspects of your business to determine how you can improve your product and the way you do business.
What are 'documents' online?
Files that are uploaded online for people to download.
What purpose does a 'web map' serve?
A Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet that are generated by a map server using data from a GIS database.
What are 'links'?
an instruction that connects one part of a program or an element on a list to another program or list.
Discuss why it is important to identify the potential users of a website.
Some people can help you when they want to.
What are the 8 golden rules of good web design?
1 Strive for consistency.
Consistent sequences of actions should be required in similar situations; identical terminology should be used in prompts, menus, and help screens; and consistent commands should be employed throughout.
2 Enable frequent users to use shortcuts.
As the frequency of use increases, so do the user's desires to reduce the number of interactions and to increase the pace of interaction. Abbreviations, function keys, hidden commands, and macro facilities are very helpful to an expert user.
3 Offer informative feedback.
For every operator action, there should be some system feedback. For frequent and minor actions, the response can be modest, while for infrequent and major actions, the response should be more substantial.
4 Design dialog to yield closure.
Sequences of actions should be organized into groups with a beginning, middle, and end. The informative feedback at the completion of a group of actions gives the operators the satisfaction of accomplishment, a sense of relief, the signal to drop contingency plans and options from their minds, and an indication that the way is clear to prepare for the next group of actions.
5 Offer simple error handling.
As much as possible, design the system so the user cannot make a serious error. If an error is made, the system should be able to detect the error and offer simple, comprehensible mechanisms for handling the error.
6 Permit easy reversal of actions.
This feature relieves anxiety, since the user knows that errors can be undone; it thus encourages exploration of unfamiliar options. The units of reversibility may be a single action, a data entry, or a complete group of actions.
7 Support internal locus of control.
Experienced operators strongly desire the sense that they are in charge of the system and that the system responds to their actions. Design the system to make users the initiators of actions rather than the responders.
8 Reduce short-term memory load.
The limitation of human information processing in short-term memory requires that displays be kept simple, multiple page displays be consolidated, window-motion frequency be reduced, and sufficient training time be allotted for codes, mnemonics, and sequences of actions.
What are the principles of good web design?
- Text
- Background does not interrupt the text
- Text is big enough to read, but not too big
- The hierarchy of information is perfectly clear
- Columns of text are narrower than in a book to make reading easier on the screen
- Navigation
- Navigation buttons and bars are easy to understand and use
- Navigation is consistent throughout web site
- Navigation buttons and bars provide the visitor with a clue as to where they are, what page of the site they are currently on
- Frames, if used, are not obtrusive
- A large site has an index or site map
- Links
- Link colors coordinate with page colors
- Links are underlined so they are instantly clear to the visitor
- Graphics
- Buttons are not big and dorky
- Every graphic has an alt label
- Every graphic link has a matching text link
- Graphics and backgrounds use browser-safe colors
- Animated graphics turn off by themselves
- General Design
- Pages download quickly
- First page and home page fit into 800 x 600 pixel space
- All of the other pages have the immediate visual impact within 800 x 600 pixels
- Good use of graphic elements (photos, subheads, pull quotes) to break up large areas of text
- Every web page in the site looks like it belongs to the same site; there are repetitive elements that carry throughout the pages
Important to test, evaluate and update so people in the past who visited your website can see new stuff not old stuff.
