Climbing Out |
Last updated October 15, 1997 |
Note: This unified version is suitable for printing from your browser or browsing off-line.
What is the Web? ...and who uses it |
Web Applications | Site and Resource Lists |
You and the Web ...the benefits of your own site |
Web Site Promotion | NZ Web Service Providers |
Web Site Design ...doing it right |
Security and Electronic Commerce | Here's the Pitch |
If you're already familiar with the Web, skip the introduction.
The World Wide Web is the most widely used service of the Internet, the global electronic communications network. Information is presented on electronic "pages" made accessible through programs called Web browsers.
The most common browsers are various versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer, but dozens of others are used (Opera is nice).
The contents of the pages represent the commercial, academic, recreational or personal interests of those who create them -- product details, on-line shops, pictures of friends and family, scholarly papers, information about clubs and societies, virtual art galleries, lists of other useful pages...
Web pages are usually designed so that the reader can effortlessly follow "links" to relevant subjects, information or files. The links could be pointing to somewhere else on the same page or half a world away.
Exact statistics for the Web are impossible to determine, but some estimates include:
Number of pages: since 1993, the number of Web pages on-line has grown from just a few thousand to well over 100 million, hosted on 1.2 million servers
Number of users: over 30 million people used the Web in 1996, and that may have doubled by the end of 1997
Commercial activity: Web-generated business was approaching US$1 billion per month on 250,000 commercial sites in early 1997
Using the Web requires computer equipment and incurs moderate ongoing costs, so readers are still likely to be:
Web sites are typically created to serve one or more of these purposes:
Electronic commerce is trade where payments are sent electronically (e.g. over the Web).
It's important that anyone establishing a site decide which of these purposes it is to serve.
The following table indicates some kinds of information, promotion, communication and commercial activities likely to be carried out by different site hosts:
Individual | Organisation | Company | |
---|---|---|---|
Information | Personal interests and hobbies Favourite links Games Personal projects |
Reports on past activities Officer directory Membership directory Library/resource lists Searchable back-issues or index of publications Awards, grants and fellowships Links to related organisations and sites |
Product specifications Technical information New releases Annual reports Links to industry partners and associations |
Communication | Circulars Personal email link Other contact information |
Upcoming events Requests for discussion Newsletters Membership feedback Email links to officers and staff |
Customer feedback Surveys and focus groups Press releases Crisis management Email links to key personnel Customer service |
Promotion | CV Examples of work (e.g. graphic art, software, writing) Links to former employers |
Organisation aims, supporters and achievements Public events and competitions Requests for public support or lobbying |
Company information Major clients Product and service catalogues Samples and free offers |
Commerce | Wanted or For Sale notices | Memberships Subscriptions Member services | On-line services Information available to paying customers only Software, downloadable after payment Goods, mailed or couriered |
An enormous range of services can be usefully provided on the Web but, as with any venue, there are both limitations and drawbacks, and these should be weighed when considering your own Web site:
Web pages are created using a simple language called "HTML", which describes the structure and contents of your offering; the browser should then present this in an appropriate fashion. HTML provides some degree of control over page layout and the ability to add images, tables, forms and even animations and sound (though not all browsers will be able to make use of all these features).
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) allows authors to structure information for presentation. It does not define precisely how pages will actually appear -- that is up to each browser and its user settings.
Having your own Web page can be as simple as finding a service provider to rent you the storage space and Web connection, then creating your page.
More complex sites, such as those with database or security capabilities or extensive sound and graphics, require careful programming and testing to deliver the desired results.
Most sites need ongoing maintenance. A page rapidly goes stale if it is not updated. Links on the page may no longer be valid, or the information itself may become out of date.
Web sites tend to grow over time as pages are added to cover new subjects or activities. If you're not careful, the whole structure can become unwieldy. Good site planning and design allows you to forestall this, so be sure to put the time in early on to decide how the growth will be managed.
Putting up Web pages is just a new form of publishing, subject to many old conventions, plus a few new wrinkles. Good offerings have useful content, clear presentation, consistent style and browser independence. Bad ones may be browser-specific, have little or no content, or simply represent somebody going on-line to say "me too"
Naturally, the Web itself contains many guides on how to create Web pages. Some will tell you the latest tricks to make your favourite browser display pages to the best effect. Others will give you clear indications of what is and isn't good style and design
Remember, if you want your page to be read by others, bear in mind that they won't all be using the same browser, or even the same kind of computer. Tricks and illusions created to impress users of one browser may look sad -- or even ridiculous -- if read by another. If the purpose of your pages is to convey information, then base them around standard HTML. If the purpose is to dazzle, then be aware that not every visitor will be dazzled -- and some will be annoyed.
Once a Web page has been created, it is important that it be checked out as correct HTML. It is all too easy to make a mistake in page creation which works on yourbrowser, but awful on others.
Fortunately, both software and Web sites exist which will perform this vital validation function for you. Use them!
Many Web pages can be enhanced by judicious use of graphics -- the key word is judicious. When people are paying to look at your page (and many are), they don't want to receive a 100KB "supporting" graphic to embellish 100 words of text (there are exceptions, of course).
Many readers (often estimated at around one third) set their browsers
to ignore all graphics, so it is important that you design your pages
so that they are usable and reasonably attractive even if the graphics
are not present or, worse, replaced by little "image here" boxes as some browsers do.
Good Web page designers use a number of techniques to reduce the file size, and thus increase the viewing speed, of the graphics they use, and to blend them into the overall design and layout of the page.
Another technique which can be either judicious or gratuitous is the use of frames -- dividing up the screen of a graphical browser into separate "panes" which can be altered independently.
This can be very convenient for ensuring things such as navigation panels remain visible at all times. Recent graphical browsers generally support frames, though other varieties may not, and some users dislike them for various reasons.
As noted earlier, HTML describes the structure of a page for a browser to display. Style sheets are the preferred mechanism for pages to "recommend" to browsers the author's desired fonts, layout and so on. Although they've been around for a while, the major browsers are only now starting to support them.
Web pages are often used to present or collect information for databases. Sometimes this kind of application is solely for in-house ("intranet") use, with Web tools used but without the data being available on the World Wide Web itself.
Typical applications include:
Output example from an on-line database:
Typical Web data collection applications include:
Data collection example:
In each case, some programming support is usually required to support the application. Although there are ways to collect data from Web page forms without programming, this rapidly becomes unwieldy as the amount of data increases.
Using a protocol known as CGI, Web applications are able to transfer data to and from Web pages and forms. This information is usually stored in databases on the server machine -- a well-designed Web application will not require a change in the format or the layout of existing databases you may already be using.
A server is the computer on which the Web site or application is stored.
The programming language used to develop a Web application will generally vary depending on the nature of the server machine (e.g. Unix-based, Windows-based), but will most commonly be Perl, C, Delphi, Visual Basic or a dedicated add-on to a database management system or web server.
Because of the programming requirements, developing Web applications generally requires a distinct set of skills from those which go into Web page design. It is important to remember this when deciding who will create your site.
The best Web site developers are those who are able to marry the divergent disciplines of professional publishing, graphic design and software engineering.
As well as automated Web sites, Web-based software development makes possible a range of other innovative communication applications, such as:
Creating a Web site is only half the story. If your site is to to serve any purpose, people must know that it is there. Two audiences are usually targeted:
The first group is usually easy to reach through existing lines of communication.
You will usually have to go to some trouble to explain the purpose and benefits of the Web-based service to those who are not yet "Web aware", in the hope that they will find your site one of many reasons to get a connection themselves.
Reaching Web readers at large is more difficult, particularly when you're competing with literally millions of other sites. You should:
A page from the Alta Vista on-line search engine:
This is an area which is still developing rapidly. Security concerns are threefold:
Example of a passworded gateway:
Because of the security concerns noted above, and the critical fact that money is involved, electronic commerce on the Web is a complex undertaking.
At present, many commercial transactions that arise from the Web are closed outside it, but this is slowly changing. Corporations such as Mastercard and Visa have agreed on strategies for adding the security and confidence necessary to make transactions over the Web an everyday occurrence, and major browsers now contain built-in features to enhance security.
Other systems aiming to provide electronic transactions are already operating, and experiments are under way on the next generation of electronic transactions, including <@147>cybercash<@148>.
Automated Web sites can validate credit card numbers and even authorise a card transaction on line before accepting an order.
There are also simpler solutions, of course -- such as providing an order form for your readers to print out and fax, or supporting telephone sales ("call the freephone number" or "email us your phone number and we'll call you", for instance).
An example of a directory service -- Telecom's white pages directory.
How to follow the news on line: New Zealand news wires are updated regularly over the course of the day.
A convenient list of New Zealand search engines appears on the "Site of the Day Award" pages -- check out their list of other winners too.
On the New Zealand Companies Office site, detailed information from databases is only available to subscribing customers, but anyone can do basic searches.
A good example of an educational/information site -- the place to go if you're interested in Antarctica.
Foreign currency dealing, with rates continuously updated and automated forms to simplify ordering. The order forms are password protected.
A keyword-searchable database of nearly all New Zealand's accommodation providers.
Victoria University -- good example of a site providing information to staff and "customers" past, present and future.
An example of a personal page -- this has the author's thesis outline and his CV.
All sorts of businesses have a Web page these days -- Sami's provides great middle-eastern takeaways in Christchurch.
On HortResearch's pages, password protection means only registered subscribers can access the HortNET information and communication service.
The Press, New Zealand's best on-line newspaper.
Internet retailers find malls just as convenient as more traditional businesses do.
The government on line: information on New Zealand, its government, laws, public-sector jobs, statistics, the Treaty...
Premiere site for good advice and information about HTML, CSS etc.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops protocols for the Web and provides a wide range of resources such as:
First Virtual Internet Payment System -- an alternative approach to electronic commerce
Internet Access in New Zealand FAQ.
Provider | Location(s) | Contact address/site |
---|---|---|
CLEAR Net | Nationwide | account@clear.net.nz http://www.clear.net.nz/ |
Planet (NZ) | Nationwide | support@wgtn.planet.co.nz |
Planet FreeNZ | Nationwide | info@planet.gen.nz http://pl.net/ |
ICONZ | Nationwide | help@iconz.co.nz http://iconz.co.nz/ |
The Internet Group | Nationwide |
root@ihug.co.nz (N. Island) admin@es.co.nz (S. Island) http://www.ihug.co.nz/ |
CyberNet | Auckland | info@cybernet.co.nz http://www.cybernet.co.nz/ |
InterNet Connectivity Associates Ltd | Auckland | admin@inca.co.nz |
Netbyte Internet Ltd | Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch | enquiries@netbyte.co.nz http://www.netbyte.co.nz/ |
Internet ProLink NZ | Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch | sales@iprolink.co.nz http://www.iprolink.co.nz/ |
NZNET Internet Services | Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington | info@nznet.gen.nz http://www.nznet.gen.nz |
NetLink | Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton | info@netlink.co.nz http://www.netlink.co.nz |
Web World Ltd | Auckland | service@ww.co.nz http://www.ww.co.nz |
Central Plateau REAP Inc | Taupo (Central Plateau) | gregg@reap.org.nz http://www.reap.org.nz/ |
Ram Management Limited | Hawkes Bay (Napier) | rossco@ramhb.co.nz http://www.ramhb.co.nz |
Actrix Networks Limited | Wellington | info@actrix.gen.nz http://www.actrix.gen.nz/ |
Southern InterNet Services | Christchurch (South Island) | help@southern.co.nz http://www.southern.co.nz/ |
NetAccess Internet Services | South Island | info@netaccess.co.nz http://www.netaccess.co.nz/ |
Earthlight Communications Ltd | Dunedin (Otago, Southland) | support@earthlight.co.nz http://www.earthlight.co.nz/ |
Deep South Networks Ltd | Dunedin (Otago, Southland) | admin@deepsouth.co.nz http://www.deepsouth.co.nz/ |
At South Pacific Information Services, our combination of software, design and publishing expertise allows us to offer a full range of Web site design and maintenance services:
Establishing your own site on the World Wide Web represents both an opportunity and a challenge. By now, the opportunities should be pretty clear. The challenge is to design your presence and your presentations so that you appeal to your target audiences rather than offend them (or, worse, bore them!).
For most organisations, the Web offers the chance to launch a new and powerful complement to existing information, promotion and communication efforts. But, if you aren't careful, your new Web presence can drain important resources you need elsewhere, and a poorly conceived site can even alienate those whom you most want to reach.
Most importantly of all, the Web may offer you opportunities for productive and highly economic interaction with your target community in ways that aren't obvious to those who are not experienced in the nuances of the Net. That's where we come in...
If you would like more ideas and pricing information, see our list of Web site packages, including:
We hope you enjoyed reading this primer as much as we did researching and creating it.
For more information contact:
Vicki Hyde, Web Team Leader
Tel: +64-3-384-5137
Fax: +64-3-384-5138
P.O. Box 19-760, Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND
Writing and Web page design: Peter Hyde and Phil Anderson
Research and Production: Phil Anderson
Th' th' th' that's all, folks!
What is the Web, you and the Web, site design | Web site applications, promotion, security and commerce | |||
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