Awebsite(also written as aweb site) is one or moreweb pagesand related content that is identified by a commondomain nameand published on at least oneweb server.Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, commerce, entertainment, orsocial media.Hyperlinkingbetween web pages guides the navigation of the site, which often starts with ahome page.Themost-visitedsites areGoogle,YouTube,andFacebook.
All publicly-accessible websites collectively constitute theWorld Wide Web.There are also private websites that can only be accessed on aprivate network,such as a company's internal website for its employees.Userscan access websites on a range of devices, includingdesktops,laptops,tablets,andsmartphones.Theappused on these devices is called aweb browser.
Background
The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1989 by the British CERN computer scientistTim Berners-Lee.[1][2]On 30 April 1993,CERNannounced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone, contributing to the immense growth of the Web.[3]Before the introduction of theHypertext Transfer Protocol(HTTP), other protocols such asFile Transfer Protocoland thegopher protocolwere used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simpledirectory structurein which the user navigates and where they choose files to download. Documents were most often presented as plain text files without formatting or were encoded inword processorformats.
History
While "web site" was the original spelling (sometimes capitalized "Web site", since "Web" is a proper noun when referring to the World Wide Web), this variant has become rarely used, and "website" has become the standard spelling. All major style guides, such asThe Chicago Manual of Style[4]and theAP Stylebook,[5]have reflected this change.
In February 2009,Netcraft,anInternet monitoringcompany that has tracked Web growth since 1995, reported that there were 215,675,903 websites with domain names and content on them in 2009, compared to just 19,732 websites in August 1995.[6]After reaching 1 billion websites in September 2014, a milestone confirmed by Netcraft in its October 2014 Web Server Survey and that Internet Live Stats was the first to announce—as attested by this tweet from the inventor of the World Wide Web himself, Tim Berners-Lee—the number of websites in the world have subsequently declined, reverting to a level below 1 billion. This is due to the monthly fluctuations in the count of inactive websites. The number of websites continued growing to over 1 billion by March 2016 and has continued growing since.[7]Netcraft Web Server Survey in January 2020 reported that there are 1,295,973,827 websites and in April 2021 reported that there are 1,212,139,815 sites across 10,939,637 web-facing computers, and 264,469,666 unique domains.[8]An estimated 85 percent of all websites are inactive.[9]
Static website
A static website is one that has Web pages stored on the server in the format that is sent to a client Web browser. It is primarily coded inHypertext Markup Language(HTML);Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) are used to control appearance beyond basic HTML. Images are commonly used to create the desired appearance and as part of the main content. Audio or video might also be considered "static" content if it plays automatically or is generally non-interactive. This type of website usually displays the same information to all visitors. Similar to handing out a printed brochure to customers or clients, a static website will generally provide consistent, standard information for an extended period of time. Although the website owner may make updates periodically, it is a manual process to edit the text, photos, and other content and may require basic website design skills and software. Simple forms or marketing examples of websites, such as aclassic website,afive-page websiteor abrochure websiteare often static websites, because they present pre-defined, static information to the user. This may include information about a company and its products and services through text, photos, animations, audio/video, and navigation menus.
Static websites may still useserver side includes(SSI) as an editing convenience, such as sharing a common menu bar across many pages. As the site's behaviorto the readeris still static, this is not considered a dynamic site.
Dynamic website
A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically. Server-side dynamic pages are generated "on the fly" by computer code that produces the HTML (CSS are responsible for appearance and thus, are static files). There are a wide range of software systems, such asCGI,Java ServletsandJava Server Pages(JSP),Active Server PagesandColdFusion(CFML) that are available to generatedynamic Web systems and dynamic sites.VariousWeb application frameworksandWeb template systemsare available for general-useprogramming languageslikePerl,PHP,PythonandRubyto make it faster and easier to create complex dynamic websites.
A site can display the current state of a dialogue between users, monitor a changing situation, or provide information in some way personalized to the requirements of the individual user. For example, when the front page of a news site is requested, the code running on the webserver might combine stored HTML fragments with news stories retrieved from adatabaseor another website viaRSSto produce a page that includes the latest information. Dynamic sites can be interactive by usingHTML forms,storing and reading backbrowser cookies,or by creating a series of pages that reflect the previous history of clicks. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request, e.g. for the keywordBeatles.In response, the content of the Web page will spontaneously change the way it looked before, and will then display a list of Beatles products like CDs, DVDs, and books.Dynamic HTMLusesJavaScriptcode to instruct the Web browser how to interactively modify the page contents. One way to simulate a certain type of dynamic website while avoiding the performance loss of initiating the dynamic engine on a per-user or per-connection basis is to periodically automatically regenerate a large series of static pages.
Multimedia and interactive content
Early websites had only text, and soon after, images. Web browserplug-inswere then used to add audio, video, and interactivity (such as for arich Web applicationthat mirrors the complexity of a desktop application like a word processor). Examples of such plug-ins areMicrosoft Silverlight,Adobe Flash Player,Adobe Shockwave Player,andJava SE.HTML 5includes provisions for audio and video without plugins. JavaScript is also built into most modern web browsers, and allows for website creators to send code to the web browser that instructs it how to interactively modify page content and communicate with the web server if needed. The browser's internal representation of the content is known as theDocument Object Model(DOM).
WebGL(Web Graphics Library) is a modern JavaScript API for rendering interactive 3D graphics without the use of plug-ins. It allows interactive content such as 3D animations, visualizations and video explainers to presented users in the most intuitive way.[10]
A 2010-era trend in websites called "responsive design" has given the best viewing experience as it provides a device-based layout for users. These websites change their layout according to the device or mobile platform, thus giving a rich user experience.[11]
Types
Websites can be divided into two broad categories—static and interactive. Interactive sites are part of theWeb 2.0community of sites and allow for interactivity between the site owner and site visitors or users. Static sites serve or capture information but do not allow engagement with the audience or users directly. Some websites are informational or produced by enthusiasts or for personal use or entertainment. Many websites do aim to make money using one or more business models, including:
- Posting interesting content and sellingcontextual advertisingeither through direct sales or through an advertising network.
- E-commerce:products or services are purchased directly through the website
- Advertising products or services available at abrick-and-mortar business
- Freemium:basic content is available for free, but premium content requires a payment (e.g.,WordPresswebsite, it is an open-source platform to build a blog or website).
- Some websites require user registration orsubscriptionto access the content. Examples ofsubscription websitesinclude many business sites, news websites,academic journalwebsites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites,message boards,Web-basedemail,social networkingwebsites, websites providing real-timestock marketdata, as well as sites providing various other services.
See also
References
- ^"Tim Berners-Lee".W3C.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2021.Retrieved17 November2021.
- ^"home of the first website".info.cern.ch.Archivedfrom the original on 10 June 2017.Retrieved30 August2008.
- ^Cailliau, Robert."A Little History of the World Wide Web".W3C.Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2013.Retrieved16 February2007.
- ^"Internet, Web, and Other Post-Watergate Concerns".The Chicago Manual of Style.University of Chicago. Archived fromthe originalon 20 February 2010.Retrieved18 September2010.
- ^AP Stylebook [@APStylebook](16 April 2010)."Responding to reader input, we are changing Web site to website. This appears on Stylebook Online today and in the 2010 book next month"(Tweet).Retrieved18 March2019– viaTwitter.
- ^"Web Server Survey".Netcraft.Archivedfrom the original on 20 August 2011.Retrieved13 March2017.
- ^A total number of Websites | Internet live stats.Archived20 July 2017 at theWayback Machine.internetlivestats.Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^"Web Server Survey".Netcraft News.Archivedfrom the original on 24 July 2018.Retrieved17 May2021.
- ^Deon (26 May 2020)."How Many Websites Are There Around the World? [2021]".Siteefy.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2021.Retrieved17 May2021.
- ^"OpenGL ES for the Web".khronos.org.19 July 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2009.Retrieved1 April2019.
- ^Pete LePage."Responsive Web Design Basics - Web".Google Developers.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2017.Retrieved13 March2017.
External links
