- Class 1, last week
- Introduction
- Web development
- Introduction to HTML
- Using web development tools
- Project
- Class 2, this week
- Planning and creating a web site (moved forward)
- Resources for creating better content
- Publishing and hosting
- Business on the net
- Business resources
- Conferencing
- Web development
- homepage, file types, client/server
- page styles, navigation, frames
- Introduction to HTML
- used to mark up text so it can be laid out
- Using web development tools
- Microsoft Frontpage 2000
- click here
- local links (file://C/)
- Project
- 2.5 Describe the development cycle for web page writing
- A web site is information rather than software
- The information is referred to as ``content''
- Web sites may consist of software as well
- Professionals use the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) when building large
web sites
- The SDLC consists of these steps
- requirements analysis
- functional specification
- top level design
- detailed design
- writing programs
- test
- release
- maintenance
- end of life
- An adaption of the SDLC for content
- defining goals
- defining target audience
- defining site design
- defining table of contents
- defining site layout
- defining navigation
- defining page design
- designing content pages
- assemble prototype
- test prototype
- publish content
- revise content
- close site
- What do you hope to achieve with this web site?
- What do you specifically want to avoid achieving?
- Who are they?
- What is their net access like?
- How much time do they have to delve?
- What web browsers do they use?
- What platforms do they use?
- Depending on goals and target audience ...
- links page
- information resource page
- portal page
- personal page
- business page
- community forum page
- So that you know how much work is involved!
- Aids in collection of information
- Helps you avoid information you do not want
- Based on table of contents and site design
- Many small pages or one big page?
- Hierarchial/tree structure or big list?
- Audience delve time determines page size
- Depending on your layout
- How do you expect the audience to move around?
- Can they just drop in and not be lost?
- Make a paper or whiteboard draft
- Make a template page
- Adopt a common table layout
- Consider common graphical elements
- Build common navigation links
- The actual writing phase at last
- Using the template page, fill it out
- Any change to the template layout needs to be pushed back to the defining page
design step
- Just writing the page is usually what amateurs do
- Place all the files in one folder
- Check all the page to page links
- there are tools that do this
- Depends on audience
- Test on all audience browsers
- at a minimum test on
- Netscape Communicator
- Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Test on all audience platforms
- education content must be tested on MacOS
- Test on actual audience
- mail out a request for comments
- announce the site to select few
- good for a sanity check prior to going live
- Send all files to hosting service
- Avoid publishing content marked ``Under Construction''
- Reasons?
- Statement adds no useful value
- Reduces credibility of site
- All sites should be under maintenance
- Most expensive part of an ongoing web site
- Repeat the development process
- Every site has an end!
- Or at least a set of end conditions
- You are out of business?
- Short term web project?
- Costs exceed revenue generated?
- Something better has arrived?
- Cycle
- defining goals
- defining target audience
- defining site design
- defining table of contents
- defining site layout
- defining navigation
- defining page design
- designing content pages
- assemble prototype
- test prototype
- publish content
- revise content
- close site
- Questions?
- Contract services
- Contacts
- Graphic Editors
- Icon Libraries
- (probably many more)
- Can rapidly lose any margin you planned
- Can be cheap if they are on the net
- their costs are lower
- labour rates vary
- Ease of communication is important
- Authoring
- can draft an outline based on your specification
- often can handle the entire publishing stage
- Graphic Artists
- can suggest a look and feel
- can place on their web site an example for review
- Web Programmers
- can create response forms etc
- beware of technical arguments
- between host and programmers
- ask your hosting service for a referral
- Don't underestimate your personal contacts
- Can review your site
- Can tell you what they failed to find
- Can nick your ideas and beat you to it
- Used to create small images
- Merging real images with decorations
- Examples
- Adobe Photoshop
- The GIMP (ten hours to learn)
- Costs many hours training
- May be best left to the graphic artists
- Copying icons may violate copyright
- Check terms and conditions on web page
- Assume the worst
- Find and use icons with permission for re-use
- Resources for creating better content
- Contract services
- Authoring, Artists, Programmers
- Contacts
- Graphic Editors
- Icon Libraries
- Questions?
- What is it?
- How is it done?
- Upload methods
- Publishing sequence
- Making the content available to the public
- Once done your web page is visible to the world
- Move the folder and files to a web server
- Commonly called ``uploading'' or ``publishing''
- Consumer web page editors embed this action
- Professional web page editors have nothing to do with it
- Content publishing programs are available
- FTP put
- HTTP put
- HTTP form submission
- pay for time online while you edit your page!
- or cut and paste a prepared page
- form may have a file upload feature
- rsync what-has-changed upload
- the way of the future
- compares signatures of files
- Configuration of the software
- requires technical instructions
- from your hosting service
- losing this configuration can be risky
- Note: a 56k modem has a 33k6 upload rate!
- upload time proportional to download time
- Make changes to your copy of the content
- Test on your computer
- Upload
- Test via web
- Test via another ISP
- TAFE is behind a firewall, we can't publish outside
![[*]](footnote.png)
- Publishing
- What is it?
- How is it done?
- Upload methods
- Publishing sequence
- Questions?
- What is hosting?
- What to consider before buying?
- What types of hosting are there?
- What about search engine registration?
- The placing of content on a web server that is always connected
- Usually a contract between you and the hosting service
- Choose an appropriate hosting service provider
- What are the terms and conditions?
- How much technical assistance will you need?
- are you paying for their technical expertise?
- or just paying for the hosting?
- Is server side scripting required?
- Is the hosting service going to stay around?
- What domain name is appropriate?
- What top level domain name to register within?
- .com
- .com.au
- .au.com (what is this?)
- .org.au
- .net.au
- What hit rate is expected?
- Server network connection bandwidth
- Size of content
- Dial-up Account Hosting
- Free hosting
- Site hosting
- Advanced site hosting
- Colocation
- Self hosting
- Definition
- included in most dial-up ISP contracts
- provided as a service differentiator by the ISP
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- can only upload from your ISP dial-up number
- terminated when contract terminates
- limited hit rate
- limited to a reasonable size
- limited to the ISPs domain
- no chance of URL envy
- Good for
- personal and small business web sites
- Definition
- web sites that provide free hosting
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- includes advertising you cannot control
- no contract exists at law
- no ``consideration'' paid
- international scope
- terminated whenever they like
- some have gone broke already
- limited hit rate
- limited to a reasonable size
- usually limited to the hosting service's domain
- Good for
- Definition
- contract with an ISP or hosting service
- hit rate determines cost
- Advantages
- does not have to be your dial-up ISP
- a good domain name can be registered
- secured update can be paid for
- performs fastest for your local surfers
- Definition
- additional services providing differentiation
- Services
- guaranteed low latency to critical markets
- server side scripting
- standardised shopping experiences
- redundant databases prevent order loss
- can fax you when an order comes in
- Definition
- placing your own web server in the ISP premises
- Advantages
- permanent connection to internet
- hit rate determines cost of network link
- full control over software configuration
- Disadvantages
- knowledge required to operate software
- Good for
- large organisation web sites
- Definition
- connecting your own server in your own premises
- Advantages
- permanent connection to internet
- hit rate determines cost of network link
- bandwidth vs hit rate determines site performance
- nobody else to pay
- Disadvantages
- knowledge required to operate software
- Good for
- large organisation web sites
- Lots of options
- What you get you pay for
- Two different types
- subject search engines
- content search engines
- Why would you want to be listed?
- surfers can find your site
- not relevant for some web sites
- What is a subject search engine?
- a database of topics and subtopics
- has to be told about your website
- allows surfers to find things by subject
- example Yahoo (in subject search mode)
- What is a content search engine?
- also known as a web crawling program
- a program that follows web page links
- builds a database of words and titles
- allows surfers to find things by content
- How many content search engines are there?
- Far too many!
- Google
- AltaVista
- Yahoo (in site search mode)
- How does a content search engine find your web site?
- links from other sites
- business associates
- mailing list archives
- hosting service index page
- direct submission of URL
- fee based submission
- When does a web crawler find your web site?
- link following, unpredictable, days or weeks
- direct submission, usually in a few days
- fee based submission, immediately
- What is ``search engine registration''?
- your hosting service fills in the forms for you
- sometimes semiautomatically
- no guarantees of success
- you can't afford the time to check
- Hosting
- What is it? Placing content on a web server
- What to consider before buying?
- What types of hosting are there?
- Dial-up, free, site, advanced, colocation, self
- What about search engine registration?
- Questions?
- Accepting credit card transactions
- Net credibility
- Net failures
- What is it?
- capturing a credit card number via your web page
- approving the transaction at the time of submit
- being able to debit the credit card account
- How is it done?
- merchant account may be required with a bank
- transactions usually attract a percentage fee
- server side scripting usually required
- hosting service will often be able to advise
- Security considerations
- transaction should be secured by encryption
- electronic mail from web server must be secure
- web server logs must be secure
- your computer must be secure
- What is it?
- your reputation within the net community
- What is the problem?
- net community reacts to abuse
- sharing of a bad response is fast
- interest group mailing lists
- old information stays around
- perception counts more than reality
- no way to appeal
- honesty and good records win
- Failures of business on the net
- Internet speed
- as communication increases so to does business
- entering the market can be quick
- return on investment can be quick
- failure can be even faster
- Example
- five ISPs went broke in Dubbo in last few years
- offered online service in competition with established services
- low barriers to market entry
- technical knowledge (freely available)
- software (freely available)
- equipment $5k to $15k
- connection to Australian network
- needed a service differentiator
- they chose "no download limit"
- Telstra charges by data, not time
- the bill killed them
- Hints for avoiding failure
- do a cost benefit analysis
- prepare a budget
- do not overreach
- understand the technology before buying it
- talk with others in your market
- monitor the results closely
- Business on the net
- Accepting credit card transactions
- Net credibility
- Net failures
- risks abound, it's business
- Questions?
- Communities
- Mailing Lists
- Web Forums
- Newsgroups
- Chat
- What are they?
- group of people who share an interest
- How to use them?
- lurk and listen
- learn acceptable behaviour
- giving: contribute answers
- taking: ask questions
- balance the give and take
- Community types
- mailing lists
- electronic mail redistribution
- like a letters to the editor
- web forums
- web site that records comments
- newsgroups
- distributed message delivery
- chat
- What are they?
- group of people who share a common address
- list of electronic mail addresses
- central message redistribution software (free)
- list maintenance software (free)
- How to use them?
- find a list (e.g. at egroups.com)
- find any web page archive of list postings
- determine the suitability of the mailing list
- decide: want to be "on list", "lurk", or
"surf"?
- subscribe to the list
- record unsubscription instructions
- wait for list mail
- write to list
- What can go wrong?
- cause pain for yourself
- cause people to laugh at you
- cause people to ignore your message
- cause people to ignore you permanently
- cause the community to eject you
- Common blunders
- pain for yourself (you fail to profit if you)
- don't know how to direct list mail to a folder
- lose the list unsubscribe information
- foot in mouth disease (people laugh at you if you)
- reply to all instead of one
- reply to one instead of all
- reply instead of posting (thread breaking)
- readability risks (people ignore you if you)
- post in non-text format
- add attachments (put them on the web)
- fail to trim your reply for context
- credibility killers
- blatantly advertise your own products
- post off topic messages
- offenses against the community (you may be ejected if you)
- reply "me too"
- engage in a flame war
- Lists vary in their response to abuse
- Solution: think of the community, not yourself
- What is it?
- immediate transfer of text, sound or vision
- Two main types
- point to point
- telephone call style
- reduces long distance call costs
- group
- conference call style
- reduces conferencing charges
- Costs
- software license
- installation and configuration effort
- training all participants
- data charges
- Reasons for unpopularity
- takes more time to place a call than a telephone
- a telephone gives better data performance
- both ends have to have interoperating software
- there are no commonly accepted protocols
- until the market chooses one, avoid choosing
- any investment you make may be wasted
- most of the products are easy to learn
- therefore we won't invest in learning them now
- Examples
- Internet relay chat
- SpeakFreely
- Microsoft Net Meeting
- May be able to demonstrate internet relay chat
Footnotes
- ... outside
- On the other hand, crackers can't easily get in to stuff with the systems we
used in class.
- ... this?)
- Someone registered au as a subdomain of .com which is administered within the
USA. From this they can grant subdomains of .au.com at no significant cost to
themselves, but yet charging.
- ... chat
- Wasn't able to, TAFE network security policy did not permit connection of foreign
devices to the local area network in the classroom. Had I brought along some
more computers, I could have demonstrated it, but I didn't see the value.