Content deleted Content added
ClueBot NG (talk | contribs) m Reverting possible vandalism by ENG BARMA to version by HotMess. Report False Positive? Thanks, ClueBot NG. (4321548) (Bot) Tag: Rollback |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Set of related web pages served from a single domain}} |
|||
{{pp-move-indef}} |
|||
{{For|the Internet domain|List of Internet top-level domains{{!}}.website}} |
|||
A '''website''' (also spelled '''Web site'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/help/faq/compound.htm#internet |title=Styling Internet- and computer-related terms (e.g., on-line, Web site, e-mail) |accessdate=2010-02-13 }}</ref>) is a collection of related [[web page]]s, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed relative to a common [[Uniform Resource Locator]] (URL), often consisting of only the domain name, or the [[IP address]], and the root path ('/') in an [[Internet Protocol]]-based network. A web site is hosted on at least one [[web server]], accessible via a network such as the [[Internet]] or a private [[local area network]]. |
|||
{{Distinguish|WebCite}} |
|||
{{pp|small=yes}} |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} |
|||
[[File:United States Antarctic Program website from 2018 02 22.png|thumb|right|240px|The [[United States Antarctic Program|usap.gov]] website]] |
|||
A '''website''' (also written as a '''web site''') is a collection of [[web page]]s and related content that is identified by a common [[domain name]] and published on at least one [[web server]]. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, commerce, entertainment, or [[social media]]. [[Hyperlink]]ing between web pages guides the navigation of the site, which often starts with a [[home page]]. The [[List of most-visited websites|most-visited]] sites are [[Google Search|Google]], [[YouTube]], and [[Facebook]].<!-- top 3 is enough here, and the only ones in the top 10 that both rankings sources agree on (March 2024) --> |
|||
All publicly-accessible websites collectively constitute the [[World Wide Web]]. There are also private websites that can only be accessed on a [[intranet|private network]], such as a company's internal website for its employees. [[User (computing)|Users]] can access websites on a range of devices, including [[desktop computer|desktops]], [[laptop]]s, [[tablet computer|tablets]], and [[smartphone]]s. The [[application software|app]] used on these devices is called a [[web browser]]. |
|||
A web page is a [[document]], typically written in [[plain text]] interspersed with formatting instructions of [[Hypertext Markup Language]] (HTML, [[XHTML]]). A web page may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable [[HTML anchor|markup anchors]]. |
|||
==Background== |
|||
Web pages are accessed and transported with the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP), which may optionally employ encryption ([[HTTP Secure]], HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the user of the web page content. The user's application, often a [[web browser]], renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a display terminal. |
|||
{{further|History of the World Wide Web}} |
|||
[[File:NASA Website Homepage - April 25, 2015.png|thumb|295x295px|The [[NASA|nasa.gov]] [[home page]] in 2015]] |
|||
All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the [[World Wide Web]]. |
|||
The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1989 by the British CERN computer scientist [[Tim Berners-Lee]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tim Berners-Lee|url=https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Overview.html|access-date=2021-11-17|website=W3C |archive-date=27 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927100010/https://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/Overview.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="First page">{{cite web | url=http://info.cern.ch/ | title=home of the first website |website=info.cern.ch | access-date=30 August 2008 | archive-date=10 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610063709/http://info.cern.ch/ | url-status=live}}</ref> On 30 April 1993, [[CERN]] announced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone, contributing to the immense growth of the Web.<ref name="w3c">{{cite web |url=http://www.w3.org/History.html |title=A Little History of the World Wide Web |access-date=16 February 2007 |last=Cailliau |first=Robert |archive-date=6 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506021750/http://www.w3.org/History.html |website=W3C |url-status=live}}</ref> Before the introduction of the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP), other protocols such as [[File Transfer Protocol]] and the [[gopher protocol]] were used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simple [[directory structure]] in 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 in [[word processor]] formats. |
|||
The pages of a website can usually be accessed from a simple Uniform Resource Locator called the [[homepage]]. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although [[hyperlink]]ing between them conveys the reader's perceived [[site map|site structure]] and guides the reader's navigation of the site. |
|||
Some websites require a [[subscription]] to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription sites include many business sites, parts of many [[news]] sites, [[academic journal]] sites, gaming sites, [[Internet forum|message boards]], web-based [[e-mail]], services, [[social networking]] websites, and sites providing real-time [[stock market]] data. |
|||
==History== |
==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 as ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Internet, Web, and Other Post-Watergate Concerns |url=http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns13.html |access-date=18 September 2010 |publisher=University of Chicago |archive-date=20 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220163158/http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns13.html |url-status=dead |website=The Chicago Manual of Style}}</ref> and the ''[[AP Stylebook]]'',<ref name="AP tweet">{{Cite tweet|number=12296505018|user=APStylebook|title=Responding to reader input, we are changing Web site to website. This appears on Stylebook Online today and in the 2010 book next month.|author=AP Stylebook|author-link=AP Stylebook|date=16 April 2010|access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref> have reflected this change. |
|||
The [[World Wide Web]] (WWW) was created in 1989 by CERN physicist [[Tim Berners-Lee]].<ref name='First page'> {{Cite web | url=http://info.cern.ch/ |title=The website of the world's first-ever web server |accessdate=2008-08-30}}</ref> On 30 April 1993, [[CERN]] announced that the World Wide Web would be free to use for anyone.<ref name='w3c'> {{cite web|url=http://www.w3.org/History.html |title=A Little History of the World Wide Web |accessdate=2007-02-16 |last=Cailliau |first=Robert }}</ref> |
|||
Before the introduction of HTML and HTTP, other protocols such as [[file transfer protocol]] and the [[gopher protocol]] were used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simple directory structure which the user navigates and chooses files to download. Documents were most often presented as plain text files without formatting or were encoded in [[word processor]] formats. |
|||
==Overview== |
|||
Organized by function, a website may be |
|||
* a [[personal website]] |
|||
* a [[Commercial website#Websites as businesses|commercial website]] |
|||
* a [[e-Government|government website]] |
|||
* a [[non-profit organization]] website |
|||
It could be the work of an individual, a business or other organization, and is typically dedicated to some particular topic or purpose. Any website can contain a hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as perceived by the user, may sometimes be blurred. |
|||
Websites are written in, or dynamically converted to, HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using a [[software]] interface classified as a [[user agent]]. Web pages can be viewed or otherwise accessed from a range of computer-based and Internet-enabled devices of various sizes, including desktop computers, laptops, PDAs and cell phones. |
|||
In February 2009, [[Netcraft]], an [[Website monitoring|Internet monitoring]] company 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Web Server Survey |url=http://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ |access-date=13 March 2017 |website=[[Netcraft]] |language=en-US |archive-date=20 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110820181833/http://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/ A total number of Websites | Internet live stats]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720110402/http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/ |date=20 July 2017}}. ''internetlivestats.com''. Retrieved 14 April 2015.</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Web Server Survey |url=https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ |access-date=2021-05-17 |website=Netcraft News |language=en-gb |archive-date=24 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724033250/https://news.netcraft.com/archives/category/web-server-survey/ |url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 85 percent of all websites are inactive.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deon |date=2020-05-26 |title=How Many Websites Are There Around the World? [2021] |url=https://siteefy.com/how-many-websites-are-there/ |access-date=2021-05-17 |website=Siteefy |language=en-US |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517211328/https://siteefy.com/how-many-websites-are-there/ |url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
A website is [[Web hosting service|hosted]] on a [[computer system]] known as a [[web server]], also called an HTTP server, and these terms can also refer to the [[software]] that runs on these systems and that retrieves and delivers the web pages in response to requests from the website users. [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]] is the most commonly used web server software (according to [[Netcraft]] statistics) and [[Microsoft]]'s [[Internet Information Server]] (IIS) is also commonly used. |
|||
==Static website== |
==Static website== |
||
{{Main| |
{{Main|Static web page}} |
||
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 in [[Hypertext 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 a ''classic website'', a ''five-page website'' or a ''brochure website'' are 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. |
|||
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 in [[Hypertext Markup Language]] (HTML). |
|||
Static websites may still use [[server side include]]s (SSI) as an editing convenience, such as sharing a common menu bar across many pages. As the site's behavior ''to the reader'' is still static, this is not considered a dynamic site. |
|||
Simple forms or marketing examples of websites, such as ''classic website'', a ''five-page website'' or a ''brochure website'' are 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 via text, photos, animations, audio/video and interactive menus and navigation. |
|||
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. |
|||
In summary, visitors are not able to control what information they receive via a static website, and must instead settle for whatever content the website owner has decided to offer at that time. |
|||
They are edited using four broad categories of software: |
|||
*[[Text editor]]s, such as [[Notepad (Windows)|Notepad]] or [[TextEdit]], where content and HTML markup are manipulated directly within the editor program |
|||
* [[WYSIWYG]] offline editors, such as [[Microsoft FrontPage]] and [[Adobe Dreamweaver]] (previously Macromedia Dreamweaver), with which the site is edited using a [[GUI]] interface and the final HTML markup is generated automatically by the editor software |
|||
* WYSIWYG online editors which create media rich online presentation like web pages, widgets, intro, blogs, and other documents. |
|||
* Template-based editors, such as [[Rapidweaver]] and [[iWeb]], which allow users to quickly create and upload web pages to a web server without detailed HTML knowledge, as they pick a suitable template from a palette and add pictures and text to it in a [[desktop publishing]] fashion without direct manipulation of [[Character encodings in HTML|HTML code]]. |
|||
==Dynamic website== |
==Dynamic website== |
||
{{Main| |
{{Main|Dynamic web page|Web application|Progressive web app}} |
||
[[Image:Server-side websites programming languages.PNG|thumb|Server-side programming language usage in 2016]] |
|||
A dynamic website is one that changes or customizes itself frequently and automatically, based on certain criteria. |
|||
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 as [[Common Gateway Interface|CGI]], [[Java Servlets]] and [[Java Server Pages]] (JSP), [[Active Server Pages]] and [[ColdFusion]] (CFML) that are available to generate [[Programming languages used in most popular websites|dynamic Web systems and dynamic sites]]. Various [[Web application framework]]s and [[Web template system]]s are available for general-use [[programming language]]s like [[Perl]], [[PHP]], [[Python (programming language)|Python]] and [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]] to 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 a [[database]] or another website via [[RSS]] to produce a page that includes the latest information. Dynamic sites can be interactive by using [[HTML forms]], storing and reading back [[browser 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 keyword [[Beatles]]. 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 HTML]] uses [[JavaScript]] code 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. |
|||
Dynamic websites can have two types of dynamic activity: Code and Content. Dynamic code is invisible or behind the scenes and dynamic content is visible or fully displayed. |
|||
==Multimedia and interactive content== |
|||
===Dynamic code=== |
|||
Early websites had only text, and soon after, images. Web browser [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]]s were then used to add audio, video, and interactivity (such as for a [[rich Web application]] that mirrors the complexity of a desktop application like a word processor). Examples of such plug-ins are [[Microsoft Silverlight]], [[Adobe Flash Player]], [[Adobe Shockwave Player]], and [[Java SE]]. [[HTML 5]] includes 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 the [[Document Object Model]] (DOM). |
|||
The first type is a web page with dynamic code. The code is constructed dynamically on the fly using active programming language instead of plain, static HTML. |
|||
[[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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khronos.org/webgl/|title=OpenGL ES for the Web|website=khronos.org|date=19 July 2011|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-date=15 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215025546/http://www.khronos.org/webgl/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
A website with dynamic code refers to its construction or how it is built, and more specifically refers to the code used to create a single web page. A dynamic web page is generated on the fly by piecing together certain blocks of code, procedures or routines. A dynamically-generated web page would call various bits of information from a database and put them together in a pre-defined format to present the reader with a coherent page. It interacts with users in a variety of ways including by reading cookies recognizing users' previous history, session variables, server side variables etc., or by using direct interaction (form elements, mouseovers, etc.). 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. |
|||
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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/design-and-ui/responsive/|title=Responsive Web Design Basics - Web|website=Google Developers|access-date=13 March 2017|author=Pete LePage|archive-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305050613/https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/design-and-ui/responsive/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
|||
===Dynamic content=== |
|||
The second type is a website with dynamic content displayed in plain view. Variable content is displayed dynamically on the fly based on certain criteria, usually by retrieving content stored in a database. |
|||
==Types== |
|||
A website with dynamic content refers to how its messages, text, images and other information are displayed on the web page, and more specifically how its content changes at any given moment. The web page content varies based on certain criteria, either pre-defined rules or variable user input. For example, a website with a database of news articles can use a pre-defined rule which tells it to display all news articles for today's date. This type of dynamic website will automatically show the most current news articles on any given date. Another example of dynamic content is when a retail website with a database of media products allows a user to input a search request for the keyword Beatles. 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 CD's, DVD's and books. |
|||
Websites can be divided into two broad categories—static and interactive. Interactive sites are part of the [[Web 2.0]] community 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 selling [[contextual advertising]] either through direct sales or through an advertising network. |
|||
===Purpose of dynamic websites=== |
|||
* [[E-commerce]]: products or services are purchased directly through the website |
|||
The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages. |
|||
* Advertising products or services available at a [[Brick and mortar business|brick-and-mortar business]] |
|||
* [[Freemium]]: basic content is available for free, but premium content requires a payment (e.g., [[WordPress]] website, it is an open-source platform to build a blog or website). |
|||
==Software systems== |
|||
* Some websites require user registration or [[subscription]] to access the content. Examples of [[paywall|subscription websites]] include many business sites, news websites, [[academic journal]] websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, [[Internet forum|message boards]], Web-based [[email]], [[social networking]] websites, websites providing real-time [[stock market]] data, as well as sites providing various other services. |
|||
There is a wide range of software systems, such as [[Java Server Pages]] (JSP), the [[PHP]] and [[Perl]] [[programming languages]], [[Active Server Pages]] (ASP), YUMA and [[ColdFusion]] (CFML) that are available to generate dynamic web systems and dynamic sites. Sites may also include content that is retrieved from one or more [[database]]s or by using [[XML]]-based technologies such as [[RSS (file format)|RSS]]. |
|||
Static content may also be dynamically generated either periodically, or if certain conditions for regeneration occur (cached) in order to avoid the performance loss of initiating the dynamic engine on a per-user or per-connection basis. |
|||
[[Plug-in (computing)|Plug in]]s are available to expand the features and abilities of web browsers, which use them to show ''active content,'' such as [[Microsoft Silverlight]], [[Adobe Flash]], [[Adobe Shockwave]] or [[applet]]s written in [[Java (programming language)|Java]]. [[Dynamic HTML]] also provides for user interactivity and realtime element updating within web pages (i.e., pages don't have to be loaded or reloaded to effect any changes), mainly using the [[Document Object Model]] (DOM) and [[JavaScript]], support which is built-in to most modern web browsers. |
|||
Turning a website into an income source is a common practice for web developers and website owners. There are several methods for creating a website business which fall into two broad categories, as defined below. |
|||
===Content-based sites=== |
|||
Some websites derive revenue by selling advertising space on the site (see [[Contextual advertising]]). |
|||
===Product- or service-based sites=== |
|||
Some websites derive revenue by offering products or services for sale. In the case of [[e-commerce]] websites, the products or services may be purchased at the website itself, by entering credit card or other payment information into a payment form on the site. While most business websites serve as a shop window for existing [[Bricks and mortar business|brick and mortar]] businesses, it is increasingly the case that some websites are businesses in their own right; that is, the products they offer are only available for purchase on the web. |
|||
Websites occasionally derive income from a combination of these two practices. For example, a website such as an online auctions website may charge the users of its auction service to list an auction, but also display third-party advertisements on the site, from which it derives further income. |
|||
==Spelling== |
|||
The forms ''website'' and ''web site'' are the most commonly used forms, the former especially in British English. The Associated Press Style book, [[Reuters]], [[Microsoft]], academia, [[Publishing|book publishing]], ''[[The Chicago Manual of Style]]'', and dictionaries such as [[Merriam-Webster]] use the two-word, initially capitalized spelling ''Web site''. This is because "Web" is not a general term but a short form of ''World Wide Web''. As with many newly created terms,{{Which?|date=December 2009}} it may take some time before a common spelling is finalized.{{Or|date=December 2009}} This controversy also applies to derivative terms such as web page, web master, and web cam. |
|||
The [[Canadian Oxford Dictionary]] and the Canadian Press Style book list "website" and "web page" as the preferred spellings. The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] began using "website" as its standardized form in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/website?view=uk |title=Ask Oxford: How should the term ''website'' be written in official documents and on the web? |accessdate=2007-02-23 |format= |work=Oxford Dictionaries Online }}</ref> |
|||
[[Bill Walsh (author)|Bill Walsh]], the copy chief of ''The Washington Post's'' national desk, and one of American English's foremost grammarians, argues for the two-word spelling with capital W in his books ''Lapsing into a Comma'' and ''The Elephants of Style'', and on his site, the Slot.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theslot.com/email.html |title=The Slot—Sharp Points: Here We Go Again—Eeee! |accessdate=2007-02-25 |work= }}</ref> |
|||
==Types of websites== |
|||
There are many varieties of websites, each specializing in a particular type of content or use, and they may be arbitrarily classified in any number of ways. A few such classifications might include:{{Or|date=September 2007}} |
|||
* [[Affiliate]]: enabled [[Web portal|portal]] that renders not only its custom [[Content management system|CMS]] but also syndicated content from other content providers for an agreed fee. There are usually three relationship tiers. [[Affiliate marketing|Affiliate Agencies]] (e.g., [[Commission Junction]]), [[Advertisers]] (e.g., [[eBay]]) and consumer (e.g., [[Yahoo!]]). |
|||
* [[Archive site]]: used to preserve valuable electronic content threatened with extinction. Two examples are: [[Internet Archive]], which since 1996 has preserved billions of old (and new) web pages; and [[Google Groups]], which in early 2005 was archiving over 845,000,000 messages posted to [[Usenet]] news/discussion groups. |
|||
* [[Blog]] (web log): sites generally used to post online diaries which may include discussion forums (e.g., [[blogger.com|blogger]], [[Xanga]]). |
|||
* [[Brand building site]]: a site with the purpose of creating an experience of a brand online. These sites usually do not sell anything, but focus on building the brand. Brand building sites are most common for low-value, high-volume [[fast moving consumer goods]] (FMCG). |
|||
*[[City|City Site]]: A site that shows information about a certain city or town and events that takes place in that town. Usually created by the city council or other "movers and shakers". |
|||
** the same as those of geographic entities, such as cities and countries. For example, Richmond.com is the [[geodomain]] for [[Richmond, Virginia]]. |
|||
* [[Community site]]: a site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by [[Online chat|chat]] or message boards, such as [[MySpace]] or [[Facebook]]. |
|||
* [[Content (media and publishing)|Content]] site: sites whose business is the creation and distribution of original content (e.g., [[slate.com|Slate]], [[About.com]]). |
|||
* [[Corporate website]]: used to provide background information about a business, organization, or service. |
|||
* [[Electronic commerce]] (e-commerce) site: a site offering goods and services for [[Online shopping|online sale]] and enabling online transactions for such sales. |
|||
* [[Internet forum|Forum]]: a site where people discuss various topics. |
|||
* [[Gripe site]]: a site devoted to the critique of a person, place, corporation, government, or institution. |
|||
* [[Humor site]]: satirizes, parodies or otherwise exists solely to amuse. |
|||
* Information site: contains content that is intended to inform visitors, but not necessarily for commercial purposes, such as: [[RateMyProfessors.com]], Free Internet Lexicon and Encyclopedia. Most government, educational and non-profit institutions have an informational site. |
|||
* [[Java applet]] site: contains software to run over the Web as a [[Web application]]. |
|||
* [[Mirror (computing)|Mirror]] site: A complete reproduction of a website. |
|||
* [[Microblog]] : a short and simple form of blogging. |
|||
* [[News site]]: similar to an information site, but dedicated to dispensing news and commentary. |
|||
* [[Personal homepage]]: run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include. These are usually uploaded using a web hosting service such as [[Geocities]]. |
|||
* [[Phishing|Phish site]]: a website created to fraudulently acquire [[Information sensitivity|sensitive information]], such as passwords and [[credit card]] details, by masquerading as a trustworthy person or business (such as [[Social Security Administration]], [[PayPal]]) in an [[Telecommunication|electronic communication]] (see [[Phishing]]). |
|||
* Political site: A site on which people may voice political views. |
|||
* [[Internet pornography|Porn site]]: A site that shows sexually explicit content for enjoyment and relaxation, most likely in the form of an Internet gallery, dating site, blog, social networking, or video sharing. |
|||
* [[Rating site]]: A site on which people can praise or disparage what is featured. |
|||
* [[Review site]]: A site on which people can post reviews for products or services. |
|||
* [[School Websites|School site]]: a site on which teachers, students, or administrators can post information about current events at or involving their school. U.S. elementary-high school websites generally use k12 in the URL, such as kearney.k12.mo.us. |
|||
* [[Web search engine|Search engine]] site: a site that provides general information and is intended as a gateway or lookup for other sites. A pure example is [[Google]], and well-known sites include [[Yahoo! Search]] and [[Bing (search engine)]]. |
|||
* [[Shock site]]: includes [[image]]s or other material that is intended to be offensive to most viewers (e.g. [[rotten.com]]). |
|||
* [[Social bookmarking]] site: a site where users share other content from the Internet and rate and comment on the content. [[StumbleUpon]] and [[Digg]] are examples. |
|||
* [[Social networking service|Social networking]] site: a site where users could communicate with one another and share media, such as pictures, videos, music, blogs, etc. with other users. These may include games and web applications. |
|||
* [[Video sharing]]: A site that enables user to upload videos, such as [[YouTube]] and [[Google Video]]. |
|||
* [[Warez]]: a site designed to host and let users download copyrighted materials illegally. |
|||
* [[Web portal]]: a site that provides a starting point or a gateway to other resources on the Internet or an intranet. |
|||
* [[Wiki]] site: a site which users collaboratively edit (such as [[Wikipedia]] and [[Wikihow]]). |
|||
Some websites may be included in one or more of these categories. For example, a business website may promote the business's products, but may also host informative documents, such as [[white paper]]s. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above. For example, a [[porn]] site is a specific type of e-commerce site or business site (that is, it is trying to sell memberships for access to its site). A [[fan site]] may be a dedication from the owner to a particular [[celebrity]]. |
|||
Websites are constrained by architectural limits (e.g., the computing power dedicated to the website). Very large websites, such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google employ many servers and [[load balancing (computing)|load balancing]] equipment such as [[Cisco Systems|Cisco]] Content Services [[Network switch|Switches]] to distribute visitor loads over multiple computers at multiple locations. |
|||
In February 2009, [[Netcraft]], an [[Internet monitoring]] company 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 18,000 websites in August 1995. |
|||
==Awards== |
|||
The [[Webby Awards]] are a set of awards presented to the world's best websites, a concept pioneered by [[Best of the Web Directory|Best of the Web]] in 1994. |
|||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
{{Portal|Internet| |
{{Portal|Internet|Computer programming}} |
||
{{ |
{{div col}} |
||
* [[Bulletin board system]] |
|||
<div style="-moz-column-count:4; column-count:4;"> |
|||
* [[ |
* [[Link rot]] |
||
* [[ |
* [[Lists of websites]] |
||
* [[ |
* [[Site map]] |
||
* [[Web content management system]] |
|||
* [[Extranet]] |
|||
* [[Intranet]] |
|||
* [[List of content management systems]] |
|||
* [[List of websites]] |
|||
* [[Rating sites]] |
|||
* [[IBM Rational Application Developer|Rational (WebSphere) Application Developer]] |
|||
* [[Real user monitoring]] |
|||
* [[Search Engine Optimization]] |
|||
* [[Staging site]] |
|||
* [[Template engine (web)]] |
|||
* [[Tim Berners-Lee]], the inventor of the [[World Wide Web]] |
|||
* [[Uptime]] |
|||
* [[Web analytics]] |
|||
* [[Web application]] |
|||
* [[Web content management]] |
|||
* [[Web design]] |
* [[Web design]] |
||
* [[Web development]] |
* [[Web development]] |
||
* [[Web |
* [[Web development tools]] |
||
* [[Web service]] |
* [[Web hosting service]] |
||
* [[Web |
* [[Web template system]] |
||
<!-- * [[Website architecture]] --><!-- Now a red link but surely there is something equivalent ? --> |
|||
* [[Webmaster]] |
|||
* [[Website architecture]] |
|||
* [[Website awards]] |
|||
* [[Website Design Process Steps]] |
|||
* [[Website governance]] |
* [[Website governance]] |
||
* [[Website |
* [[Website monetization]] |
||
* [[Website monitoring]] |
|||
* [[Website templates]] |
|||
* [[World Wide Web Consortium]] (Web standards) |
* [[World Wide Web Consortium]] (Web standards) |
||
{{div col end}} |
|||
* [[Yahoo! Site Explorer]] |
|||
</div> |
|||
==References== |
==References== |
||
{{ |
{{Reflist|30em}} |
||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
{{wiktionary|website}} |
|||
* [http://www.icann.org/ Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)] |
|||
{{Library resources box |
|||
* [http://www.w3.org/ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)] |
|||
|by=no |
|||
* [http://www.isoc.org/ The Internet Society (ISOC)] |
|||
|onlinebooks=no |
|||
|others=no |
|||
|about=yes |
|||
|label=Website}} |
|||
* [https://www.icann.org/ Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)] |
|||
* [https://www.w3.org/ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)] |
|||
* [https://www.internetsociety.org/ The Internet Society (ISOC)] |
|||
{{Websites template}} |
|||
{{Authority control}} |
|||
[[ |
[[Category:Websites| ]] |
||
[[am:ዌብሳይት]] |
|||
[[ar:موقع ويب]] |
|||
[[az:Veb-sayt]] |
|||
[[bn:ওয়েবসাইট]] |
|||
[[zh-min-nan:Bāng-chām]] |
|||
[[bs:Web sajt]] |
|||
[[bg:Уебсайт]] |
|||
[[ca:Lloc web]] |
|||
[[cs:Website]] |
|||
[[de:Website]] |
|||
[[et:Veebisait]] |
|||
[[el:Ιστότοπος]] |
|||
[[es:Sitio web]] |
|||
[[eo:TTT-ejo]] |
|||
[[eu:Webgune]] |
|||
[[fa:وبگاه]] |
|||
[[fr:Site Web]] |
|||
[[gl:Sitio web]] |
|||
[[ko:웹사이트]] |
|||
[[hy:Ցանցակայք]] |
|||
[[id:Situs web]] |
|||
[[ia:Sito web]] |
|||
[[it:Sito web]] |
|||
[[he:אתר אינטרנט]] |
|||
[[jv:Situs wèb]] |
|||
[[ka:ვებ-საიტი]] |
|||
[[lo:ເວັບໄຊຕ໌]] |
|||
[[la:Situs interretialis]] |
|||
[[lv:Tīmekļa vietne]] |
|||
[[lmo:Sit internet]] |
|||
[[mk:Мрежно место]] |
|||
[[mt:Sit elettroniku]] |
|||
[[mr:संकेतस्थळ]] |
|||
[[ms:Tapak web]] |
|||
[[nl:Website]] |
|||
[[ja:ウェブサイト]] |
|||
[[no:Nettsted]] |
|||
[[nn:Nettstad]] |
|||
[[pl:Serwis internetowy]] |
|||
[[pt:Site]] |
|||
[[ro:Sit web]] |
|||
[[ru:Веб-сайт]] |
|||
[[sq:Vëndi i rrjetës]] |
|||
[[scn:Situ web]] |
|||
[[si:වෙබ් අඩවිය]] |
|||
[[simple:Website]] |
|||
[[sk:Webová lokalita]] |
|||
[[sl:Spletišče]] |
|||
[[su:Ramatloka]] |
|||
[[fi:Verkkosivusto]] |
|||
[[sv:Webbplats]] |
|||
[[tl:Websayt]] |
|||
[[ta:வலைத்தளம்]] |
|||
[[te:వెబ్సైటు]] |
|||
[[th:เว็บไซต์]] |
|||
[[tr:Web Sitesi]] |
|||
[[uk:Веб-сайт]] |
|||
[[vi:Website]] |
|||
[[wa:Waibe (Daegntoele)]] |
|||
[[vls:Website]] |
|||
[[wo:Dalub web]] |
|||
[[yi:וועבזייטל]] |
|||
[[zh:網站]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 00:22, 9 May 2024
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, commerce, entertainment, or social media. Hyperlinking between web pages guides the navigation of the site, which often starts with a home page. The most-visited sites are Google, YouTube, and Facebook.
All publicly-accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web. There are also private websites that can only be accessed on a private network, such as a company's internal website for its employees. Users can access websites on a range of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The app used on these devices is called a web browser.
Background
The World Wide Web (WWW) was created in 1989 by the British CERN computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee.[1][2] On 30 April 1993, CERN announced 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 the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), other protocols such as File Transfer Protocol and the gopher protocol were used to retrieve individual files from a server. These protocols offer a simple directory structure in 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 in word processor formats.
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 as The Chicago Manual of Style[4] and the AP Stylebook,[5] have reflected this change.
In February 2009, Netcraft, an Internet monitoring company 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 in Hypertext 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 a classic website, a five-page website or a brochure website are 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 use server side includes (SSI) as an editing convenience, such as sharing a common menu bar across many pages. As the site's behavior to the reader is 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 as CGI, Java Servlets and Java Server Pages (JSP), Active Server Pages and ColdFusion (CFML) that are available to generate dynamic Web systems and dynamic sites. Various Web application frameworks and Web template systems are available for general-use programming languages like Perl, PHP, Python and Ruby to 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 a database or another website via RSS to produce a page that includes the latest information. Dynamic sites can be interactive by using HTML forms, storing and reading back browser 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 keyword Beatles. 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 HTML uses JavaScript code 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 browser plug-ins were then used to add audio, video, and interactivity (such as for a rich Web application that mirrors the complexity of a desktop application like a word processor). Examples of such plug-ins are Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Shockwave Player, and Java SE. HTML 5 includes 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 the Document 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 the Web 2.0 community 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 selling contextual advertising either 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 a brick-and-mortar business
- Freemium: basic content is available for free, but premium content requires a payment (e.g., WordPress website, it is an open-source platform to build a blog or website).
- Some websites require user registration or subscription to access the content. Examples of subscription websites include many business sites, news websites, academic journal websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, message boards, Web-based email, social networking websites, websites providing real-time stock market data, as well as sites providing various other services.
See also
References
- ^ "Tim Berners-Lee". W3C. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "home of the first website". info.cern.ch. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ Cailliau, Robert. "A Little History of the World Wide Web". W3C. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2007.
- ^ "Internet, Web, and Other Post-Watergate Concerns". The Chicago Manual of Style. University of Chicago. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ 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). Retrieved 18 March 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Web Server Survey". Netcraft. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ^ A total number of Websites | Internet live stats. Archived 20 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine. internetlivestats.com. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
- ^ "Web Server Survey". Netcraft News. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ Deon (26 May 2020). "How Many Websites Are There Around the World? [2021]". Siteefy. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "OpenGL ES for the Web". khronos.org. 19 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 December 2009. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
- ^ Pete LePage. "Responsive Web Design Basics - Web". Google Developers. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
External links
- Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
- The Internet Society (ISOC)
