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Web Design

Website design is the process of architecture, design, and execution of electronic media content in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) for consumption in a web browser (Such as Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox) as a user interface.

In addition to common markup languages such as HTML and XHTML there are also style specific objects referred to as CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). CSS is used to position and manipulate web page elements and objects and can be integrated separate from the markup code (HTML).

The purpose of web design is to develop a web site (a collection of files that live on a web server) and present content and features to visitors via web pages. Elements such as text, digitized images (JPEG, PNG, GIF), and interactive forms can be served on a page using markup tags. Displaying complex media such as vector graphics, animation, video and sound often requires a plug-in such as QuickTime, Flash, Java run-time, etc. Plug-ins may be embedded in pages using HTML tags.

There are also scripting languages such as JavaScript which allow the pages to perform data manipulation based on user input, or variables set within the page. JavaScript (JS) allows string variables and Document Objects (eg. page elements) to change dynamically within the users browser. These operations and calculations happen client-side (eg in the users browser) and not on the web server before the page is delivered. As opposed to server-side languages such as PHP. Scripting languages are one way to make a page dynamic or interactive.

Typically web pages are classified as static or dynamic. Static pages don't change content with each request unless someone like a webmaster manually updates the file.

Interactive pages adapt their content based on the user's interaction. Page elements can be changed on the client side (end-user's computer) by using client-side scripting languages (JavaScript, Actionscript, etc.) to alter DOM elements. Dynamic content is often compiled on the server utilizing server-side scripting languages (JSP, Perl, Coldfusion, ASP, PHP, Ruby, etc.).

Web 2.0 describes web pages that use a combination of these client side and server side programming languages to update content in the user interface, usually without refreshing the page. This is most commonly delivered using AJAX (Asynchornous JavaScript and XML) where the JavaScript will take a user action and send that data to the server for processing via XML, then receive a response from the server and use JavaScript again to update the user interface (web page).

With the rapid propagation of the World Wide Web, tens of thousands of web design companies have been established worldwide to serve the business community. See W3C standards for more specific information on the accepted standards and best practices.