GRC 175 Class Lessons

Lesson 1 — Background Concepts (8 pages)

ABOUT COMMUNICATION

To better understand the web design & publication process it would be beneficial to review the
Communications Model which was discussed in my GRC 104 course, prerequisite to this course.

Any barrier to successful communication—whether that communication is a face-to-face conversation, a broadcast, a printed document, or a web page—is referred to as NOISE.

Noise generally is anything that inteferes with or takes aways from the message or its conveyance. (It could be static over the airways, poor reproduction on the press, or too many distracting elements in the message itself.)

Noise can come from a variety of sources, but the one that the web designer can best control is the actual design and presentation of the message itself. That is why understanding principles of page design and issues of web usability (concepts we will discuss in this course) is so important.

CLASS PARTICIPATION
DISCUSSION POINTS

Comment on any ONE of the following in the Lesson 1 thread of the Discussion Board.

1. What is the difference between Web Design and Web Development as described in the course materials?
2. How do you classify a web site when you evaluate/experience it: as one based on/using a particiular technology or according to the type of material or activty it provides?
3. How does the Communication Model relate to designing and building web pages/sites?

Background

There are a number of things relating to the Internet and the World Wide Web with which a web designer should be familiar. Read through the following links, which supplement what is covered in the Introduction section of the textbook.

IN THIS LECTURE

• Generations of Web / Types of Web Sites
• Web Design & Development Data Flow
• Brief history of Internet/Web
• Introduction to the WWW
• Client-Server Model and Web Development
• Protocols
• Internet Connections,
• Technologies and Services
• Web Organizations

Generations of Web / Types of Web Sites

The evolution of the World Wide Web in the earlier years was based on the advancements of HTML; design and functionality (the look and feel) of web sites became more sophisiticated as each new generation of the web came to being. With each new version of HTML, new features and capabilities were added to web sites.

Examine the Generations of the Web and notice how the design and functionality of web sites have changed and what classified a web site to be of one generation or another.

Today, web sites can be categorized by their function and can be divided into seven basic Types of Web Sites.

Web Design / Development Data Flow

[PDF, 603KB]

Web development incorporates all areas of creating a Web site for the World Wide Web. This includes Web design (graphic design, XHTML, CSS, usability and semantics), programming, server administration, content management, marketing, testing and deployment. The term can also specifially be used to refer to the "back end", that is, programming and server administration, which is beyond the scope of this course.

We will be referring to the activities of the designer (developing the aesthetics and functionality of the site from the client side) as Web Design and the overall process of planning, producing, testing and managing the site as Web Development.

The illustrated flowchart above is designed to give you an overall idea of how the data flows as you are working on your web pages, uploading and downloading files to the web as a designer and a user, and saving anad viewing your work. By understanding the relationships between client and server and the browser and web editor, you are better suited to keeping track of what you see on the screen and and the location of the files you are viewing.

LECTURE 1 Continued   •   Brief History of the World Wide Web