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12.1 Types of websites and supporting technologies

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image CHAPTER OVERVIEW

Unit 12.1 Types of websites and supporting technologies
Unit 12.2 Internet-related careers

image Learning outcomes

At the end of this chapter you should be able to:

  • give an overview of internet services technologies
  • compare static vs dynamic sites and location-based services sites
  • explain the function of HTTP, HTTPS
  • describe the purpose, advantages and limitations of multi factor authentication, one time pin (OTP) and security token valid for limited period
  • describe internet related careers

INTRODUCTION

In 2018, there were more than 1,8 billion websites in the world, which means that there is probably a website for every topic you can think of. Databases are especially important on websites where users create the content (like YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia), since it would be impossible for a data capturer to add this information manually. Instead, these websites are set up so that any information entered by users are automatically stored in different databases. This includes items like status updates, likes, tweets and any videos or pictures the user uploaded. The databases also store the user’s personal information, such as their email address, username and password.

INTERNET SERVICES TECHNOLOGIES

The table below lists different types of websites and gives examples of each type.

Table 12.1: Some types of websites you can explore

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Activity 12.1 Revision activity

12.1.1In small groups, look at each website and discuss the following questions:

a.Define each type of website.

b.How is each website different and unique? What purpose does this serve?

UNIT
12.1 Types of websites and supporting technologies

Websites are made up of web pages. When the information that will be displayed on a web page are coded directly into the web page, the web page is called static. In contrast, when the web page is a container that collects information from a database based on user inputs (), the web page is called dynamic.

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Did you know

Remember, not everything you read on the internet is true. Creating a website does not make you an expert on a topic!

Websites can also be categorised based on criteria, such as whether the website is static or dynamic, uses location-based services and has been made accessible to mobile devices. The remainder of this unit will look at these characteristics.

STATIC WEBSITES

Static websites are websites where the information is coded directly into the website using HTML. This means that the content of the website will never change, unless someone changes the HTML of the website. It also means that a web developer has developed a separate HTML file for each page of the website.

ADVANTAGES
  • Easy to host and develop.
  • Affordable to host anddevelop.
  • Can display multimedia.
DISADVANTAGES
  • Changes affecting multiple pages (such as to the header and footer) need to be made on each page.
  • Need to be a web developer to add content.
  • Information updates less frequently.
  • Need to code a separate web page file for each page of your website.
  • Website is not interactive.
  • Changes are time consuming to make.

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Did you know

If Wikipedia was a static website, anytime they wanted to change their logo, or add an item, they would need to open millions of pages to make that change. This would make it impossible for Wikipedia to make any large-scale changes to their website.

DYNAMIC WEBSITES

In contrast, in a dynamic website the information displayed on the website is stored in a database and dynamically loaded onto pages based on the user’s request. When the user visits the page about Bafana Bafana, a request is sent to the Wikipedia database that retrieves all the information for the Bafana Bafana webpage. This information is then placed into a standard Wikipedia web page template. If a different page is visited, then new information is requested and placed into the same standard web page template.

The advantages and disadvantages of dynamic websites are shown below.

ADVANTAGES
  • Changes to the template can be made once and immediately affect all pages.
  • Can be updated without programming knowledge.
  • Scripts can be used to update the website to only show the most relevant information.
  • Can interact with the user.
  • Since the content is dynamic, users are more likely to revisit the site to read the new content.
  • Can display multimedia.
DISADVANTAGES
  • Requires more knowledge to develop the initial website.
  • Takes longer and is more expensive to develop.
  • A single template mistake can affect all pages using that template.

LOCATION-BASED SERVICES SITES

Location-based websites work by making use of the user’s location to determine which website or information to show the user.

Other websites like Facebook and Google make use of location-based services to determine which advertisements and search results to show to users, while a service like Google Maps uses your location to find the shortest route to nearby locations.

ADVANTAGES OF LOCATION BASED SERVICE SITES

Location based services work, use real-time data from a mobile device or smartphone to provide information, entertainment or security.

Some advantage of location based services are:

  • Enable marketers to gain a better idea about the group of customers that are more likely to favor a particular product or service.
  • By forming a network, companies can support and promote each other, the success of one company can prove beneficial to all the others.
  • Once businesses identify their customers’ behavior pattern by using location based services, they can be targeted by offering rewards and discounts for the services that are used by them the most.

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Did you know

Today, almost all popular websites, both large and small, are dynamic websites. This allows these websites to be updated more easily, to stay relevant and to interact with the user.

SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES

Part of the evolution of the internet has been the development of technologies that help people use the internet. The following are some of the most important technologies:

  • HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the protocol that controls how web pages are sent from a web server to a user’s web browser. It helps to transfer information like document, file, image, video between computers over internet
  • HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP in which data is encrypted before it transferred. This type of technology is used by, for example, banks because of all the sensitive information their clients access when doing transactions on internet banking.

SECURITY SERVICES

Internet security services include services like:

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image Activity 12.2

12.2.1Give ONE word/term for each of the following descriptions. Write only the word/term next to the question number (1.1–1.5) in your theory writing book.

a.This type of website is used to fight to change laws or public opinion. This can be about any topic that they feel strongly about.

b.A website that gathers news and information from many different area websites and provides links to the most interesting information.

c.A website that brings several different types of websites together

d.A website that connects you to people by making friends, seeing what they are up to, and posting your thoughts and photos.

e.An application that runs directly on a website, like a word processing application or a fitness tracker.

f.A website that posts short, informal stories about any topic, so that the newest story appears at the top of the website.

g.A website about a single person.

Peter has this idea of creating a website where he can load the programmes and show information on the gala. People must also be able to enter the gala online. The swimmers must use the web pages as a platform to write blogs and be able to upload videos of their events.

12.2.2Should he create a Web 1.0 or a Web 2.0 website? Give a reason to support your answer.

12.2.3Seeing the needs for the web page, should you suggest Peter to a static page or a dynamic page? Support your answer with a reason for your choice.

a.List TWO advantages of a static page.

b.List TWO advantages of a dynamic page.

12.2.4Peter wants to assign a person to upload blog posts as the event is progressing, allowing users to view and comment on the event in real-time. What do we call this?

12.2.5Explain to Peter the difference between HTTP and HTTPS and which is better to use.

12.2.6Compare the types of security services.

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UNIT
12.2 Internet-related careers

With the incredible growth of the internet, millions of internet-related jobs were created worldwide. These jobs range from web content developers, to independent web designers, to specialist back-end web developers!

The table below will briefly summarise five of the most important internet-related careers. It is important that you pay careful attention to the different job titles, since small differences in the titles can result in completely different jobs!

Table 12.2: The most common internet-related careers

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image Activity 12.3

12.3.1 Discuss what a graphics and multimedia designer does.

12.3.2 As the workload is increasing you realise that you need to hire someone to assist you in designing websites. A friend introduces you to a possible employee who says he has been a web designer for the past five years.

a.State TWO duties of a web designer.

b.Motivate why you would hire or not hire this web designer for the job.

CONSOLIDATION ACTIVITY Chapter 12: Internet Services Technologies

1.Choose the correct answer.

a.Which one is NOT an advantage or characteristic of static website?

A.Relatively simple to design

B.Don’t need much Server power

C.Designed for client side only

D.Can adapt to user needs and preferences

b.What is the immediate and real time delivery of media content to a receiving device, starting from the time at which the media is opened called?

A.Streaming

B.Uploading

C.Codec

D.Resolution

c.Which one of the following is NOT an advantage of a static website?

A.Easy to develop

B.Can be updated without programming

C.Easy and affordable to host

D.Can display multimedia

d.Which one of the following is NOT a disadvantage of a dynamic website?

A.Website is not interactive.

B.A single template mistake can affect all pages using that template.

C.Takes longer and is more expensive to develop

D.None of the above

2.Choose the answer and write ‘true’ or ‘false’ next to the question number. Correct the statement if it is FALSE. Change the underlined word(s) to make the statement TRUE. (You may not simply use the word ‘NOT’ to change the statement.)

a.Web 2.0 and 3.0 websites are generally static web pages.

b.Webpages uses scripts to collect information from a database and place it on the page.

c.Downloading is the easiest way to share media on the internet.

d.Video suppression works by recording the difference between a frame and the next.

e.The JPEG (or .jpg) file format is one of the most popular formats used to store images.

3.There are business and marketing websites. List THREE other types of websites.

4.What is a location-based website?

5.You have specific news websites that you visit regularly, RSS feeds have been suggested to you.

a.Explain how RSS feeds work.

b.Name another application of RSS feeds.

6.Explain what a web author is responsible for.

7.You and your friend decide to start a business selling gaming t-shirts and other accessories. Answer the following questions regarding this business.

a.What website will you use to advertise your business?

b.You have decided to employ a web designer to create the website. State TWO skills that a web designer must have to create a website.

c.Give ONE difference between a live-streaming website and a video-on-demand website.

d.Motivate THREE capabilities of computer application systems that have made life in business and life much better.

e.You have advertisements both in the form of videos and pictures to upload onto the new website. Give TWO compressed file formats you would use. Motivate your answer.