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Websites

Decisions

Now, if you have decided to take a look at a website for your business it is important to get some understanding across what it means to establish a website, as the spectrum is quite large. Also here we try to keep you focused on what is really necessary to be able to make a decision.

If you are reading this then we can assume that you at some level see the need for a website to leverage your business or interest on the internet. But what are the steps to take to get such a site up and running and what are the options you can choose from to make you site efficient?

If you are searching the internet then you will find thousands of offers and explanations which essentially does not make your decision making process easier. Hence we would like to give you here some basic steps and options which are admittedly generic, but get you started right away.

Should you be interested how Web-pages work then here are 2 links which are covering this topic in quite good depth.
Topic: Web-Pages on 'Wikipedia'
Topic: Web-Pages on 'HowStuffWorks'

Types of WebPages


There are different types of WebPages, which differ in the way and amount of features a visitor to your Site can use and with it comes a degree of complexity and technical prerequisites.

  • The Static Webpage

A static Webpage is a in a way nothing else then a "document" which you offer the world for viewing. It is a one-way information flow from the site to the visitor of your site. Such Sites are pure HTML (Hyper Text mark-up language) pages who's purpose is to display information. Such information can be very aesthetic in terms of presentation and colour, but still nothing is moving. Essentially it can be compared with a painting which conveys its message.
One can achieve some degree of user interaction by including "Links (Hyperlinks)" which let the user move to another page or site. Also this is still good old HTML.

  • The Static Webpage with dynamic content

When extending HTML, the simplest for of Webpage, then you can achieve quite some impressive dynamic effects. This is accomplished by the extension of HTML to DHTML (Dynamic Hyper Text mark-up language) and the use of Java-scripts, which are embedded in the webpage.

Note: For both these types of WebPages there is no specific prerequisite for the Web-hosting provider where you will host your pages, as all types of Web servers understand these types of languages. It should however be noted that in case of Page development with FrontPage, the "FrontPage-extension" need to be supported by a hosting provider.
  • Dynamic WebPages

With Dynamic WebPages things get more complicated, as other languages and components need to be implemented. Essentially Dynamic WebPages let the user interact with your information content and make it a "rich" user experience. Things you need for achieving this are for example components (Applets) such as Flash or Silverlight which let you place Animated Content on a page.

Real Dynamic on WebPages however is achieved by programming languages like ASP (VB.Script) or ASP.NET and AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technology. AJAX with its ability to retrieve data from the server asynchronously in the background without interfering with the display and behaviour of the existing page enable a very rich user experience.

For some more information see the following link:
Topic: AJAX on 'Wikipedia'

ASP.NET is a web application framework developed and marketed by Microsoft to allow programmers to build dynamic web sites, web applications and web services. ASP.NET or its predecessor (ASP) are real means of programming which allow true interaction between the Visitor and your site. If the page is designed that way visitors can modify your page in terms of layout, they can upload and add content, modify content, post comments and do all the neat stuff one can find on many well designed sites.

Of course there are other languages to achieve the same thing, but AgooThai focuses on ASP.NET / AJAX technology as main means to accomplish Dynamic WebPages.

For some more information see the following link:
Topic: ASP.NET on 'Wikipedia'


  • Web-Applications

As mentioned before, ASP.NET can also be used to built full featured applications. It makes sense to make a differentiation between Dynamic-Web-pages and Web-Applications, as the purpose is in general different. Dynamic WebPages are about Content and/or participation at content, Web applications however focus on functionalities. Common web applications include web mail, online retail sales, online auctions, wikis, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, Time tracking, Project-management and many other functions.

For some more information see the following link:
Topic: Web applications on 'Wikipedia'

Web-Applications are addressed in a separate Chapter see:
Web applications


Note: For Dynamic WebPages as well as Web-Applications it is necessary to find a Web Hosting provider who supports the chosen Programming language type. For Sites Created by AgooThai this would mean to choose a provider which offers the .Net Framework and AJAX. For more information see the "Page-Setup-Process" below.
Now, having established a rough distinction, the next step will be to look a the process to establish a website. Website-Setup-Process