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FAQ
Select the first letter of the word(s) you
are looking for or scroll through the questions.
a
what is accessibility?
Accessibility means that a web page can be viewed and used
by everyone, no matter which browser, platform, computer or
disability. Accessibility takes into account people who are
blind, have poor vision, are color blind, deaf, language impairments
and restricted mobility and aims to make their use of the
Internet as easy as possible. It's not just about making pages
accessible to people with disabilities -- it's making your
pages easier to use for everyone.
This usually means that the coding is clean and makes sense
-- e.g. the heading tags <h1> to <h6> are used
in hierarchical order so the speech reader in a browser knows
the importance of each heading and sub heading.
further resources:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
http://www.cast.org/bobby/
A free service to help web page authors identify and repair
significant barriers to access by individuals with disabilities
http://html.about.com/compute/html/msubaccessible.htm
Accessibility and the Web from About.com
http://www.webable.com/htmlcode.html
Writing Accessible HTML Documents
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b
what books are available on web design?
There's a whole
list in the resources section.
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what are "breadcrumbs"?
Breadcrumbs are generally a small portion of the site
structure as links at the top of a web page, used to both
show the user which preceding sections of the site the
current page relates to and provide links to these
previous sections. Breadcrumbs are also sometimes
known as a "location indicator device (or lid)"
because it leaves a hierarchical trail back to the home
page from the current page.
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what is a browser?
A software application used to find and display
web pages. While early versions of browsers could only
display text, most browsers in use today are also capable
of displaying graphics and multimedia files. The two most
popular browsers are Netscape Navigator (available for download
from http://home.netscape.com/download/index.html?cp=djuc1)
and Microsoft Internet Explorer (available for download from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp?).
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c
what is a cascading style sheet
(css)?
A .css (cascading style sheet) file centrally controls the
color, size, style, font, borders, padding etc of HTML elements.
This means that the style of a web site can change without
any change to the actual content. See the css
sections for more details.
Each page in that style will link to the appropriate style
sheet with the following HTML:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
href="/web_sites/styles/web.css">
It should be kept in a folder called /styles/. See the usability
section for more details.
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what are "web-safe" colors?
Web safe colors are hex values which are coded to show the
correct amounts of red, green, blue, black and white quantities
so they display accurately in a browser. Only web safe (hex
values) should be used in HTML. See the hex
colors chart for colors and their corresponding hex code.
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what is compatibility?
Compatibility means that something will work with another
device or system without the need for changes. In web design,
this refers to cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility.
A web site should be viewable and functional on a variety
of browsers and operating systems.
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d
what is dhtml?
Dynamic html (or dhtml) is not a separate language,
but a combination of static html, css (cascading
style sheets) and JavaScript. Html tells the browser
what to display, css tells the browser how to
display these elements and JavaScript tells the browser when
(such as user events or after a set amount of time etc) to
display elements.
This dhtml combination provides a useful way to make your
web pages interactive. Dhtml provides a means to make
web sites dynamic without having to use Java, Flash
or databases to create content. Dhtml is a low bandwidth
means of providing dynamic, interactive content to web
sites because all the interaction happens client-side (on
the user's computer).
A dynamic web page is simply one whereby the appearance
or content can change after the whole page has been
downloaded by the user's browser. Dhtml is supported
by any browser that supports JavaScript and css - usually
of Netscape 4+ and Microsoft Internet Explorer 4+. As with
many aspects of web design, support for dhtml elements in
browsers is temperamental.
Further information can be found in the dhtml
section.
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what is a domain name?
A domain name is the main web site address
(jessett.com is the domain name for the url
http://www.jessett.com).
Domain names match up to an IP (Internet Protocol)
address. A computer on the Internet is called a host.
To locate a host on the Internet, another computer uses the
Domain Name System (DNS). The computer looks for a domain
name on the Internet (e.g. www.jessett.com) by asking
a DNS Server for an Internet Protocol address (IP
address) to match to the domain name. IP
addresses are made up of 4 sets of 3 numbers.
Having a domain name to refer to is easier
than remembering a long number. It also means that
companies can use the domain name to enhance their
online branding and advertising.
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how do I get a domain name?
Please read the information here.
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e
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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f
what is "Flash"?
Flash is animation software, manufactured by
http://www.macromedia.com/
which can be used to create animated graphics or complete
web sites. Most modern browsers
have the Flash plug-in pre-installed, users with older browsers
will have to download the Flash plug-in from Macromedia to
view Flash-enabled web sites.
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what is ftp?
FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol.
This is an agreed-upon format for transmitting data between
two devices. For example, it provides a standard method
for moving files from your desktop computer to a web server.
Processes such as error checking and data compression are
determined by the protocol.
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g
what is a .gif?
The gif image format uses 8-bit color and compresses solid
areas of color while preserving sharp detail, such as that
in line art, logos, or illustrations with type. They usually
have a reduced amount of colors and are interlaced for quicker
download. Gif format is also used to create animated graphics.
It is supported by most browsers. See the graphics
section for more details.
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h
what is a hex color?
A hex color is the HTML code to tell the browser which color
to specify. These are web safe colors, which will not "dither"
on the screen. Only web safe colors should be used in HTML.
Please see my hex
colors chart for colors and their corresponding hex code.
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what is site hosting/how do I choose
a hosting provider?
Please read the information here.
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what is a hyperlink?
A hyperlink is text, which is usually underlined, that links
to another part of the web site, or a completely different
web site.
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i
what is an icon?
An icon is a small graphical symbol which opens
a program, document or function.
what is an include (ssi) file?
These are generally used when the same element is going to
be used on several pages (such as a navigation panel or copyright).
This can then simply be linked to in the relevant HTML file.
This makes site maintenance easier as you only have to include
one line of code and changes only have to be made to one file
rather than editing every single page. Call the file filename.html
(or .inc if your editor allows you to create files
with this extension - Dreamweaver 3 did not, but this has
been fixed in Dreamweaver 4). Save it in a folder called something
like /includes/ in the web site to also help ease site maintenance.
Use the following HTML (e.g):
<!--#include virtual="/includes/filename.html"
-->
or
<!--#include file="/includes/filename.html"
-->
Depending on how the server is set up, may have to call the
page the ssi is linked to in pagename.shtml which tells
the server to pick up the linked to ssi file. In addition,
the server may have to be configured to call up the index.shtml
as the home page for that directory.
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what is the Internet?
A global network of computers, which are linked via
web sites, email etc. See also 'what
is the world wide web?'
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what is an Intranet?
An organization'sinternal network of computers which
are linked together.
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what is an IP address?
Domain names match up to an IP (Internet Protocol)
address. A computer on the Internet is called a host.
To locate a host on the Internet, another computer uses the
Domain Name System (DNS). The computer looks for a domain
name on the Internet (e.g. www.jessett.com) by asking
a DNS Server for an Internet Protocol address (IP
address) to match to the domain name. IP
addresses are made up of 4 sets of numbers, separated
by dots (e.g. 213.122.70.250).
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j
what is a .jpg (jpeg)?
A jpeg format supports 24-bit color and preserves the range
and subtle variations in brightness and hue found in photographs
and other continuous-toned images. It is supported by most
browsers. It can be set to high or low quality or you can
create a progressive jpeg file, in which a low-resolution
version of the image appears in a browser while the full image
is downloading. See the graphics
section for more details.
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k
why should I keep my content up to
date?
Please read the information here.
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l
what is the LID (location indicator device)?
The LID is generally a small portion of the site structure
as links at the top of a web page, used to both show the user
which preceding sections of the site the current page relates
to and provide links to these previous sections.
The LID is also sometimes known as "breadcrumbs"
because it leaves a hierarchical trail back to the home
page from the current page.
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what is a link?
A link is text, which is usually underlined, that links to
another part of the web site, or a completely different web
site.
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m
what are meta tags?
Meta tags are the hidden tags in the head of an html document.
They include the <title> of the page, which appears
at the top of the browser, the <META NAME="keywords">
and <META NAME="description"> which
tell some search engines information about the site.
For more details go to the meta
tags page in the
search engines section of jessett.com.
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n
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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o
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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p
how do I publish my web site?
Please read the information here.
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q
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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r
what other resources are there?
There are lots of useful
books and web
sites listed in the resources
section.
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s
what is a server?
A server is a computer that is constantly connected to the
Internet. The web site files are stored (hosted) on here for
constant access by users.
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what is a server side include (ssi) file?
These are generally used when the same element is going to
be used on several pages (such as a navigation panel or copyright).
This can then simply be linked to in the relevant HTML file.
This makes site maintenance easier as you only have to include
one line of code and changes only have to be made to one file
rather than editing every single page. Call the file filename.html
(or .inc if your editor allows you to create files
with this extension - Dreamweaver 3 did not, but this has
been fixed in Dreamweaver 4). Save it in a folder called something
like /includes/ in the web site to also help ease site maintenance.
Use the following HTML (e.g):
<!--#include virtual="/includes/filename.html"
-->
or
<!--#include file="/includes/filename.html"
-->
Depending on how the server is set up, may have to call the
page the ssi is linked to in pagename.shtml which tells
the server to pick up the linked to ssi file. In addition,
the server may have to be configured to call up the index.shtml
as the home page for that directory.
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what is a style sheet?
A .css (cascading style sheet) file centrally controls the
color, size, style, font, borders, padding etc of HTML elements.
This means that the style of a web site can change without
any change to the actual content. See the css
section for more details
Each page in that style will link to the appropriate style
sheet with the following HTML:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/web_sites/styles/web.css">
It should ideally be kept in a folder called /styles/ for
good site management. See the usability
section for more details. Alternatively, a HTML page can have
an embedded stylesheet in the head section so the styles only
apply to that particular page. I would recommend using a linked
stylesheet over an embedded stylesheet, as it can be linked
to from any page in the site and therefore, as the site grows,
style changes are relatively simple to execute.
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t
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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u
what is a url?
The url is the Uniform Resource Locator, or the address,
of a web site. eg: www.jessett.com. Lower case is the
norm. Keep the url simple so people can remember
it easily and users don't get confused. Keep the names
of subsequent sections short and simple too - long urls
tend to break when sent via email. Don't mix-and-match
hyphens (-) and underscores (_). Use one or the other, or
users trying to type it in may get it wrong.
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what is usability?
The capability of a web site to be used by everyone. Usability
issues include interface and navigation design
(can the user easily understand how to find their way around
the site), content layout (small blocks of text that
are not too wide are easier for reading on the web), and accessibility
and compatibility issues.
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what other useful web sites are there?
There's a whole
list in the resources
section.
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v
No FAQs exist in this category yet, please try another.
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w
what is WAP?
A text-based version of the web accessed on WAP-enabled mobile
phones via wireless application protocol - an internationally
agreed transmission technology.
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what is the world wide web?
The world wide web (www) is part of the Internet, formed
of indexed and linked web pages.
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what is WYSIWYG?
It's an acronym that stands for "what you see is what you
get", and refers to web publishing software such as Macromedia
Dreamweaver (http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/).
When you edit the file, it looks like a web page.
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x y z
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