Chapter 3- Site Planning

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Chapter 3: Site Planning

TRUE/FALSE

1. A good Web site design requires a detailed initial planning phase.

 

2. What you and the design team want the Web site to accomplish and what your users want from your site rarely differ.

 

3. A good electronic commerce (e-commerce) site provides users with quick access to the item they want, detailed product descriptions, and easy, secure ordering.

 

4. The lines between the roles of people working on a Web site are generally clear and well-defined.

 

5. The marketing department staff are the graphic artists responsible for the look of the site.

 

6. If the Web server runs a different operating system from your local development system, any filename or directory structure inconsistencies encountered in transferring your files to the server may break local URL links.

 

7. On a Unix system, “Picture.gif ” and “picture.gif ” are recognized as the same file.

 

8. It is best when naming your files to leave out special characters such as <, >, /, \, &, *, and blank spaces.

 

9. A partial URL includes the protocol the browser uses, the server or domain name, the path, and the filename.

 

10. Plan your site by creating a storyboard flowchart that shows the structure and logic behind the content presentation and navigation choices you offer.

 

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. For a Web site, users probably care most about ____.
a. graphics quality c. how quickly they can find information
b. animations d. accessibility features

 

2. ____ sites establish a Web presence for a business or commercial venture.
a. Billboard c. Portal
b. Publishing d. Virtual gallery

 

3. ____ sites act as a gateway to the Web and offer an array of services including searching, e-mail, shopping, news, and organized links to Web resources.
a. Publishing c. Portal
b. Blog d. Billboard

 

4. A(n) ____ is a personal Web page that reflects the personality and interests of the author.
a. intranet c. portal
b. blog d. virtual gallery

 

5. ____ sites are collaborative Web sites that allow contributions from multiple authors.
a. Portal c. Wiki
b. Blog d. Public-service

 

6. A(n) ____ is a smaller, limited version of the Internet on a company’s private local area network (LAN), accessible only to those who are authorized to use their network.
a. internal net c. intranet
b. extranet d. mininet

 

7. If possible, analyze your audience and produce an audience ____.
a. definition c. plan
b. profile d. diagram

 

8. ____ programs are programs that you can download and use for a trial period.
a. Closed-source c. Freeware
b. Open-source d. Shareware

 

9. ____ are the people responsible for creating the HTML code, troubleshooting the site, and testing the site across different operating systems and Web browsers.
a. Software programmers c. Database administrators
b. HTML developers d. Server administrators

 

10. ____ are the graphic artists responsible for the look of the site.
a. Writers and information designers c. XHTML developers
b. Marketers d. Designers

 

11. Many ____ are responsible for creating a site style guide and defining typographic conventions, as well as consistency, grammar, spelling, and tone.
a. designers c. writers
b. software programmers d. marketers

 

12. ____ are responsible for data security backup and data recovery.
a. Database administrators c. Software programmers
b. XHTML developers d. Designers

 

13. ____ take care of the sticky technical issues such as firewalls, ports, internal security, file administration, and backup procedures.
a. Designers c. Server administrators
b. Software programmers d. Database administrators

 

14. Filenames on the ____ operating system are case sensitive.
a. Windows 3.x c. UNIX
b. Macintosh d. Windows XP

 

15. HTML text files must end in ____.
a. .html or .jpg c. .htm or .html
b. .xml or .xtm d. .xhtm or .xhtml

 

16. Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) files must end in ____.
a. .gf c. .gif
b. .png d. .jpg

 

17. ____ URLs omit the protocol and domain or server name, and specify the path to the file on the same server.
a. Partial c. Full
b. Incomplete d. Complete

 

18. A(n) ____ path points to the computer’s root directory, indicated by a leading (forward) slash in the file path.
a. absolute c. partial
b. relative d. complete

 

19. ____ paths tell the browser where a file is located relative to the document the browser currently is viewing.
a. Absolute c. Partial
b. Complete d. Relative

 

20. To build a link from a page to another page residing one level higher in the directory structure, use ____ in the path statement.
a. ..// c. ./
b. ../ d. …/

 

21. The ____ information structure guides the user along a straightforward path.
a. tutorial c. Web
b. linear d. hierarchical

 

22. In the ____ structure, the user navigates through the concept, lesson, and review pages in order.
a. tutorial c. Web
b. linear d. hierarchical

 

23. Many smaller Web sites follow the ____-type content structure, which is nonlinear, allowing the user to jump freely to any page from any other page.
a. tutorial c. Web
b. linear d. hierarchical

 

24. The ____ structure is probably the most commonly used information design.
a. cluster c. Web
b. linear d. hierarchical

 

25. The ____ structure is ideally suited to electronic shopping.
a. linear c. catalog
b. hierarchical d. cluster

 

COMPLETION

1. A(n) ____________________ is the design document for your site.

ANS: site specification

PTS: 1 REF: 111

2. Many of the major search engines have been converted into ____________________ to attract more users.

ANS: portals

PTS: 1 REF: 113

3. Telecommuting employees can be reached via a(n) ____________________, which is a part of the private intranet extended outside the organization via the Internet.

ANS: extranet

PTS: 1 REF: 115

4. ____________________ are statistics that are gathered by Web servers and then analyzed.

ANS: Web analytics

PTS: 1 REF: 117

5. If you think your user is the average person browsing the Web, you may have to adopt settings that represent the ____________________ to satisfy the widest audience.

ANS: lowest common denominator

PTS: 1 REF: 120

6. A(n) ____________________ is the unique address of a file’s location on the World Wide Web.

ANS:
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Uniform Resource Locator
URL

PTS: 1 REF: 125

7. You should use ____________________ URLs in your HTML code when linking to another Web site.

ANS: complete

PTS: 1 REF: 125

8. You should plan your site by creating a(n) ____________________ flowchart that shows the structure, logic, and taxonomy behind the content presentation and navigation choices you offer.

ANS: storyboard

PTS: 1 REF: 128

9. To make your Web site live, you transfer your Web site files to a(n) ____________________, a computer connected to the Internet and running server software.

ANS: Web server

PTS: 1 REF: 135

10. A(n) ____________________ is an alias that points to your actual location on the Web server.

ANS: domain name

PTS: 1 REF: 137

ESSAY

1. Briefly describe billboard, portal, E-commerce, and product support Web sites.

ANS:
Billboard—These sites establish a Web presence for a business or commercial venture. In many cases, they are informational and offer limited content, acting as an online business card or brochure rather than offering Web-based interaction. Many smaller businesses build this type of site first and then expand as necessary, adding functions when needed.

Portal—Portals act as gateways to the Web and offer an array of services including searching, e-mail, shopping, news, and organized links to Web resources. Many major search engines have been converted into portals to attract more users. These sites are often heavy with advertising content, which is their main source of revenue.

E-commerce, catalog, and online shopping—The Web as a shopping medium continues to expand as more users improve their Internet access and learn to trust the security of online commerce.Web commerce competes successfully with traditional retailing, offering many advantages over mail-order shopping, such as letting the customer know immediately whether an item is in stock. Other types of commerce on the Web include stock trading, airline ticketing, online banking, auctions, and more. Many software vendors offer turnkey systems that can be integrated with existing databases to speed the development of a commerce site. A good electronic commerce (e-commerce) site provides users with quick access to the item they want, shopping carts and wish lists to store their choices, detailed product descriptions, and easy, secure ordering.

Product support—The Web is a boon to consumers who need help with a product. Manufacturers can disseminate information, upgrades, troubleshooting advice, documentation, and online tutorials through their Web sites. Companies that provide product support information on the Web often find that the volume of telephone-based customer support calls decreases. Software companies especially benefit from the Web; users can download patches and upgrades and use trial versions of software before they buy.

PTS: 1 REF: 112-115

2. Describe the process of selecting software tools for developing your Web site.

ANS:
Determining the software requirements for your Web site is important during the planning process. Try to choose software that matches the complexity and needs of your site so that you do not end up with a tool that is either underequipped or overspecialized. Simple Web sites, including many student sites, can be built with one of the many shareware and freeware tools that are available on the Web. As your site and skills grow, you might choose to move up to more robust tools such as Adobe Creative Suite or individual Adobe tools such as Dreamweaver. Microsoft offers Expression Web as its Web site design tool. These tools offer complete coding, design, and site management capabilities. You may also need graphics tools, database software, and online credit and shopping programs, based on the skills and talents of the members of your Web site team.

One popular type of software is shareware, programs that you can download and use for a trial period. After the trial period, users can register the software for a relatively small fee compared to commercially produced software. Another type of software, freeware, is available free of charge or with an optional donation fee if you want to contribute to support the software developers’ efforts.

PTS: 1 REF: 120

3. What roles do project management, HTML developers, designers, and server administrators play in Web site development?

ANS:
Project Management—The project management team is responsible for planning, scheduling, and integrating the many tasks that it takes to create a Web site. They create the milestones for deliverables and balance the staffing resources to keep the project on schedule and within budget. The project manager coordinates communication among the team members and keeps the focus on the deliverables promised to the client.

HTML developers—These are the people responsible for creating the HTML code, conforming to standards, validating code, troubleshooting the site, and testing the site across different operating systems and Web browsers.

Designers—Designers are the graphic artists responsible for the look of the site.They use graphic design software, such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Fireworks. Designers are responsible for the wireframes, page template design, navigation icons, color scheme, and logos. If your site uses photographic content, the designers are called upon to prepare the photos for online display.They might also create animations and interactive content using Macromedia Flash.

Server administrators—Get to know and appreciate the technical people who run your Web server. They take care of the sticky technical issues such as firewalls, ports, internal security, file administration, and backup procedures. Consult with them to determine your Web site’s default filename and directory structure. They also can manage the server logs that contribute to your Web analytics reporting to determine how many visitors your site is attracting, where the visitors are coming from, and what pages they like best.

PTS: 1 REF: 121-122

4. What are relative and absolute paths? How do they affect the development of a Web site?

ANS:
You will probably build your Web site on a computer that is different from the computer that hosts your site.Keep this in mind when you are designing the directory and file structure. All of the files for your Web site will need to be transferred from your computer to the Web server that will be hosting your site. Because your files will be transferred to another computer, any URLs you specify to link to other pages in your site must include paths that are transferable. This is why you should never specify an absolute path in your partial URLs. An absolute path points to the computer’s root directory, indicated by a leading (forward) slash in the file path:

/graphics/logo.gif

If you include the root directory in your partial URLs, you are basing your file structure on your development machine’s file system. If the files are moved to another machine, the path to your files will not apply, and your site will include links that do not work because the browser cannot find the files.

To avoid this problem, use relative paths. Relative paths tell the browser where a file is located relative to the document the browser currently is viewing. Because relative paths are not based on the root directory, they are transferable to other computers.

PTS: 1 REF: 125-126

5. Describe the linear, Web, hierarchical, and cluster information structures.

ANS:
The linear information structure guides the user along a straightforward path. This structure lends itself to booklike presentations; once into the content, users can navigate backward or forward. Each page can contain a link back to the main page if desired. Pages may also contain links to a related subtopic. If the users jump to the subtopic page, they can return to the page that contains the subtopic link. This structured navigation returns them to the same point in the content path.

Many smaller Web sites follow the Web-type content structure, which is nonlinear, allowing the user to jump freely to any page from any other page. If you choose to use this type of content structure, make sure that each page includes clear location information and a standardized navigation bar that not only tells users where they are, but where they can go.

The hierarchical structure is probably the most commonly used information design. It lends itself to larger content collections because the section pages break up and organize the content at different levels throughout the site. Navigation is primarily linear within the content sections. Users can scan the content on the section page, and then choose the content page of their choice.When they finish reading the content, they can return to the section page. The site map allows users to navigate freely throughout the site.A navigation bar on each page lets the user jump to any section page, the main page, and the site map.

The cluster structure is similar to the hierarchical structure, except that every topic area is an island of information, with all pages in each cluster linked to each other.This structure encourages exploration within a topic area, allowing the user to navigate freely through the content. All pages contain a navigation bar with links to the section pages, main page, and site map.

PTS: 1 REF: 129-133