1 Web Site Creation: Good Practice Guidelines Architectures For Project Web Sites Brian Kelly UK Web Focus UKOLN University of Bath UKOLN is supported by: URL

2 Contents Managing Web Resources Managing Metadata Open Source vs Licensed Solutions Develop Locally Or Shrink-Wrapped Thoughts on Browsers Local Or Externally-Hosted Services Conclusions

3 Managing Web Resources In the early days of the Web we used HTML authoring tools (e.g. FrontPage, Dreamweaver) or editors such as Notepad to edit a small number of Web pages Notepad FrontPage DreamWeaver When you have many hundreds or thousands of resources to manage the use of simple HTML authoring tools is no longer appropriate. There is a need for a better approach in order to manage: Content  Resource fragments Groups of resources  Metadata Access control  …

4 Using A Neutral Format You should store your resources in a neutral, richly-structured format (ideally XML) XML Database XHTML WML E-book format Print PDF Specialist formats B2B formats Local script / CMS / XSLT transformation HTML should be regarded as an output format – HTML resources cannot easily be repurposed as little structure is provided ( but not or )

5 Content Management Systems A Content Management System (CMS) should provide: Rich management capabilities  Manage the content (which is ideally stored in a neutral format, to provide application independence)  Manage groups of resources (apply the following change to all resources)  Manage resource fragments Project Management Authorisation Manage delivery of the content …

6 Managing Resources & Metadata You will need to manage the resource metadata together with the resources themselves Resource Database Metadata Repository CMS for managing resources CMS for managing access CMS (or alternative) for access to metadata Harvested database Harvester e.g. OAI Range of devices Personalisation Note that a range of tools could be used – not just a single CMS

7 Systems Architecture Issues for you to consider: Operating System: Should you go for a Unix OS or Windows NT? If Unix, should you go for Linux? Open Source vs Licensed Solution: Should you go for an open source solution or buy a licensed application? Package vs Do It Yourself: Should you make use of a pre-packages solution or develop your own solution based on a toolkit (e.g. database, scripting language, …)? There are no global solutions – your choice should be based on expertise available locally, resourcing issues, discussions with partners, solutions provider, etc.

8 Browser Issues Which approach to browser issues should you take? Web sites should be usable to old browsers as these are still in use and we aim to maximise access. Therefore you should deliver HTML 3.2 / 4.0 and avoid technologies such as JavaScript and CSS. Old browsers are broken and fail to implement new technologies which provide (a) richer functionality (b) support for new devices and (c) better support for people with disabilities. Therefore you should use the latest stable versions of HTML (XHTML), CSS, etc. Old browsers are broken and fail to implement new technologies which provide (a) richer functionality (b) support for new devices and (c) better support for people with disabilities. Therefore you should use the latest stable versions of HTML (XHTML), CSS, etc. NOTE Use of ‘clean’ HTML should degrade gracefully XHTML is a useful transition format User-agent negotiation may be relevant

9 Words On Browser Support The aim: Services would degrade gracefully for old browsers This has not happened  My concern - Can I make assumptions about: Frames & JavaScript support? Support for CSS (stylesheets) Browser plugins (eg Flash)? …

10 Words On Browser Support Possible solutions: Design for mid-1990s Web technologies Client-side (JavaScript) user-agent sniffing Server-side (e.g. PHP, JSP, ASP) user-agent sniffing Design assuming support for current standards Should NOF (or Government) aim to define minimum browser standards? Note: Design of richly functional, accessible services using flawed 1990s applications is difficult Pre 4.7 versions of Netscape are no longer supported (security concerns – see ) Netscape moving out of browser market? See Should NOF (or Government) aim to define minimum browser standards? Note: Design of richly functional, accessible services using flawed 1990s applications is difficult Pre 4.7 versions of Netscape are no longer supported (security concerns – see ) Netscape moving out of browser market? See

11 Local vs Externally-Hosted Services Options: Develop your own, install open source or buy licensed solutions such as user feedback, voting, site analysis and monitoring Make use of externally hosted solutions

12 Externally-Hosted Services A wide range of externally-hosted Web services are available: Usage analysis: such as Nedstat at User feedback: such as several listed at Service monitoring: such as several listed at etc. See also

13 Pros And Cons Externally-hosted services: May be free May not need technical expertise to use But:  May become unavailable if remote company fails (cf. My.Palm portal recently)  Charging policy may change  You are often allowing a third party to provide content on your Web site – what happens if, for example, the third party dotcom company becomes bankrupt and the domain name is taken over by a porn site!

14 Use of Externally-Hosted Services If you choose to make use of externally-hosted services you should ensure that you have a migration strategy: Switching Off Access: you should document how you would switch off the external service (ideally it would be managed as a single resource by a CMS – you may have problems if you provide many hundreds of unmanaged links) Replacing Functionality: you should document how you would replace the functionality of the service Accessing Data: you should document how you would access any data held by the service and how it would be imported into a replacement service, if applicable

15 Web Stats – Case Study Nedstat and SiteMeter usage services have been used in the Exploit Interactive Web magazine since its launch in 1999 How The link to the services is held in a single HTML fragment and is included as a Server-Side Include (SSI) using the ASP server scripting language. Maintenance The services can be removed or replaced by changing a single line in the SSI file (this has been done to modify the HTML code). Replacement and Data Migration Analysis of server log files held locally can provide usage statistics. There is a cost if we wish to export the data from the remote service (need to purchase licensed version of service). The real-time access to the usage analysis service is a value-added service and not replacing it would only be a minor inconvenience.

16 Conclusions To conclude: HTML authoring tools are no longer suitable for the management of large services You will need to think about the requirements of a CMS for your project You do not need to provide all services in- house If you do use remote services, you will need to have a migration strategy in case of problems