1. Unit 13 – Website Development FEATURES OF WEBSITES

2. Introduction Websites are constructed on many different features. It can be useful to think about these when designing your own websites.

3. Target Audience Most websites will have a target audience and their content will reflect the interests of that group. For example, a site aimed at children may have bright colours, animation, lots of relevant images, clear simple text, easy to use features. On the other hand, a website with support and resources for professional programmers might have plain colours and few, if any images. The text would be technical and high level. Websites run on a wide range of hardware and software platforms. You can view a websites using a range of hardware devices, including mobile phones, tablets and laptops. There is also a variety of different operating systems and browsers that you can use to view websites. It is important to ensure that a website is compatible with all these different platforms, and this can be tricky sometimes to achieve.

4. Construction Features There are many different features that you can include when you’re constructing a website to allow users to interact with it and to make it more interesting to use. Hyperlinks and Templates These are links, which in the most basic form are displayed as underlined text. When you click a hyperlink, you are taken to another webpage or different website. Many websites use templates or styles to define the layout and formatting of all the pages on the site. This helps ensure consistent layout and formatting of the site.

5. Forms Forma allow users to make input and interact with the website. The simplest type of form is a search box which allows the user to input text which then then searched for on the site. More complex forms may be used, for example, to allow users to register their details with the site to receive updates. Forms can also provide a method for website users to feedback information (e.g. on a product or service they have received) to the people running the website.

6. Hot spots and action buttons A hot spot is similar to a hyperlink, except that it uses an image rather than text. Action buttons allow websites users to access interactive features, such as submitting a form or searching for page content.

7. Interactive Features Registration This allows the site to keep its users details and to email them updates abut the site. Registered users can log on to the site and do things that standard users cannot, such as review items, leave comments or add other information to the site (e.g. status updates). Registration is completed by filing in a form.

8. Email Links Some sites provide links that allow you to send emails to the site to request further information or ask a question.

9. E-commerce Many websites sell goods or services online. E-commerce websites allow users to search for and view products, and place those they wish to purchase in a virtual shopping basket. When they have chosen all the items they want to buy, they can go to a ‘check-out’ page where they can enter delivery details and pay with a credit card or debit card. E-commerce is the prime function of some websites, such as amazon and online banks. Other websites use e-commerce as an added feature. For example, a rock band’s website might have information about gigs, but also offer T-shirts and other merchandise for sale.

10. Online Forums Forums are very useful way to get questions answered about almost any topic. With a forum, you can place a question or comment (known as posting) on the website, which all users can read. People will usually respond to your post if it contains a question or request for help.

11. Aesthetics The way a website looks is very important, both to encourage users back to the site and also the reflect the quality of the organisation it represents. There are a number of aesthetic aspects to the design of a website:  Colours: These should be complimentary rather than clashing. The target audience may dictate the choice of colours. If you are designing a website for children, for example, bright colours would be suitable, but more subtle colours may be a better choice for an adult audience. A consistent colour scheme across the pages that make up a site is important.  Layout: Various layouts are possible with headers, columns, side bars and footers. As with colours, consistency is important.  Graphics and other media: These need to be laid out neatly within the other features of the site. Images should be of good quality. The same applies to any video, animation or audio you add.  Text: you should preferably use only one or two different fonts for your site, and you should have a consistent scheme of formatting for text which is used for heading, subheadings, plain text etc.

12. Accessibility Not everyone who visits a website will have good eyesight. The needs of users with visual impairments must be considered. These users may need to use text readers, which convert the text to speech, and the site should include alternative text which describes non-text items (such as images) to the users.

13. Activity Using your previous list of your most commonly used websites, identify the following:  Who do you think the target audience is for the website? What features on the website appeal to that audience?  What interactive features do the websites have?  How do the websites look, what features make them aesthetically pleasing?