1.2 Website fundamental 

This section describes the basic terminology and concepts of a website. It also examines why build a web site, the objectives are, and how to avoid failure.

Basic concepts within a website

Basic concepts within a website includes website, web page, home page, links, and content.

Website

A website is a collection of all of the text, graphic images, links, sounds, and other content elements that make up a presence on the web. The goal is to present content and information in the most dynamic, up-to-date method possible. Each individual document is called a web page. Web sites have three basic components:

• A home page - The home page is the top-most page in a web site.
• Web pages - Local and remotely stored web pages linked to the home page.
• Content - Content includes text, graphic images, and sounds.

Home page

A web site's home page is the first page that users see when they access a web site. It creates the first impression for users and sets the tone for organization and content in the site. A home page usually contains a header at the top that gives the name of the source for the site. Some headers are very simple and contain only text, while others have designs that incorporate graphic images.

Links

Users access local and remotely stored web pages linked to the web page by clicking on links. Links can:

• Take users to other web pages at the same site.
• Move users to other web pages at different sites.
• Jump the cursor to another place on the same page.
• Cause a file to be downloaded or copied from the website to the user's computer.
• Connect the user to other Internet resources, such as e-mail.

Content

Content is the substance of a website. It can take many forms, including:

• Text documents
• Graphic images
• Sounds
• Downloadable movie clips
• Links to other related sites

Why building a web site

The goal of a website is to provide up-to-date, accurate information and content for customers, partners and employees of your organization. When managed effectively, a website provides an excellent platform for providing information to a broad audience, with the ability to rapidly update and modify this information as needed. Business moves quickly: Promotions come and go, prices change, product features are added, and new opportunities arise. A successful website can ensure that the best and most relevant information is shared with key stakeholders. 

A valuable website provides information—not just data. There is a continued explosion in both content volume (numbers of items) and content types (documents, images, streaming media, instant messages, e-mail and so on). IBM Web Content Manager software helps you structure your ever-growing data.

Setting objectives and measuring them

After you have defined the goals of a website, it is important to have metrics and mechanisms in place to determine if your site is providing benefit and serving to achieve the goals you have defined.

• Define your metric of success. Is it simply to achieve certain number of hits to the site?
• Can customers navigate to the information they need with minimal clicks?
• Can they place orders in an intuitive way?

Your organization needs a method to measure the number of clicks required for basic navigation, the duration for which potential customers stay on the site, and if they find what they need.

Why websites fail

Delivering a website (Internet or intranet) that makes a mark with its target audience is becoming more challenging than ever before. Why is this? 

This change can be partially attributed to a growing number of users called "digital natives". They are people who have grown up with technology such as the Internet, digital cameras, and computers. This group expects more from a website than just static information that is poorly laid out and difficult to find. This group speaks digital as though it were a second language. But digital natives are not the only reason for this. There are many others. 

Today, the web is used as a natural medium that allows individuals and business to conduct transactions, especially the buying and selling of goods and services. Businesses use websites and portals to deliver efficiencies, with faster access to information and people and easier consumption of knowledge and education. In essence, there is much more reliance upon the web and websites than there could have ever been realized five to ten years ago.

Why do websites fail? They fail because organizations do not acknowledge or understand their target audience, the needs of the consumer, or the need to deliver information at the right time, at the right place, with the right method. They also fail for the following reasons:

• Not understanding the businesses needs
  Web sites fail because the organization loses sight of their objectives and the businesses needs. Neglecting to keep objectives in focus can easily lead to a website existing just as a digital business card when really it is meant to deliver additional traffic through their outlets and drive additional sales online. A website must meet the objectives of the business and align with its target audience and what they want.

• Not having the right balance of the website design and content
  With a few exceptions, the balance of design versus content must be maintained. Too much in either direction might mean that the website is perceived as looking great but with no substance or value, or as a great source of information but difficult to use. Content and design are key elements for ensuring that the initial experience and perception of the website is good and that repeat consumer visits can be expected.

• Not having new content to attract repeat visitors
  Content is king. Whether for textual, applications, video, and audio reasons, consumers of a website revisit because their initial experience was good and their expectations were met. Consumers of the site will only return if the site is updated with new content. A consumer might look elsewhere when the content shows signs of being out of date or no longer relevant. Maintenance of the site especially its content is key to its success and should be planned and budgeted for as part of a website project.

• Not marketing and linking the website to attract new visitors
  Failure to market a website in either a traditional or digital marketing sense only leads to a failed website. Consumers visit websites through a number of mechanisms such as word of mouth, agencies, magazines, other Web sites, or search engines. Expect to use one or more of these avenues to publicize the site especially if it is within a competitive market.

• Not understanding the audience to better serve them
  Understanding the usage pattens and how many visitors you might expect to see on the site at any peak time can be difficult to estimate, but is important. If the site is designed to accommodate hundreds of users in a peak hour, when the actual number is in the ten thousands, this can lead to the website being slow and unresponsive. If more users stay on the website longer, perhaps reading or watching more or due to the slow response time, then this might result in the total visitor concurrency number to be higher than expected. Therefore, the experience for the visitor might become unpredictable. Understanding who the audience is, what they will be doing on the website, and how they might be using the website are keys to ensuring that a website does not fail.

While websites fail for other reason also, focusing upon these five areas help to ensure that the website has a healthy start.