Guide to Web Terminology

A concise guide to the technical stuff—

Browser Testing: Web browsers are applications that render the different elements of your web site on the computer screen. Unfortunately, different browsers handle some content elements in unusual or counterintuitive ways. Which is why we test all sites frequently during development. Currently, we test with all browsers in common use: Internet Explorer 7,8 and Firefox for Windows, Firefox and Safari for Macintosh. Opera too!

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets are used to control the layout of a site from one central reference file. Using CSS greatly increases the efficiency of development and maintenance of your site. If you want to make stylistic changes down the road, it’s a snap with a CSS-designed site. While all modern browsers provide full CSS support today, this was not the case 4-5 years ago. CSS design is one major reason clients choose to upgrade an older site.

JavaScript: JavaScript is a client-side programming language frequently used in Web development to extend the capabilities of HTML. Since JavaScript runs locally on the user’s computer, it can respond quickly to user input. JavaScript is frequently used to create drop-down menus, rollover highlights, slideshows, and many other useful functions.

Multimedia: Today’s Internet connections allow for a wide range of rich media content to be delivered via your Web site. Examples include: real-time (live) streaming video, podcasts, video conferencing, digital animation, MP3 audio, Flash presentations, QuickTime, Windows Media and more.

PHP: PHP is a popular scripting language for Web development that allows for dynamic content and database driven applications. PHP scripting is used to convey data between the user’s screen and a server-located database.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization is the process of building sites in a way that makes it easy for search engines such as Google to properly index the site for its database. Optimizing your site for search engine ranking is part art and part science, and it’s critical for driving traffic to your site.

Web Standards: The World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) has established a set of guidelines for the creation of Web content that is open to future improvement and mindful of past technology. These standards do not dictate the visual design of the site, but inform the underlying programming practices used to deliver the content.

XHTML: XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language) is considered to be the successor to HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the original Web development language. XHTML incorporates most of the functionality of HTML while conforming to the stricter syntax of XML. Developing in XHTML is important, as it will allow for the eventual transition to XML in the future.

The Design Process

1. The Interview

At the beginning of a project, whether it’s a new site design or a site upgrade, we start by listening to you, the client, and learning about your business or organization. If the project seems like a good fit for both parties, we will schedule a phone or a face-to-face meeting to brainstorm and discuss the project in more detail. We have developed a set of questions to help us better understand the goals you have for your site. We have found that answering the questions helps our clients to focus their ideas. This translates into clear objectives for the site design, organization, and functionality.

2. Proposal & Contract

At the initial consultation, we usually have enough information to prepare a price quotation with a detailed outline of the scope of the project and the nature of the work to be performed. The contract will specify what media will be supplied by the client, the formats of these materials, and the dates that the materials must be submitted to iKnow. We can produce and edit written site copy, graphics, video, and other media for your site, if desired, and this will be included in the contract price. You can find our pricing information here. The project timeline and payment schedule will be part of our contractual agreement. Unless other arrangements are made, we require a 50% down payment before we begin work on your site. The balance is due upon completion of the project.

3. Design Phase

This is where the fun begins! In this phase of the project, we create a visual layout to establish the look and feel of the site. This mockup is a non-functional representation of the site, and there is usually a good deal of back-and-forth with the client at this point as the design is refined.

4. Production & Programming

After a proof of the design is approved by the client, building of the actual site can begin. Graphics are created and added to the site copy. Multimedia elements are produced, along with the programming required for their delivery. A custom stylesheet is developed for your site to position the various elements on the Web pages and to encode all the attributes that make your site unique: fonts, sizes, colors, spacing, transparency, and much more. PHP is a scripting language we use to deliver the dynamic content on your page. This includes elements which are common to several pages on your site, as well as any data extracted from a MySQL database and presented to your viewers. If required, databases are created and populated with information at this time. We use PHP and MySQL databases for our sites built with the WordPress content management system (CMS).

5. Search Engine Optimization

And so your site can be found on the Web, we take great care to optimize it for search engine indexing and placement (SEO) during development. If nobody finds your Web site, does it matter how good it looks?

6. Testing & Validation

We frequently test your site during production on all common browsers, on both Windows and Macintosh platforms, to make sure all is working as intended. Testing is critical, because although there are well-established Web design standards, different browsers implement these standards to varying degrees. You can be sure that a site built by iKnow will incorporate best practices and conform to the WC3 (World Wide Web Consortium) guidelines. We aren’t happy until your site works properly in all major browsers.

7. User Training

Sites built with our Content Management System allow you to easily update your site content from any internet-connected computer. Although these dynamic content sites take us a bit longer to develop, our clients find it is worth a bit extra to have the ability to manage their own sites — anytime, anywhere. If your site has managed content, we will walk you through the process of making updates until you are comfortable with the tools.

8. Public Launch!

When the site is finished and thoroughly tested, it goes live on your domain.