DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
DEFINITION OF A WEBSITE
At a Seoul Digital Forum, Eric Schmodit (2007: 398), CEO of Google, was asked to define the website. He responded thus:
“If I were to guess what website is, I would tell it is a different way of building applications... my prediction would be that website will ultimately be seen as applications which are pieced together. There are a number of characteristics: the applications are relatively small, the data is in the cloud, the application can run on any device, PC or mobile phone, the applications are distributed virally: literally by social networks, by e-mail. You would not go to the store and purchase them...that is a different application model than we have ever seen in computing”.
According to Tim Berners-Lee (2006:57), the inventor of the World Wide Web (WWW) stated that:
“Web design or a website is when you have got an overlap of scalable vector graphic with everything ripping, folding, and looking misty with huge space of data that anybody can have access to an unbelievable data resource that the internet integrates”.
In November 2006 at TechNet summit, Jerry Yang a founder and chief of Yahoo stated that “ it is a power of the internet to reach a critical mass with the capacity that can be done on the network level, where we have been seeing richer devices over the last four years interacting with the network in the richer ways. Not only in hardware like game consoles and mobile devices but also in the software layer that you don’t have to be a computer scientist to be able to create a program or create a network effect on business and application”.
Nova Spivack (2004:101) defined website as the third decade of web design (2010-2020) of which he suggested several levels of maturity it will reach which simultaneously includes:
- Ubiquitous connectivity
- Network Computing
- Open Technology
- Open identity
- Distributed database
- Intelligent application
Negal Pack (2002:222) assumed that web page belong to a site that sells stuff online, the very fact that half the users cannot even see the page, translate into losses worth half the amount straightaway. He guessed that making a good case for the article “raison d’ etre” (web designing is).
In his opinion, he said: “a cocktail of creative skills and technical prowess is no less important than the other though he noticed that it is not possible to please everyone every time but most are simple enough to be rule of thumb. Images no doubt enhance the look of a page, but it is not advisable to go stuffing your page with a truckload of images”.
An interview with Bob Regal on accessibility at Macromedia (April 2oo3) by Negal Peak, he said: “there are measures that shape the output tools against web and accessibility standard”.
Web Design is a process of conceptualization, planning, modeling, and execution of electronic media content delivery via the internet in the form of technologies (such as mark languages) suitable for interpretation and display by a web browser or other web-based graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
The intent of web design is to create a website (a collection of electronic files residing on one or more web servers) that presents content (including interactive features or interfaces) to the end-user in the form of web pages once requested. Such elements as text, forms, and bit-mapped images (GIFs, JPEGs, and PNGs) can be placed on the page using HTML, XHTML, or XML tags. Displaying more complex media (vector graphics, animations, videos, sounds) usually requires plug-ins such as Flash, QuickTime, Java run-time environment, etc. Plug-ins are also embedded into the web pages by using HTML or XHTML tags.
Improvements in the various browser's compliance with W3C standards prompted a widespread acceptance of XHTML and XML in conjunction with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to position and manipulate web page elements. The latest standards and proposals aim to lead to the various browsers’ ability to deliver a wide variety of media and accessibility options to the client possibly without employing plug-ins.
Typically web pages are classified as Static or dynamic.
- Static pages don’t change content and layout with every request unless a human (webmaster or programmer) manually updates the page.
Dynamic pages adapt their content and/or appearance depending on the end-users input or interaction or changes in the computing environment (user, time database modifications, etc.) content can be changed on the client-side (end-users computer ) by using client-side scripting languages (JavaScript, Jscript, Action script, media players and PDF reader plug-ins, etc.) to alter DOM elements ( DHTML). Dynamic content is often compiled on the server utilizing server-side scripting languages (PHP, ASP, PERL, ColdFusion, JSP, Python, etc.). Both approaches are usually in complex applications. With growing specialization within the communication design and information technology field, there is a strong tendency to draw a clear line between web design specifically for web pages and web development for the overall logistics.
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, the father of peace through non-violence concept, and Pr.Johan Galtung the principal founder of the discipline of Peace and conflict studies, through his concept of conflict transformation by peaceful means, Great Lakes Peace Network Foundation is a non-profit network of a volunteer’s team involved in peacebuilding, sustainable development and any other field related to the respect of human dignity.
GLPN was created in 1994 by Dr.Claude Shema-Rutagengwa, under GLPI label-Great Lakes Peace Initiative- but later changed status and name, then switched to the new status and actual name which is:
“GLPN-The great Lakes Peace Network Foundation", with a priceless joint work of Anke Weisheit (The creation of GLPN is mainly based on the situation in the so-called” The Great Lakes region of Africa-GLRA” due to the intractability of the cruel conflict in that area.
Therefore, the former Germany-Belgium colony is regarded as a field of interest that motivated political conflict between powerful countries for decades ago. This context motivated GLPN to work locally for peace and sustainable development in this region, but at the same time to have remarkable direct transformative impacts on external actors who are fueling the conflict in this region and vice-versa.
GLPN believes that the experience gained from the great lakes region of Africa, as intractable conflict with multiple actors from different backgrounds or cultures, and different nations, can be a milestone towards remedying similar indocile conflict all over the world and contribute to peacebuilding and conflict transformation in any other part of the world, through sharing experiences and using the effective methods succeeded in this region.
Vision and Mission of GLPN: Great Lakes Peace Network Foundation is an independent peace and development network, a non-profit organization aiming at peace by peaceful means. It inspires a passion for peace and sustainable development and other related fields focusing on a better and peaceful future for humankind.
GLPN Foundation is a well-organized team of experts from different countries equipped with a variety of skills and experienced in peace, human rights, environment, gender and youth issues, etc... It promotes conflict-mitigation and reconciliation in general and in specific conflict-affected areas through meticulous on-the-ground research, active listening, education, and advocacy.
Major activities: Research, Training/Education, Expertise, Lobbying & advocacy, Active facilitation.
Fields: Peacebuilding, Mediation/Reconciliation, Environment, Sustainable development, Gender & youth issues.
- STATEMENTS OF THE PROBLEM
There are millions of computer users browsing the internet every day and each one is looking at a different size monitor using a different resolution. How each person sees the graphics on your website varies depending on their screen and there are no uniform standards for making your site friendly to everyone.
Screen resolution refers to how many pixels your computer monitor will display, both vertically and horizontally. If you ever visited a website that did not fit your screen, making you scroll to the right to see the rest of the page, it was not entirely the designer’s fault. The website was just not created with your screen resolution.
Not too long ago, the most common computer monitor featured a resolution of 480 X 640. A number of people still surf the internet using this screen resolution, while today’s popular monitor use a 1024 X 768 screen resolution and most website are optimized to be viewed on these higher resolution screens. Those still using lower resolution displays will see the website quite differently than those the site designed for.
Today’s monitor offers computer users a choice of several screen resolutions, with the lowest resolution being 400 X 600. With so many choices, it is often confusing for users to decide on the best settings, especially if they are not aware of the differences.
Visitors to your site that are using monitors with low screen resolution will usually not see your entire page on their screen. They will have to scroll horizontally to see the right side of your page. Those using a higher screen resolution than what your site is designed for may see a small, thin strip that can be rather frustrating.
Also among one of the problems encountered is the incapability of the browser window and viewing systems.
For example, some viewing systems will have limited options for fonts. This means that any special font will have to be placed inside an image so that they are accessible to all users.
Another important constraint is the type of browser users view the page through. Different browsers interpret the display images and the HTML in a slightly different manner, which can lead to the picture being displayed incorrectly.
The main limitation is bandwidth, which means how quickly information travels between the computer where your web site is located (your Web server), and the visitor’s computer. Even though 56.6kbps modems, and even 10Mbps cable modems are becoming more common, many people on the internet are still using 28.8kbps modems.
This means that the larger your Web pages are, the longer they take to download, and the less likely a visitor is to stick around to see them. One of the major tasks of a web site designer is to provide maximum content at minimum file size. Graphics and animations are the big data-hogs. A screen-sized photo in full color can easily consume 2 megabytes of space, which would take a computer with a 28.8kbps modem about a half-hour to download.
- PURPOSE OF STUDY: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
With the revolution of the World Wide Web (WWW), the information could be accessed from one part of the globe to another. Organizations, schools, individuals, businesses are putting up their own websites. Having highlighted the efficiency of the World Wide Web above, the researcher intends Putting Great Lakes Peace Network on the yellow pages i.e. easily accessible all over the globe in just a few seconds.
- SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
In this age of electronic commerce, a career as a web designer can be a lucrative one. The demand of website designers is at a constant rise as most of the businesses are attempting to initiate web presence. There are different website design companies that recruit talented and best of the breed web designers to facilitate their clients with appealing web portals with beautiful graphics and animated features. On the other hand, finding a cheap web designer is not at all a difficult task now, from the local community newspaper to yellow pages, several web design companies offer alluring options.
A good website designer needs to increase his skills and abilities to identify what the visitors want at a rapid pace. There are several vocational training programs for web designers and these courses are generally tailored to provide a clear insight on the latest tools and technologies that are used in the market. There are innumerable web design companies that offer cheap web design and it is also necessary for web designers nowadays to keep the designing cost lower. So, it is really a tricky job to balance the quality and hours of work to create the end product, i. e the website at a competitive rate.
There remain different web development companies that can really help schools/institutions with effective solutions related to web presence. Self-study to identify proper web Development Company is essential. We must remember that any wrong selection of web Design Companies can just be a waste of money. Now more than a few web design companies are offering free domain names and e-mail IDs. Having e-mail with a proper domain name is lucrative. Web presence is now one of the most essential things that determine the future of any business. The popularity of electronic commerce will be more and more with days and the demand for website designers will be more.
- OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
Having an organizational website enhances the following:
- Effective communication for members, scholars, activists, and intending members.
- Easy access to the administrator in case their office location is not present in a particular country, area, or community.
- Provision of educational resources in the form of online/electronic articles where people can access them and information passed to appropriate quarters.
- Effective dissemination of news and upcoming events of the organization.
- Improved teaching and learning style.
- To develop an understanding of technological processes among new internet users intending to understand it.
- SCOPE OF THE STUDY: DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WEBSITE
This study is limited to Green Lakes Peace Network online and does not provide an in-depth study to its activities overall, at the same time transforming them into a global organization accessible to billions of internet users all over the world.
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