At some point you're going to need a new website. You know it. I know it. Your customer who really wants to buy your [INSERT QUIRKY PRODUCT HERE!!!!] might not know it yet, but he will soon.
With past websites or when looking into a new website, you've probably found a TON of acronyms, whether you're researching on your own or found an agency to help you.
You might even come across a phrase such as, "I can build a site that uses HTML and CSS with JavaScript using AJAX to communicate to a Web Service running in ASP.NET that gets data from an SQL Server database using TSQL."
Well that's great, but what does it all mean?
This post was written to help the layperson understand some of the basic technical jargon being thrown at them. It will help you look past the Alphabet Soup to understand the following for several major internet acronyms:
In this post we’ll start with the front-end languages (whatever the visitor can see and click on).
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
So what is it?
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This is the most basic language of the internet. Every site, large and small uses this to print itself in the browser. The core content of a website (the text and images) is typically presented in HTML.
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There are many versions, but the most common are 4.0 and XHTML.
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The latest version is HTML 5, however this is still under development and not majorly supported across all browsers.
What to look out for?
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HTML can look different depending on the browser, so browser testing is important. As long as the big three (Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Chrome) are supported, you've got 99% of the audience.
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HTML is used to structure the way content appears on a site, so it determines where a paragraph, image, or any other piece of content shows up on the page itself.
What does that mean for you?
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HTML is easy to build with, but it has few extra features. Sites made with only HTML are hard to maintain and are generally offer a poor experience.
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On the upside, it's easy for a site owner to make small changes using HTML.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
So what is it?
- CSS is another basic language of the internet. It's primarily used to apply fine styling to items such as small spacing between paragraphs, font colors and sizes.
- CSS works in tandem with HTML to determine your page’s shape and appearance.
- The most popular versions are CSS2 and CSS3.
What to look out for?
- Just like HTML, a page styled with CSS can appear differently based on the browser.
- Because CSS is only used to apply styling to a website, there are not too many drawbacks to it.
What does that mean for you?
- Also like HTML, CSS makes it possible for a site owner to make small changes to their site as needed, but only design or stylistic changes.
JavaScript & JQuery
So what is it?
- JavaScript is a language that begins adding functionality to your website.The bulk of it's power is the ability to enhance user interfaces for the visitor. Features such as pop-up windows/messages, dragging content across the screen, and moving through the site without a page refresh are possible due to JavaScript.
- JQuery is a tool that makes it easier to program JavaScript.
What to look out for?
- JavaScript runs in the browser, like HTML and CSS, so it too can vary from browser to browser.
- Poorly programmed JavaScript can cause a page to run forever and even crash on a visitor’s computer.
- Without special techniques, JavaScript cannot perform advanced functions that require it to access stored data, such as order history or profile information.
So what does that mean for you?
- Even with all the gotchas of JavaScript, it can greatly enhance the experience for the user when done properly.
- JavaScript is a bit too advanced for a site owner to maintain, so at this point you're going to need a programmer.
That's just the start of our tutorial. In the next post, I'll cover a few programming terms, as well as start getting into the server-side part of your website.....E-Commerce, email forms, Newsletter Posting....the good stuff.