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Website

A website or web site (often shortened to a site) is a collection of web pages, that is, documents accessible via the World Wide Web on the Internet. The pages of a website will be accessed from a common root URL, the homepage, and usually reside on the same physical server. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although the hyperlinks between them control how the reader perceives the overall structure.

Some (parts of) websites require a subscription, with a fee to be paid e.g. every month, or just a free registration. Examples include many Internet pornography sites, part of the news sites, sites providing real-time stock market data, and the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Overview

A website will often be the work of one person, one organization, or on a particular topic, or have a particular purpose. This is quite a blurry definition, given the hypertext nature of the web: the whole of Wikipedia forms a website, but whether the Meta-Wikipedia pages are part of the same website or a sister website is open to debate.

Web sites are written in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) and are accessed using special software called web browsers. Plugins are available for browsers which allow them to show active content, such as Flash, Shockwave or applets written in Java. Some interactive content may also be generated with JavaScript, support for which is built-in for most browsers. An emerging standard called Dynamic HTML is starting to make an appearance, though no standard has been formally adopted yet.

• http://www.example.com - Example of a url as a top-level domain name

An example of a Web site could be English Grammar Weblog or I Am Learn.

Types of websites

There are numerous types of websites, each specializing in a particular service or use. A few types of websites include:

• Blog: site used to post blogs (online diaries) and may include discussion forums
• Business site: used for promoting a business or service
• Commerce site or eCommerce sites: for purchasing goods, such as Amazon.com
• Community site : a site where persons with similar interests communicate with each other, usually by chat or internet forums.
• Download site: strictly used for downloading electronic content, such as software, game demos or computer wallpaper
• Information site: contains content that is intended merely to inform visitors, but not necessarily for commercial purposes; such as: RateMyProfessors.com, Free Internet Lexicon and Encyclopedia.
• Search Engine: a site that provides general information and is intended as a gateway or lookup for other sites. A pure example is Google, and the most widely known extended type is Yahoo!.
• Database: a site whose main use is the search and display of a specific database's content such as the Internet Movie Database or the Political graveyard.
• Shock site: includes images or other material that is intended to be offensive to most viewers
• Game site: a site that is itself a game or "playground" where many people come to play, such as Zone.com, Pogo.com and the MMORPGs Everquest, Solar Conflict and Kings of Chaos.
• Vanity site: run by an individual or a small group (such as a family) that contains information or any content that the individual wishes to include
• Wiki site: a site for people to contribute to material and exchange ideas (such as Wikipedia)

Many websites are a mixture of types. For example, a business web site may promote the business's products, but may also host informative documents, such as white papers. There are also numerous sub-categories to the ones listed above. For example, a porn site is a specific type of eCommerce site or business site (that is, it is trying to sell memberships for access to its site). A fan site may be a vanity site on which the administrator is paying homage to a celebrity.

Many business websites, have all the appearance of brochures—that is an advertisement that can be strolled around. Some websites act as vehicles to communicate with other people via webchat.

The content of a website is constrained by the hosting computer's power, and also legally, e.g. by copyright, pornography laws, etc.

Mousetrapping

Mousetrapping is a technique employed by some "aggressive" commercial websites (especially pornographic ones) that prevents one from leaving it, depending on browser settings.

Prizes

The Webby Awards are a set of awards presented to the world's "best"websites.

See also

• Web content management