Different kinds of Web site
Note to self: In an article on A List Apart called How to Plan Manpower on a Web Team, Shane Diffily defines three classes of (large) Web site:
- Basic: brochureware – pages with pictures, possibly even the one page Web site. Tools might include Dreamweaver, Photoshop.
- Dynamic: Content stored in a database and pages built on the fly when readers visit. No ‘log-in’ or purchase or membership. Tools might include text editor to code the templates and the Web application (blog system, content management system)
- Transactional: Log-in for purchase or to interact with a Web application that is part of the business model of the organisation (e.g. mark an online register or use a VLE course specific to your class). Tools might include the business process model and databases, and ‘rules engine’ or application development system.
The other dimension will be John December’s audience analysis checklists and tables, and perhaps I can get the students to think about the goals of a Web site project in relation to the threefold analysis above.