| 1.
Usability |
| Usability refers to the ability of visitors
to accomplish goals on your site easily and without frustration.
You can increase usability by making good choices in navigation,
graphics, layout and content. |
| 2.
Optimization |
| Optimization is the formatting of pages
and graphics so that they load as quickly as possible.
Optimization can also refer to coding your page so that
it can receive higher rankings on search engines' results
pages. You can learn more about search engine optimization
on our Search Engine FAQs page. |
| 3.
Search engine |
| A search engine is a site, such as Google
or ixquick.com, that helps users find information or specific
pages on the web. Knowing how to attract the attention
of search engines and how to score high in their rankings
is an essential part of marketing your site. |
| 4.
Plug-ins |
| Some types of files, such as audio, PDFs
and Flash, cannot be read by the browser. A helper application,
called a plug-in, has to be installed with the browser.
You can access common plug-ins via our links page. |
| 5.
Multimedia |
| Multimedia is a broad term that refers
to any type of audio or video on the web. Certain other
formats, such as Shockwave and Flash, are often called
multimedia as well. |
| 6.
Interactivity |
| Interactivity is what engages users, and
what makes web sites so much more powerful than brochures.
Making choices about where to go in the site's navigation
is the simplest form of interactivity. Higher levels of
interactivity can be achieved with forms, questionnaires,
games, and message boards. |
| 7.
Navigation |
| Navigation refers to the links that allow
users to go from page to page in your site. Clear, consistent
navigation is the key to an effective site. |
| 8.
Architecture |
| Architecture is the overall structure of
a site. Most sites larger than a few pages will have a
fairly complex architecture. When planning your site,
think about how best to organize the information: by date?
by category? by author? Knowing your organizational scheme
is the first step toward creating a site architecture.
|
| 9.
Compatibility |
| Compatibility refers to the site's quality
when viewed on different browsers (cross-browser compatibility)
and on different platforms (cross-platform compatibility).
Well-done sites look good in any combination of the major
platforms and browsers. |
| 10.
ISP |
| An ISP (internet
service provider) is a company that will host your site
on computers called servers. You will need an ISP so that
your site can be accessed by anyone on the web
|
