Home Page

A webpage is a computer file that is stored on a computer server in such a way as to make the file available to other computer users via the Internet. Webpages can contain a variety of formats and types of information, including text, pictures, audio, and video.

Webpages are usually written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML), or eXtensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML), and are uniquely [Page 424]identified by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). An example of a URL is http://loc.gov.

Not all URLs contain www, which leads to a minor, but important distinction. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are used interchangeably, when in fact one is a subset of the other. All URLs starting with http://www are part of the World Wide Web, which is a subset of all URLs making up the Internet. The inclusion of www does not make a webpage any more (or less) accessible. All URLs start with http:// (the http stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the protocol needed to make full use of HTML/XHTML files across a network).

A home page is simply the top level or gateway page for a website. A website is simply a collection of webpages that are linked together. Creating webpages in HTML allows a person to program the links into individual pages as they are created. Any content in a webpage can be linked to any other content in any other webpage. Or if a page is particularly long, links can help a user to navigate the page more quickly.

Webpage creators typically use three different ways to let users know when something on the page is linked: (1) A different color can be used for the linked text, (2) the text can be underlined, or (3) both methods can be used. In all cases (meaning all data types, including text), when the mouse cursor is passed over the linked material, the shape of the cursor changes, typically into a pointing hand.

The presenting and organizing of information in a webpage format has both advantages and disadvantages. An advantage it that webpages allow a content provider to structure and organize information in a nonlinear arrangement, consisting of text, pictures (moving and still), and video. Because no two people process and consume information in the same way, a webpage allows users some degree of control over the order and method to receive the message.

This is also a disadvantage. Webpage creators have to be familiar not only with ergonomic issues (where to put what information so it is easy to scroll to and access on a page) but also with communication theory, logic, and information flow, so information is not “lost” simply because it was not put where a webpage user expects.

Another disadvantage is inherent in the technology. The creation of the HTML and associated technologies was created with the idea of making the flow of information as unrestricted as possible. The technology is now exploited by hackers, who embed destructive code in a webpage and wait for an unsuspecting visitor to the webpage to click on (and activate) the malicious code.

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