Question: I have heard the term ¡°Static Web site.¡± What does that mean?
Answer: A static Web site is a site that has some pictures, text, hyperlinks and perhaps some graphics but little else. It does not allow any sort of user interaction and does not respond to the user; thus the name ¡°static.¡± An interactive Web site, on the other hand, allows the user to send and receive information, download data or files, or access a Web application.
Question: How does an interactive Web site work?
Answer: Any interactive Web site requires transmitting information from the user to the server and back again. Often there is a database used to store information. There are various technologies and languages used to build interactive sites. Some of these include Java, ColdFusion, PHP, Perl, Flash, ASP, ASP.Net and others. These all require programming skills to design, implement and maintain.
Question: What is the difference between a Web site and a Web application?
Answer: A Web site is a collection of files on a Web server. Anyone with internet access and a Web browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera can view the site as long as they know the Web address, or URL. A Web application, on the other hand, is a software application that allows user interaction, captures user information and usually requires some sort of database to store that user information. Think of it as a software application that is accessible from the World Wide Web. A Web site may contain one or more Web applications.
Question: What can Web applications do?
Answer: Web applications can do virtually anything that a software application on your own computer can do. The only difference is that the program is stored on a server separate from your own computer.
Question: What are some examples of Web applications?
Answer: Some examples are content management systems(CMS), blog sites, chat rooms, online surveys, e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com, streaming video and audio and many more. Even sending email requires a Web application on a server somewhere.
Question: There are a lot of places on the Web where someone can design their own Web site. Why should I pay someone else to do it?
Answer: It¡¯s true that there are many templates available that allow anyone with just a small amount of technical skill to design their own site. That may be fine for an individual who just wants to be ¡°on the Web.¡± But for a business, a ¡°canned¡± site built upon a template would probably not look very professional and have limited usefulness. Also, anything requiring user interaction is far more complex than a do-it-yourself package could produce.