Development Tools and Technology
Use appropriate
tools and technologies
In the planning stage, begin thinking about which
technologies you will use to build your site. Select technologies that
best accomplish your goals, that you have the skills and resources to
work with, and that your audience can use. Below are some of the
general benefits and constraints of some web technologies and tools.
HTML
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the primary technology used to
create all web sites. Some of the elements in the most recent versions
of HTML may not work with older browsers. You will need to choose a
version that best meets your purpose and the needs of your audience.
You can select additional technologies, such as a scripting language,
to supplement HTML.
Benefits of
HTML:
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Provide greater control over layout and
typographic properties |
|
Facilitate consistency of appearance |
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Separate content from layout and presentation,
which makes the development of a web site more efficient and
flexible |
|
Manage conflicts in style sheet specifications
among documents, groups of documents, and user browser set-ups by
using a "cascade" or system of preferences |
|
Allow users to override your font style, size,
and color attributes with ones of their own choosing, which is
especially important for users with vision impairments |
|
Allow style changes selectively |
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Can be used in conjunction with JavaScript to
provide features that give users a richer sense of interactivity
|
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Allow elements to be positioned efficiently,
eliminating the need for memory-intensive transparent GIFs; files
are smaller and open more quickly |