Before proceeding further, it is emphatically assumed that the reader is quite acquainted with HTML elements and how it is used to organize text in Web documents. It is also presumed that the reader appreciates the difference between application and document based web pages. The average web page, to be precise, is a document where the reader is expected to read the content and may come across some interactive behaviors. Applications, on the other hand, are more like a desktop application where the user/reader has many things to do. To make it more explicit, it may not be out of place to say that ‘Wikipedia’ is a document based web site, whereas, ‘Yahoo! Mail’ is an application. Be that as it may, this blog post will delve into detail about how HTML has also undergone some change with the web, how to identify and understand the different characteristics of HTML, as also how to determine the type of HTML that are most suitable for use. And for that, we might explore the following issue in detail, too.

Why do We Create Web Pages?

Of course, there are plenty of reasons that may prompt us towards creating web pages (using the web), but here are a few where examples provide the best answer.

• Small Businesses – Small businesses eternally suffer from creating ad budgets that are proportionate to their average turn over. However, here the web comes to their rescue in a very practical way. Not only does the web turn out to be an inexpensive place to advertise their products or services but at the same time proves to be a relatively interactive and easy way to communicate with existing as well as potential buyers. As a matter of fact, most small businesses all over the United States are now creating web pages that carry their product and services and are also putting their URL on their business cards, brochures, etc, so that customers can easily find out where to reach for their desired object.
• Large Businesses too are largely dependent on the Web – especially those that are customer-service-oriented ones. Needless to say, the World Wide Web, because of its magical all-embracing approach, can provide world wide technical support, customer service support as also informational services at an unbelievably low cost. A team of effective web designers along with creative Information System (IS) personnel can work wonders in creating a massive customer support for a big business, thus saving a large amount of money on this crucial deal. [Incidentally, FEDERAL EXPRESS has recently come up with a very valid reason to use the web – customers can now track packages without calling their 800 numbers and thus saving the botheration.
• Social Groups – If you lead or participate in a group in your region or zone, such as a church, school or community concerning senior citizens, etc, a web page can be found quite helpful. It can provide information about an important meeting, postpone or re-schedule one as also acknowledge and list names of persons who had whole-heartedly contributed on charitable causes.
• Hobbies – No matter whether your hobbies are industry-related or not, you can jolly well create a web page and put it up on the World Wide Web. This can attract people from far and wide, often turning hitherto unknown characters into lifelong customers (if you happen to run an interesting business house). For instance, a web site on wildlife depicting the evolution of domestic dogs can thousands of international viewers eager to be of any help to the website owner.

Web Application

Yet another effective use for HTML on the Web turns out to be something called a Web Application. To be precise, a Web Application is nothing but a web site that is designed to do much more than just present pages and hypermedia links to its users – It nevertheless acts as a front end for data processing. Maybe, an example given below will clarify the picture more.

Take into consideration about a Web site that has been exclusively designed to give a company’s sales persons the potential to access product information plus affirm order while on the go. By using HTML, the basic interface for this database can be made easily available on the web. With equal ease, the sale person, with the appropriate browser software and an internet connection (even through a cellular modem) can have instant access to the information while still on the road.

How This Happens

As soon as the data has been entered on the page, these are passed by the web server to programs (sometimes referred to as CGI-BIN scripts or applications) that process the information- looking up the product in the database. However, the results of these programs can be generated, complete with HTML code, and as a result the answers are viewed by the travelling sales person in full detail.

Searching on The Web

Perhaps it goes without saying, that neither are all web applications plainly business-related, nor are they restricted to employer/employee use. We are, of course, talking about the Web-based Search Engine.

These Web applications utilize HTML pages by way of offering an interface to a database of websites the world over. We start by accessing the page and entering the keywords, which the web application forwards to a CGI-BIN program. The program, on the other hand, uses the keywords to check the database of the web pages before generating an HTML page with the results.

To end the story, the URL for that results page is put back to the Web server, which eventually is considered as a standard link. The browser is then fed the link, and it loads the newly constructed page, with hypertext links to the nearest database matches.