Web content
Encyclopedia
Web content is the textual, visual or aural content
that is encountered as part of the user experience on website
s. It may include, among other things: text, images
, sounds, videos
and animations.
In Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville write, "We define content broadly as 'the stuff in your Web site.' This may include documents, data, applications, e-services, images, audio and video files, personal Web pages, archived e-mail messages, and more. And we include future stuff as well as present stuff."
and his colleagues at the European laboratory (CERN
) proposed the concept of linking documents with hypertext
. But it was not until Mosaic
, the forerunner of the famous Netscape Navigator
, appeared that the Internet become more than a file serving system.
The use of hypertext
, hyperlinks and a page-based model of sharing information, introduced with Mosaic and later Netscape
, helped to define web content, and the formation of website
s. Largely, today we categorize websites as being a particular type of website according to the content a website contains.
When it was possible for any person to write and own a Mosaic page, the concept of a "home page" blurred the idea of a page. It was possible for anyone to own a "Web page
" or a "home page" which in many cases the website contained many physical pages in spite of being called "a page". People often cited their "home page" to provide credentials, links to anything that a person supported, or any other individual content a person wanted to publish.
Even though "the web" may be the resource we commonly use to "get to" particular locations online, many different protocols are invoked to access embedded information. When we are given an address
, such as http://www.youtube.com, we expect to see a range of web pages, but in each page we have embedded tools to watch "video clips".
" (or some variation) content is still the dominant way whereby we share content. And while there are many web pages with localized proprietary structure (most usually, business websites), many millions of websites abound that are structured according to a common core idea.
Blogs are a type of website that contain mainly web pages authored in html (although the blogger may be totally unaware that the web pages are composed using html due to the blogging tool that may be in use). Millions of people use blogs online; a blog is now the new "home page", that is, a place where a persona can reveal personal information, and/or build a concept as to who this persona is. Even though a blog may be written for other purposes, such as promoting a business, the core of a blog is the fact that it is written by a "person" and that person reveals information from her/his perspective.
Search engine sites are composed mainly of html content, but also has a typically structured approach to revealing information. A search engine results page
(SERP) displays a heading, usually the name of the search engine
, and then a list of websites and their addresses. What is being listed are the results from a query that may be defined as keywords. The results page lists webpages that are connected in some way with those keywords used in the query.
Discussion boards are sites composed of "textual" content organized by html or some variation that can be viewed in a web browser
. The driving mechanism of a discussion board is the fact that users are registered and once registered can write posts. Often a discussion board is made up of posts asking some type of question to which other users may provide answers to those questions.
Ecommerce sites are largely composed of textual material and embedded with graphics
displaying a picture of the item(s) for sale. However, there are extremely few sites that are composed page-by-page using some variant of HTML. Generally, webpages are composed as they are being served from a database to a customer using a web browser. However, the user sees the mainly text document arriving as a webpage to be viewed in a web browser. Ecommerce sites are usually organized by software we identify as a "shopping cart
".
, applications, E-Services
, image
s (graphics), audio and video files, personal web page
s, archived e-mail messages
, and many more forms of file and data systems as belonging to websites and web pages.
While there are many hundreds of ways to deliver information on a website, there is a common body of knowledge of search engine optimization
that needs to be read as an advisory of ways that anything but text should be delivered. Currently search engines are text based and are one of the common ways people using a browser locate sites of interest.
Content can mean any creative work, such as text, graphics, images or video.
"Content is King" is a current meme
when organizing or building a website (although Andrew Odlyzko
in "Content is Not King" argues otherwise). Text content is particularly important for search engine placement. Without original text content, most search engines will be unable to match search terms to the content of a site.
" appeared in the late 1990s identifying a method or in some cases a tool to organize all the diverse elements to be contained on a website. Content management often means that within a business there is a range of people who have distinct roles to do with content management, such as content author, editor
, publisher, and administrator. But it also means there may be a content management system
whereby each of the different roles are organized whereby to provide their assistance in operating the system and organizing the information for a website.
Even though a business may organize to collect, contain and represent that information online, content needs organization in such a manner to provide the reader (browser) with an overall "customer experience" that is easy to use, the site can be navigated with ease, and the website can fulfill the role assigned to it by the business, that is, to sell to customers, or to market products and services, or to inform customers.
of web content in internet marketing and geo marketing
is the method of determining the geolocation
(the physical location) of a website visitor with geolocation software
and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code
, organization, Internet Protocol
(IP) address, ISP or other criteria.
and geomarketing
the delivery of different content based on the geographical geolocation
and other personal information is automated.
Content (media and publishing)
In media production and publishing, content is information and experiences that may provide value for an end-user/audience in specific contexts. Content may be delivered via any medium such as the internet, television, and audio CDs, as well as live events such as conferences and stage performances...
that is encountered as part of the user experience on website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s. It may include, among other things: text, images
Digital image
A digital image is a numeric representation of a two-dimensional image. Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type...
, sounds, videos
Motion graphics
Motion graphics are graphics that use video footage and/or animation technology to create the illusion of motion or rotation, graphics are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via electronic media technology, but may be displayed via...
and animations.
In Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Lou Rosenfeld and Peter Morville write, "We define content broadly as 'the stuff in your Web site.' This may include documents, data, applications, e-services, images, audio and video files, personal Web pages, archived e-mail messages, and more. And we include future stuff as well as present stuff."
Beginnings of web content
While the Internet began with a U.S. Government research project in the late 1950s, the web in its present form did not appear on the Internet until after Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
and his colleagues at the European laboratory (CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
) proposed the concept of linking documents with hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
. But it was not until Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
, the forerunner of the famous Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator
Netscape Navigator was a proprietary web browser that was popular in the 1990s. It was the flagship product of the Netscape Communications Corporation and the dominant web browser in terms of usage share, although by 2002 its usage had almost disappeared...
, appeared that the Internet become more than a file serving system.
The use of hypertext
Hypertext
Hypertext is text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references to other text that the reader can immediately access, usually by a mouse click or keypress sequence. Apart from running text, hypertext may contain tables, images and other presentational devices. Hypertext is the...
, hyperlinks and a page-based model of sharing information, introduced with Mosaic and later Netscape
Netscape
Netscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
, helped to define web content, and the formation of website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s. Largely, today we categorize websites as being a particular type of website according to the content a website contains.
The page concept
Web content is dominated by the "page" concept. Having its beginnings in an academic settings, and in a setting dominated by type-written pages, the idea of the web was to link directly from one academic paper to another academic paper. This was a completely revolutionary idea in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the best a link could be made was to cite a reference in the midst of a type written paper and name that reference either at the bottom of the page or on the last page of the academic paper.When it was possible for any person to write and own a Mosaic page, the concept of a "home page" blurred the idea of a page. It was possible for anyone to own a "Web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
" or a "home page" which in many cases the website contained many physical pages in spite of being called "a page". People often cited their "home page" to provide credentials, links to anything that a person supported, or any other individual content a person wanted to publish.
Even though "the web" may be the resource we commonly use to "get to" particular locations online, many different protocols are invoked to access embedded information. When we are given an address
Hostname
A hostname is a label that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network and that is used to identify the device in various forms of electronic communication such as the World Wide Web, e-mail or Usenet...
, such as http://www.youtube.com, we expect to see a range of web pages, but in each page we have embedded tools to watch "video clips".
HTML web content
Even though we may embed various protocols within web pages, the "web page" composed of "htmlHTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
" (or some variation) content is still the dominant way whereby we share content. And while there are many web pages with localized proprietary structure (most usually, business websites), many millions of websites abound that are structured according to a common core idea.
Blogs are a type of website that contain mainly web pages authored in html (although the blogger may be totally unaware that the web pages are composed using html due to the blogging tool that may be in use). Millions of people use blogs online; a blog is now the new "home page", that is, a place where a persona can reveal personal information, and/or build a concept as to who this persona is. Even though a blog may be written for other purposes, such as promoting a business, the core of a blog is the fact that it is written by a "person" and that person reveals information from her/his perspective.
Search engine sites are composed mainly of html content, but also has a typically structured approach to revealing information. A search engine results page
Search engine results page
A search engine results page , is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query. The results normally include a list of web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the Keywords have matched content within the page...
(SERP) displays a heading, usually the name of the search engine
Web search engine
A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...
, and then a list of websites and their addresses. What is being listed are the results from a query that may be defined as keywords. The results page lists webpages that are connected in some way with those keywords used in the query.
Discussion boards are sites composed of "textual" content organized by html or some variation that can be viewed in a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. The driving mechanism of a discussion board is the fact that users are registered and once registered can write posts. Often a discussion board is made up of posts asking some type of question to which other users may provide answers to those questions.
Ecommerce sites are largely composed of textual material and embedded with graphics
Graphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
displaying a picture of the item(s) for sale. However, there are extremely few sites that are composed page-by-page using some variant of HTML. Generally, webpages are composed as they are being served from a database to a customer using a web browser. However, the user sees the mainly text document arriving as a webpage to be viewed in a web browser. Ecommerce sites are usually organized by software we identify as a "shopping cart
Shopping cart software
Shopping cart software is software used in e-commerce to assist people making purchases online, analogous to the American English term 'shopping cart'...
".
A wider view of web content
While there are many millions of pages that are predominantly composed of HTML, or some variation, in general we view dataData
The term data refers to qualitative or quantitative attributes of a variable or set of variables. Data are typically the results of measurements and can be the basis of graphs, images, or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as the lowest level of abstraction from which...
, applications, E-Services
E-Services
The concept of E-service , represents one prominent application of utilizing the use of Information and communication technologies in different areas. However, providing an exact definition of e-service is hard to come by as researchers have been using different definitions to describe e-service...
, image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
s (graphics), audio and video files, personal web page
Personal web page
Personal web pages are World Wide Web pages created by an individual to contain content of a personal nature rather than on behalf of an employer or institution. Personal web pages are often used solely for informative or entertainment purposes....
s, archived e-mail messages
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, and many more forms of file and data systems as belonging to websites and web pages.
While there are many hundreds of ways to deliver information on a website, there is a common body of knowledge of search engine optimization
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
that needs to be read as an advisory of ways that anything but text should be delivered. Currently search engines are text based and are one of the common ways people using a browser locate sites of interest.
Content is king
The phrase can be interpreted to mean that - without original and desirable content, or consideration for the rights and commercial interests of content creators - any media venture is likely to fail through lack of appealing content, regardless of other design factors.Content can mean any creative work, such as text, graphics, images or video.
"Content is King" is a current meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
when organizing or building a website (although Andrew Odlyzko
Andrew Odlyzko
Andrew Michael Odlyzko is a mathematician and a former head of the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Center.In the field of mathematics he has published extensively on analytic number theory, computational number theory, cryptography, algorithms and computational complexity,...
in "Content is Not King" argues otherwise). Text content is particularly important for search engine placement. Without original text content, most search engines will be unable to match search terms to the content of a site.
Content management
Because websites are often complex, a term "content managementContent management
Content management, or CM, is the set of processes and technologies that support the collection, managing, and publishing of information in any form or medium. In recent times this information is typically referred to as content or, to be precise, digital content...
" appeared in the late 1990s identifying a method or in some cases a tool to organize all the diverse elements to be contained on a website. Content management often means that within a business there is a range of people who have distinct roles to do with content management, such as content author, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, publisher, and administrator. But it also means there may be a content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
whereby each of the different roles are organized whereby to provide their assistance in operating the system and organizing the information for a website.
Even though a business may organize to collect, contain and represent that information online, content needs organization in such a manner to provide the reader (browser) with an overall "customer experience" that is easy to use, the site can be navigated with ease, and the website can fulfill the role assigned to it by the business, that is, to sell to customers, or to market products and services, or to inform customers.
Geo targeting of web content
Geo targetingGeo targeting
Geo targeting in geomarketing and internet marketing is the method of determining the geolocation of a website visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code, organization, IP address, ISP or other...
of web content in internet marketing and geo marketing
Geo (marketing)
As a general term, Geomarketing is the integration of Geographical intelligence into all marketing aspects including sales and distribution. Geomarketing Research is the use of geographic parameters in research methodology starting from sampling, data collection, analysis, and...
is the method of determining the geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
(the physical location) of a website visitor with geolocation software
Geolocation software
In computing, geolocation software is used to deduce the geolocation of another party. For example, on the Internet, one geolocation approach is to identify the subject party's IP address, then determine what country , organization, or user the IP address has been assigned to, and finally,...
and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
, organization, Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
(IP) address, ISP or other criteria.
Different content by choice
A typical example for different content by choice in geo targeting is the FedEx website at FedEx.com where users have the choice to select their country location first and are then presented with different site or article content depending on their selection.Automated different content
With automated different content in internet marketingInternet marketing
Internet marketing, also known as digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, search marketing or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing of products or services over the Internet...
and geomarketing
Geo (marketing)
As a general term, Geomarketing is the integration of Geographical intelligence into all marketing aspects including sales and distribution. Geomarketing Research is the use of geographic parameters in research methodology starting from sampling, data collection, analysis, and...
the delivery of different content based on the geographical geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
and other personal information is automated.
See also
- Article marketingArticle marketingArticle marketing is a type of advertising in which businesses write short articles related to their respective industry. These articles are made available for distribution and publication in the marketplace. Each article has a bio box and byline that include references and contact information for...
- Bulletin board systemBulletin board systemA Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
- Content (media and publishing)Content (media and publishing)In media production and publishing, content is information and experiences that may provide value for an end-user/audience in specific contexts. Content may be delivered via any medium such as the internet, television, and audio CDs, as well as live events such as conferences and stage performances...
- Content farmContent farmIn the context of the World Wide Web, the term content farm is used to describe a company that employs large numbers of often freelance writers to generate large amounts of textual content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by automated search engines...
- Digital marketingDigital marketingDigital Marketing is the promoting of brands using all forms of digital advertising channels to reach consumers. Digital marketing extends beyond Internet Marketing to include channels that do not require the use of the Internet...
- Dynamic web pageDynamic web pageA dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh information , for each individual viewing. It is not static because it changes with the time , the user , the user interaction , the context A dynamic web page is a kind of web page that has been prepared with fresh...
- Groupware
- Media transparencyMedia transparencyMedia transparency is the concept of determining how and why information is conveyed through various means.As used in the humanities,the topic of media transparency implies openness and accountability...
- Mobile contentMobile contentMobile content is any type of media which is viewed or used on mobile phones, like ringtones, graphics, discount offers, games, movies, and GPS navigation. As mobile phone use has grown since the mid 1990s, the significance of the devices in everyday life has grown accordingly...
- Separation of presentation and contentSeparation of presentation and contentSeparation of presentation and content is a common idiom, a design philosophy, and a methodology applied in the context of various publishing technology disciplines, including information retrieval, template processing, web design, web development, word processing, desktop publishing,...
- Social softwareSocial softwareSocial software applications include communication tools and interactive tools. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a...
- Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-LeeSir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
- Web content lifecycleWeb content lifecycleThe web content lifecycle is the multi-disciplinary and often complex process that web content undergoes as it is managed through various publishing stages....
- Web content management
- Web designWeb designWeb design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
- Web developmentWeb developmentWeb development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
- Web documentWeb documentA web document is similar in concept to a web page, but also satisfies the following broader definition:The term "web document" has been used as a fuzzy term in many sources A web document is similar in concept to a web page, but also satisfies the following broader (W3C) definition:The term "web...
- Web serviceWeb serviceA Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
- Web syndicationWeb syndicationWeb syndication is a form of syndication in which website material is made available to multiple other sites. Most commonly, web syndication refers to making web feeds available from a site in order to provide other people with a summary or update of the website's recently added content...
- Web templateWeb templateA web template is a tool used to separate content from presentation in web design, and for mass-production of web documents. It is a basic component of a web template system.Web templates can be used to set up any type of website...
- WebmasterWebmasterA webmaster , also called a web architect, web developer, site author, or website administrator is a person responsible for maintaining one or many websites...
- Website governanceWebsite governanceWebsite governance may be defined as an organization's structure of staff ; technical systems; and the policies, procedures, and relationships such staff have in place to maintain and manage a website...
- World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web ConsortiumThe World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
(Web standards)