Web Pages

A Web page is an online document which can be read by a Web browser. To go to a Web page, type its URL (Uniform Resource Locator or "address") in the address bar of your Web browser.

Web pages can contain text, graphics, animations, video and sound. Web pages can include dynamic elements which change or update continually (such as stock quotes, sports scores, and news bulletins). Web pages can contain hyperlinks — underlined text which you can click to go to other Web pages. Most Web pages also include a navigation bar (usually graphic buttons) to provide quick links to other pages within that Web site.

A Web site is a collection of related Web pages. For example, www.washingtoncaps.com is a Web site (the Web site of the Washington Capitals hockey team). The site is made up of many different individual Web pages. Most people use the terms Web site and Web page interchangeably.

There are Web sites for every possible interest and use, including:

• News
• Entertainment
• E-commerce (shopping)
• Research
• Government agencies
• Education
• Personal Web pages
• Portals (see Tell Me More)

Use your Web browser's Favorites list to mark Web pages you visit often. Instead of typing the URL every time you want to visit a page, you just have to select the name from a list.

A portal site is a Web site which offers a variety of services, including searching capabilities, e-mail, stock quotes, sports scores, and local weather. Portal sites allow you to choose what content is displayed on the page, giving a dynamic personalized feel to the site. For this reason, many people will choose a portal site as their home page. Every time they launch their browser, they will see all the latest information customized to their preferences. Examples of portal sites include America Online (www.aol.com), The Microsoft Network (www.msn.com), Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), and news sites such as CNN (www.cnn.com) and the Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com).

A Web site's URL can give you a clue as to what type of site it is. The domain name part of the address ends in a domain code with commonly accepted usages. Domain codes are:

• .com—commercial sites (most Web sites use this domain code)
• .net—network or host sites (your service provider's Web site probably ends in .net)
• .org—non-profit organization
• .edu—education site (only approved educational institutions can use .edu)
• .gov—government site (only government sites can use .gov)

Recently, new domain codes have been added (although these are not widely used yet). They include:

• .biz—business site
• .info—information site
• .tv—entertainment or television site