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How have web innovations advanced with time?

Websites rely on a range of technologies cooperating and working in sync to create the wonderful multimedia resource they are in the 21st century. What are these and how have they developed from the basic tool they were when the web was in its infancy in the 1980s?

Launched in 1992, HTML, a markup language that has been around since the birth of the web is the main foundation of any website. It allows web designers and developers to write code that can be sent over the internet and that can be interpreted by the browser on your local device. The code or 'markup' uses html tags to structure, style and render content in a way that users can read and enjoy, and the web wouldn't exist without it.

Along with HTML came the first browser, Mosaic, and if you saw it today, the features are such that you'd easily identify it as a browser - home, back and forward buttons and an address bar. Internet Explorer and Opera were subsequently launched, along with HTML2 which was an evolution of HTML but with a number of advancements. HTML didn't stay with us for long, and by 1997 both HTML3 and HTML4 had been released, and these included input from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) which ensured that HTML was developed for the good of all, and that the potentially conflicting interests of contributing parties did not take over.

HTML4 was to be the standard for around ten years, and its presence was lengthy enough that the '4' was almost universally deemed unneccessary and it was know simply as 'HTML'.

Flash, Java and Javascript were released, allowing website to feature more engaging and interactive content, and CSS came about to separate the styling of a website from its content. Chrome, Firefox and Safari were launched to give users greater options when choosing a browser software with which to browse the web. Incremental updates were made to HTML in the form of XML, but it wasn't until 2008 that HTML made a significant step forward with the release of HTML5 (and CSS3) gave the web designer a greater number of tools with which to build interactive, engaging, dynamic, immersive websites, which run client-side and which run natively in the latest generation of browsers without the need for any plugins.

2009 saw the launch of Maddison Creative Web Design Newcastle.

Currently, the primary driver of innovation change in the web industry is the advancement of mobile technology and the number of users who are choosing to consume web-data on-the-go using a handheld, touchscreen device. This has had a significant impact on who websites are designed and built.

How have web technologies evolved with time?

The web is built on several technologies working together to produce the dynamic resource it has become. But what are these, and how did they come about?

The basic building block of the web is a markup language called HTML. This enables content to be presented to the user in a particular way using 'tags'. Without it the web simply couldn't function. HTML was introduced as an experimental technology in 1992, allowing web designers to build a page using text, images and a basic framework to share information to users browsing remotely from their computer.

Mosaic was the first browser to be released, and despite it being launched eons ago in web technology terms, it is still recognizable to a user of a web browser today. Opera and Internet Explorer soon followed, as did HTML2, an evolution of HTML. In a relatively short space of time HTML3 and HTML4 were introduced, and included significant input from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in order to ensure that competing interests from involved parties wouldn't compromise the technology.

HTML4 would become recognized as THE version of HTML for the next ten years because of this, the '4' was invariably dropped in favour of just 'HTML'.

Meanwhile, Javascript, Java and Flash were developed and launched to allow greater complexity in the design, animation, interactivity and functionality of websites. CSS was then introduced to separate the content of a webpage and its styling. Several other browsers followed, including Safari, Firefox and Chrome, and small updates were made in the guise of XML in the following 10 years but it wasn't until 2008 and the introduction of HTML5/CSS3 that HTML made a serious leap forward. HTML5 gave the designer and the user even more scope for dynamic, interactive client side content, running natively in the browser, Flash having been long since phased out due to its reliance on a third-party plugin.

Maddison Creative web design Newcastle were founded in 2009

Today, the main driver of technology change is the increasing number of devices that browsers use to access websites - mobile phones, tablets, touchscreen devices - all dictate how websites are built, replacing the once ubiquitous desktop browser.

How do I proactively promote my website online?

There are an ever increasing number of ways to promote your business online, some free and some have a cost, but when running a business it's important to explore every avenue. Methods of promoting your business for free include:

Website SEO Optimize your website so that it will readily be picked up by search Engines such as Google and Bing. This is by far the most effective way of promoting your business online, it is free and it has the largest reach...if done well!
Social Media Marketing Use your social channels and communities to push your business to your peers. You can include share and like buttons from most of the social media providers which removes any obstacles between a happy customer on your site and them recommending you to their peers. Many social media sites allow you to pull content from their sites and display said content on your site. This is a great way of keeping your customers abreast of updates in real-time, whilst also keeping your site content fresh.
Reciprocal links Get as many sites as you can to link to your site, this will not only drive traffic but it will also be recognized as a positive by search engines, boosting your ranking.

Paid for options include:

PPC (pay-per-click) advertising Create an ad that will appear at the top of a search engine results page or on an affiliates' website that you only pay for (a pre-agreed price) when a user is interested by your offering and clicks on your ad. No clicks, no cost.
Facebook ads & Twitter cards This is highly targetable, which means you can define exactly who you want to see your ads based on their interests, their location and a range of other criteria.
Email campaigns Email marketing technology is used by 82% of B2B and B2C companies. Can also be free, depending on your distribution method. Directly communicate with your client base or distribution list with a beautifully designed email. A wide range of reporting tools available, allowing you to see how your email (and different parts of your email) has performed. Can contain dynamic content, can be fully automated and can feature triggered elements.

What about good web design and Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization, or SEO is the process whereby you make your site as finely tuned as possible in order to ensure that Search Engines such as Google and Bing consider your website worthy enough to show ahead of all the competition.

This involves writing the content in such a way that it relates to the words (keywords) your potential customers will be searching to find whatever it is you're doing/selling/saying. It also entails making sure that all the key elements of what makes up a good website are there and put together properly. Titles, images, framework of your site, links - they all have to be right.

This also includes things you can't see - the invisible tags that sit behind your webpage, but that do an important job nonetheless. A good web designer will do all of this as a matter of course, but there's always room for improvement, especially as time marches on, and best-practice and guidelines change and what used to be the done thing is now frowned upon.

What other web services do you provide?

Maddison Creative Web Design Newcastle also provide a wide range of additional design services, including banner ad design, digital display ads, online and offline graphic design, logo design and branding, powerpoint template design, email design, landing page design and build, infographic design for use on the web and in print, animation, filmography, video editing, brand consultancy, design consultancy, interactive media, games, puzzles, quizzes, competitions. If what you're looking for isn;t on this list, then by all means, get in touch - it may still be something we can help you with!

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