THE USES OF

WEBSITES
Learning Aim A
INTRODUCTION
 Websites are used for a very wide range of
purposes.
TYPICAL USES OF WEBSITES
 There are millions of websites on the internet.
 They are used for almost every conceivable
purpose including business, personal and
entertainment purposes.
 Some of the more common purposes of
websites are described in the following
sections.
PRESENTING INFORMATION
 Websites are commonly used both for
presenting information, such as news, and for
product advertising. Most companies have
their own website. Some of the best known
news websites are those of BBC News
(www.bbc.co.uk/news) and AI Jazeera
(www.aljazeera.com).
STORING INFORMATION
 Websites can be used to archive information.
 The 'cloud' concept is a relatively recent
development in information storage.
 It involves using the internet to store
information rather than using local storage
(such as your computer's disk drive or a USB
memory stick).
BROWSING AND SEARCHING
FOR INFORMATION
 The internet search engine Google TM has
become such a part of our lives that the verb
'to Google ™' has been included in the Oxford
English Dictionary.
 If you ask someone a question, you may get
the response, 'Just Google it'.
 The internet has also become a useful source
of real-time information.
 For example, if you are meeting someone at
the railway station or airport, the quickest way
to check real-time updated information is via
the internet.
IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY
 Email has revolutionised personal and
business communication, enabling people to
share information and send documents to
each other quickly and so improving
productivity.
 Facilities such as video conferencing allow
people to have 'virtual‘ meetings, enabling
them to work collaboratively without having to
spend time travelling.
MAKING DECISIONS
 Many websites provide information which
helps individuals and businesses to make
decisions. Price comparison websites like
Compare the Market™ (www.
comparethemarket. com) and Money
Supermarket TM
(www.moneysupermarket .com) help people
to decide on the most suitable insurance
policy, loan or other financial service.
COMMUNICATION WITH
PEOPLE
 Social networking sites, such as Facebook,
have become very popular as they allow
people to communicate with their friends.
 They can let all their friends know what they
are doing with status updates and they are
able to chat with friends though an instant
messenger type interface.
 Many other instant messenger services, such
as Yahoo ™ Chat™, are popular and some
include video chatting as well as text chat.
MEDIA SHARING
 Another area that the internet has
revolutionised is how we listen to music or live
radio, and how we watch films.
 Sites such as Apple ™ iTunes ™ allow
consumers to purchase and download music,
while sites such as You Tube let people view
and share videos on a wide range of subjects.
 Radio stations now broadcast digitally and so
you can listen to them over the internet.
 Some radio stations are only broadcast
digitally such as BBC Radio 6 Music.
E-COMMERCE
 There has also been a huge increase in the
number of goods being bought online, both
from online-only retailers like Amazon and
high street chains, such as Tesco and John
Lewis.
 A large proportion of trade business is now
conducted online.
EDUCATION
 The internet contains a vast resource of
information on just about every subject
imaginable.
 You can find information on encyclopaedia
websites or specialist websites.
 Some of these, such as
www.tomshardware.co.uk, which provides lots
of information about PC hardware, give
details on training courses and contains video
instructions on how to do all sorts of practical
things.
DOWNLOADING
INFORMATION
 Many websites provide digital content for you
to down load.
 iTunes TM is one of the best known websites
from which you can buy and download music.
 Many software vendors allow you to download
their software products directly from their
website.