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Information Technology Systems and Services

Web Design References

Web Design Glossary: W

W

WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative – Accessible Rich Internet Applications)
A W3C technical specification. It is a set of attributes to help enhance the semantics of a web site or web application to help assistive technologies, such as screen readers, make sense of certain things that are not native to HTML.
WAVE
The WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator) is an accessibility tool originally written by Dr. Len Kasday at Temple University and for over a decade has been developed by WebAIM. It is designed to locate and identify accessibility problems within web pages, so that they can be repaired. Consult the WAVE site for more information.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
Started by the W3C and its members in 1997, this initiative addresses web accessibility issues. Consult the WAI site for more information.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
WCAG (pronounced "whi-KAG" ) is a technical standard that serves a number of purposes, primarily functioning as the definitive technical reference gathering together information on web accessibility. These are basically the rules to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Additionally, WCAG 2.0 is the International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission's (ISO/IEC) Standard 40500:2012. WCAG 2.1 became a W3C recommendation on June 5, 2018. It serves as the web accessibility Standard for the University of Minnesota. The WCAG Theme Song (Video) is available.
Web Standards
The term "Web Standards" refers to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) recommendations. It means the support of W3C recommendations such as HTML, WCAG, CSS, and the DOM/ECMA Script (among others like XML, SVG, and MathML).
Website
A website is a related group of web pages published on the World Wide Web.
Well-Formed
A well-formed XML document follows the rules set forth by the XML specification, including having all tags closed, all attributes quoted, a XML declaration, correct comments etc.
While Structure
In programming, a while structure continues to loop while an expression is true. It evaluates a Boolean expression. If the expression is false, the code inside the braces is skipped over. If true, the code within the braces is executed. When the close brace } is reached, the test condition is reevaluated, and if it evaluates to true, the code in the loop is re-executed. This continues until the condition is met. Note that the condition is only tested at the beginning of each iteration, so even if the truth of the condition changes during the middle of the code block, the code will be executed to the end.
White Space
White space, also known as negative space, is the open space between visual elements on a web page. The term describes the unused areas. White space gives the eye rest. Cluttered designs hinder clarity and tire the eye. Judicial placement of white space can emphasis page elements and help to direct the eye. You shouldn't use HTML to create white space. Use cascading style sheets for this purpose.
Window-Eyes
A screen reader for Windows.
Wireframe
A wireframe is a skeleton version of a website that depicts navigational concepts and page content. It is a set of cross-linked pages that acts like a functional prototype of the final website without the graphics. A wireframe often has only sketchy text content. It is often accompanied by a tree diagram or flowchart of the website. It doesn't take into account visual design or page layout. For more information consult Wireframes.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
The W3C is an international consortium of companies and organizations involved with the Internet and the World Wide Web, responsible for maintaining web technology standards, such as HTML and CSS. It was "created in October 1994, to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability." Consult the W3C site for more information.