HTML:
The Web beyond HTML

We now know enough about HTML and CSS to make a simple gallery site of our work.We have also seen previously that it is very easy to upload video to free hosting services such as YouTube and Google VIdeo, and to link to these from a web page, so that it appears as though the video is actually appearing on that web page.

There are lots of other web-based technologies that allow you to add dynamic content and further interactivity to your web site, if you wish.

Animated GIFS

These are the simplest (and arguably the most annoying) form of moving image that you can make for your web page. They are essentially a series of still images, saved together in the GIF format, which play like a little slide show when viewed on the page.

• Really annoying animated GIFs
• Relatively sensible use of animated GIFs: On this site, the animated GIF gives you some sense of what the video might be like, without taking up all the storage space that a video excerpt would.

To make animated GIFs, you need a software application such as ImageReady, or one of the many shareware or freeware programs available. You prepare your image series in Photoshop, making sure they are all the same size, and then assemble them in ImageReady, to make the animated GIF, which can then be included in your web page like any other image file.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a scripting language that allows you to add more interactivity to your web site. Features like rollovers (where an image file on a web page changes when you pass the mouse cursor over it) are usually implemented in JavaScript, although they can now also be done with CSS.

A site that uses javascript

Learning JavaScript is a bit more complex than learning HTML, especially if you are not used to thinking in that very precise, pedantic way, but it is not rocket science. Plus, if you find a JavaScript application that you like, you can usually copy the code, just as you can for HTML, and modify it for yourself, rather than writing the whole thing from scratch. There are lots of online tutorials for JavaScript, for example:

• W3Schools JavaScript Tutorial

Flash

Flash is an interactive animation application that allows you to design web sites with extremely dynamic content:

• An insanely flashy Flash implemented site
• Nevan Lahart's web site

Flash has also developed a good embeddable video player, which is widely recognised by browsers, and makes it easier to deliver good-quality video from your site (although you will need a lot of storage space on your server for the video files

A site that uses Flash Player for video delivery