56. WebPages

A web page or webpage is a resource of information that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext links. Web pages may be retrieved from a local computer or from a remote web server. The web server may restrict access only to a private network, e.g. a corporate intranet, or it may publish pages on the World Wide Web. Web pages are requested and served from web servers using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

As Web pages get more and more complex with images, ads, and links all over the place, they become harder and harder for people to read. Combine that with the eye-strain caused by most monitors and you create an environment where people want to print out Web pages. Many Web designers feel that if a Web page is written for the Web, that's where it should be read. Besides, it's not yet possible to take a Web browser into the bathtub with you, and falling asleep in bed with a computer can be very uncomfortable.

But some Web pages can be difficult to read online, either because of the ads and flashing blinking images, or because they are so long that it's easier to read them in print. For how to articles, it's easier to have the article printed out to follow along with, perhaps writing notes or checking off the steps as they are completed. Besides, it's not yet possible to take a Web browser into the bathtub with you, and falling asleep in bed with a computer can be very uncomfortable. Unlike other directories that can only list web pages alphabetically regardless of how good they are, the web pages in the Google directory are ordered according to Google's view of their importance.

This means that the most relevant and highly-regarded sites on any topic are listed first ... not buried deep within a list of other pages. Related categories contain web pages that are similar to the ones in the category you are looking at, but in a different part of the directory. For example, "Reference > Books" shows up as a related link to the category "Business > Industries > Publishing" because books and publishing are related. "Books" has been put in the "Reference" category and "Publishing" has been put in the "Business" section of the directory, but you can move from one area to the other by clicking on the Related Categories link.