Unit 3: The Anatomy of a webpage

Parts of a webpage

Almost every webpage will have some sort of navigation bar that lets you go to other parts of the website. A webpage might have the main content in the middle of the page, with ads on the left or right side.

Tips for reading webpages

When you are reading a book, you might start at the top of the page and read every word until you get to the bottom. But with a webpage, this usually is not the best way to read. Because webpages have a lot of information you do not need, your job is to find relevant information without getting distracted.

Tips for finding information

• Locate the main content. This is usually the most relevant part of the page. On most pages, it is easy to find, although you may sometimes have to scroll down to find it.
• Make sure you’re on the right webpage. If you do not see any relevant information, use the navigation bar or search box to find the page you’re looking for. You can also conduct a Google search to find other websites.
• Don’t read every word. With most websites, you can skim the page to find what you are looking for. To read faster, you can just read the first sentence of each paragraph.
• Use headings to help you skim the page. Many online articles have a heading at the beginning of each section. If the heading does not seem to be relevant, you can simply scroll down to the next heading.
• Ignore ads. Ads are often embedded in an article or disguised as links. They may look like they’re relevant, but they usually won’t help you find what you’re looking for.
• Use the Back button. If you’ve clicked a link that isn’t helpful, you can go back to the previous page by clicking your browser’s Back button. If the link was opened in a new window or tab, you may need to close it instead of using the Back button.

Finding a specific word on a page

Just hold down Ctrl (or Command if you’re using a Mac) and then press F to open up the Find toolbar. You can then type the word or phrase you’re looking for to skip to that part of the page.