Hypermedia is a member of the non-linear category. It is an extension of the term "Hypertext", meaning linkable text that a user can click on and navigate to another area.

Hypermedia may contain text, images, video, and audio content that is linked. Hypermedia is the fundamental element for web pages due to its navigational properties. The best example of hypermedia is the World Wide Web (WWW) itself, which contains millions of web pages offering inter-linked media content.

Website multimedia describes multiple forms of media and content that is delivered electronically to the end user via a web server, or website page. Website multimedia generally falls under the non-linear multimedia classification, as more often than not, it allows the end user navigational and control opportunities. The types of media used on websites can include text, images, audio, and video, but can also contain a number of other interactive features which fall under the "multimedia" description.

Throughout this book we will be looking at these multimedia elements, and how to display them effectively in our Joomla! website.

Various types of website multimedia

The Internet started with simple textual content. With the implementation of HTML and other coding languages, and the evolution of web browsers and connection speeds, media-rich applications and websites are now present everywhere on the World Wide Web.

Multimedia has directly influenced the growth of the Internet, just as the Internet has influenced multimedia. The expansion of information online is now becoming the most important multimedia vehicle. Web users now have the ability to control the delivery of data as they wish, and user interactivity is now a key process used in popular websites.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, multimedia is the combination of multiple forms of content. These can include text, images, audio, video as well as scripting and numerous other site features, which help site users with navigation and interactivity.