Deciding on the approaches and tools to use to build on web these days can be a challenging prospect. There are many different options available and they all claim they do it the best, and often in seemingly contradicting ways.

And strangely enough, they aren't wrong. There are many different types of experiences available on the web, from the simple business listing page to running AutoCAD in the browser.

But even knowing that the web is a wide and diverse place there is a desire to not have as many solutions as there are sites. And while it may be unrealistic to have a one size fits all, maybe there is a way we can rein in some of the confusion. By categorizing the techniques being used we have a way of talking about them, and can make meaningful comparisons.