Web-based services are services that are designed and delivered in a way that aligns well with Web technologies. This means that Web-based services are not services that are delivered over the Web, but instead services that integrate into the architecture of the Web. The back-end of Web-based services ideally should be combined with a front-end of Web-Based Publishing, creating an environment in which all forms of information and service reuse are supported. Web-based services are an important backbone for Document Engineering, which typically uses Web technologies for implementing loosely coupled scenarios.

Our focus is on RESTful Web-based services, which are based on the Web's model of service delivery, Representational State Transfer (REST). The REST philosophy of designing and implementing services which integrate into the Web is in stark contrast with technologies more often associated with the term Web Services, SOAP, WSDL and UDDI. These latter technologies use the Web as a transport system, and thus do not leverage the network effect which is created by designing and implementing services which are a part of the Web. We use the term Web-Based Services to keep a safe distance from the SOAP/WSDL-dominated area of Web Services, and one of our goals is to demonstrate with our projects the superiority of the RESTful approach when implementing loosely coupled systems.