Websites 101:What is a website?

By: Caity Cogdell

Your Home on the Web

Your Website: Your House

Your website is your home on the web.

In fact, there are many helpful ways in which we can think of a website in terms of a house.

Hosting: The Empty Lot

A hosting account is a server (a computer) where your site files are stored.

The hosting account is like an empty lot where you will build your house.

IP Address: Latitude/Longitude

The IP address is a string of numbers that give the exact address of your hosting account.Ex: 198.154.222.140

It’s like latitude and longitude – an accurate description of where your house is, but not very useful for telling someone how to get there.

Domain Name: Street Address

Your domain name is the address people will remember. You buy it from a domain registrar (e.g., GoDaddy), which points the domain to your IP address.Ex: cardinalwebsolutions.com

It’s like your street address. This is the address you will give to visitors.

DNS Records: Phonebook

The DNS records are a list of entries connecting your domain or subdomains(ex. mail.yourdomain.com) to the exact IP address or server where they “live.”

Ex:NAME TTL TYPE DATA

www.example.com. 1800 A 198.154.222.141

It’s like a phonebook – back when people actually used phonebooks. You can look up a person or business by name and find their address.

FTP: The Highway

The FTP (File Transfer Protocol) or SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) is how you move files between your computer and the server where the site is hosted.

It’s like the highway that the moving truck takes to bring your stuff to your new house.

HTML: Framework

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML tags are the building blocks that make up the structure of your site.Ex: <p>Hello, world!</p>

HTML is like the framework of your house: the foundation, walls, and roof.

CSS: Paint & Other Styling

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It controls the appearance of HTML elements. CSS can be used to make a website responsive.Ex: p { padding: 10px; }

CSS is your paint, style of doors, size of window frame, anything the changes the surface appearance of your home.

JavaScript: Gadgets

JavaScript (JS) is a programming language that gives the website extra behaviors. It can be used for many things, such as changing content on a page, animating content, making content interactive, or tracking information.Ex: <script>document.write("<p>My First JavaScript</p>");</script>

JavaScript is like the many gadgets you find in a home to make it more useful or enjoyable, such as clocks, calculators, TVs, or your security system.

Content: Furniture

Your content consists of the text and images that fill in the framework of your website.

Content is like furniture. It gives a room (or page) purpose. It should be relevant to the page it’s in and should fit appropriately – you wouldn’t put a toilet in the bedroom or try to fit a king-sized bed in the closet.

Links: Doors

A link takes you from one page on your site to either another page on the same site, or a different site entirely. Links are created with the HTML anchor (or “a”) tag.Ex: <a href=“http://cardinalwebsolutions.com”>Our Website</a>

Links are your doors. Make sure there’s a door to every room in your house so that your guests (and Google) can find their way!

Components of a Website

Components: Overview

Domain name

Hosting

Site Files

Database (optional)

CMS (optional)

Plugins (optional)

Browser * (not actually part of the website)

Although these components are not required for all websites, they are strongly recommended for and are present in most modern websites.

Components: Domain name

Your domain name is part of your URL. It is what people will type in the address bar to go your site.

You buy it from a domain registrar, such as GoDaddy or NameCheap, and then you point it to your hosting account by entering the correct nameservers or altering the DNS records.

Domain Ex: cardinalwebsolutions.comURL Ex: http://cardinalwebsolutions.com/about

Components: Hosting

Your hosting account is rented space on a server. A server is a computer that holds your site files.

You can purchase hosting from a company such as HostGator or BlueHost. There are many options, most of which also sell domain names, such as GoDaddy.

You can also have your own server if needed. This gives you more flexibility, but also takes more work to manage.

Components: Hosting

Like any computer, hosting servers run on different operating systems. Two of the most common operating systems for hosting servers are Apache (Linux) and Windows.

Apache Windows

Can run HTML Can run HTML

More likely to use PHP More likely to use ASP.net

Uses .htaccess file for redirects Does not use .htaccess file

Typical URL: index.php Typical URL: default.asp

Like all rules, you’re sure to find exceptions to this list – just use these as general guidelines.

Components: Hosting

When you switch hosting accounts, you have to point your domain name to the new hosting account.

After you make the switch, the changes need to propagate, or spread through the Internet, before you’ll see a difference. This can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 48 hours.

Components: Site Files

Site files can include images, documents, templates, HTML files, anything you upload to your website. You can access the files through the FTP or a File Manager in the hosting account.

Components: Database

A database is essentially a spreadsheet containing your website’s content and linking it together. For example, for a WordPress site, the database would contain tables for settings, posts, comments, users, etc. The website is coded to automatically pull this information into the template.

When moving a website to a new hosting account, it is important to move both the site files and the database (if there is one).

Components: CMS

A content management system (CMS) is a user friendly interface for making changes to a website.

Any site using a CMS will also have a database, but not every site with a database will have a CMS.

WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are all popular CMSs.

Ecommerce sites have their own type of CMS called an ecommerce platform. Magento is one of the most common, but the WooCommerce plugin combined with WordPress is also very popular.

Components: Plugins

Most of the more common CMSs allow plugins, 3rd party extensions that add new functionality to the site or CMS.

Plugins save a lot of time and money because you do not have to write your own code for the features you want. Although some advanced plugins require payment, many are free.

Always do your research and read reviews before adding a plugin, and backup your site beforehand.

Components: Browser

A browser is not actually part of your website; it is the program the visitor uses to view the site.

Each browser renders code slightly differently, so it is important to test a site in multiple browsers before launching.

Common Browsers(in order of market share)

Chrome

Internet Explorer

Firefox

Safari

Opera

In Conclusion

Review: What is a website?

A website is a collection of files and sometimes a database stored on a hosting account and accessed by users via a domain name. It is viewed through a browser.

Many websites are edited using a CMS, which may be bolstered by plugins. You may also have to transfer files directly using the FTP.