How do Websites Actually Work?

Everyone knows what a website is. We use them every day to find out information about pretty much anything we can imagine. No matter if you’re searching for facts about the world, visiting simple image websites, entertainment sites including games and online casino, there’s nothing we can’t find.

Although we use it almost every day, the internet can still seem mysterious to many of us. You may feel like building your company website is an intensive project that only insiders can accomplish. There is so much jargon that it can be hard to figure out which way is up.

So…How Do Websites Work?

To understand how a website works, you don’t need to be a professional web developer. Whatever your experience level or degree of technical expertise, you need to know how it works if you’re considering investing in a business website. Here are the ins and outs of a website and everything you need to know.

What is a website?

Displaying information on the internet using a web page is called a web. It is composed of elements such as texts, images, links, videos, and buttons. In addition, there are hierarchical structures that organize the information on those pages, making navigation easier. There is an overall website composed of these related web pages.

Websites aren’t applications. While it may contain those features, it isn’t a search engine. Ultimately, websites are simply platforms for collecting and displaying public information. It is this primary purpose that drives every website regardless of complexity. However, there are other factors at play as well.

What is a website made of? How does a web browser work?

Every living thing has a unique genetic code. In your DNA, you have all the characteristics that define you as an individual. This code represents your individuality: eye color, type of hair, height, etc. When your body builds cells, your DNA is read by a replicating molecule and this process is called cellular signaling.

Websites work in much the same way. Websites are also built using code. A website can be developed in HTML code, which is a programming language. The text and visuals on a page are all coded, as are the other page elements.

Browsers are used by computers when they access a website. They come in a variety of forms; the most popular ones are probably Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Browsers function like that replicating molecule no matter which one you use. You see what you see when you type in a web address, and this is what it decodes from the developer’s code.

That’s why having the latest browser is essential. It can’t translate the website correctly if your browser cannot understand the code. Also, old computers cannot handle new websites, so they may not work at all.

Your business website information is translated into a form of HTML code so that any computer can download and understand it, whether you work with a developer or use a DIY website building service.

Where is a website stored? What is web hosting?

Data must be stored in some way. Many digital functions are provided through web-based systems. The internet is not a physical space but a place where information is stored. Computers are connected via the internet.

Information is held somewhere else if it is not stored on your computer. This means your Facebook photos are not separated from anything else. Instead of sitting on a physical computer, the data is waiting to be accessed by you in one or more of Facebook’s facilities.

Internet-based websites are not real. Instead, HTML code is stored somewhere, ready to be imported by an internet browser on a computer. So, where do you hold that coded information if you’re building a website? Do you keep it on your computer?

You could technically if it was a small enough site. However, you would need a very stable internet connection, and your computer would have to be constantly on. Such a setup would be costly and potentially dangerous. This would make the project more time-consuming. Your website or computer would probably crash if enough people attempted to access it at the same time.

Where is all that data stored if your computer doesn’t have the website installed?

Large computers, known as servers, store tons of data, pull even more data from databases and provide it to your browser. There is a fee associated with letting your website reside in a company’s database and servers.

Hosting is sometimes offered for free but usually has restrictions or has minimal options. Unfortunately, there are not many free services out there. Your business website will most likely be hosted unless you own and power servers. You can begin hosting your website after the code has been stored on the hosting company’s servers.

How is a website accessed? How do domain names work?

We have a website now. We have code for it on a server owned by our host. Computers are equipped with web browsers to access the website. After the browser decodes that HTML code, I will click those buttons and create a glossy web page with text, images, and buttons of interest for me. First, however, the browser needs to locate the pages.

You need an address for your website. Users are given a designated email address to request information to read the HTML code you have stored.

A domain can help you with that. Domains are everywhere. You register a domain to make it easier for your visitors to find you online. Unfortunately, domain name registration is mistaken for hosting services by many web novices. There is a misconception about how information or knowledge is found on the web from the misunderstanding we just discussed: the idea that information exists just somewhere, floating about.

In other words, people believe that if they paid for a domain name, they automatically own that part of the web, and therefore can store anything. This is far from true. You did not buy computer space for your website if you just bought a domain and no hosting service. That’s like buying an apartment, but in reality the mailbox is all you bought.

When users access your website through a domain name and a server-hosted website, they have access to it! To access your website, users must type your domain into their browser, which then contacts your server. Once the HTML code on the server has been accessed, it can be translated into an interactive web page.