subject: Must know basics for starting a new website [print this page] Must know basics for starting a new website
Concepts of a website
I will try to put it in a very simple way, so that even the people with no idea about the jargon of internet can understand it easily. You may find different articles describing these concepts in different ways.
In a nutshell, a website is a collection of data (articles, pictures, music etc.) placed on a web server, that can be retreived by a browser by typing the domain name of a website. Too much jargon already? Well, we will try to explain all the terms in as simple a way as possible.
A webserver is a computer where the data and files for a website reside. The webserver is connected to the internet and can serve the request of client (user) computers to access and display the website information to a web browser (eg. Internet Explorer, Mozilla firefox or Netscape etc.).
Every website is assigned a unique domain name by an internet authority, to identify the website for retreiving its contents. An example of a domain name is "www.mydomain.com".
A website has to be hosted on a webserver. Hosting means to reside the website files on a server. The space for hosting the files on the webserver can be rented from a web hosting company. Before a website can be hosted, it must acquire the unique domain name, that can identify the website on the internet.
A URL or Uniform Resource Locator specifies the location of a resource on the internet. Usually you type the domain name in the URL bar of a browser to access a particular website.
The internet itself is a network of computers, attached together as a web server or a client. As the name implies, the servers serve the client computer's request for acquiring certain data.
