The Basics of Web Hosting, It is a rare individual in this decade who has not spent a fair amount of their lives in the online world of websites. But even though you can surf the web, if you are considering creating or improving a website for yourself or your company or organization, there are a few things that you need to know before you begin.
Internet 101- How web sites work
A web site is a series of files and/or programs that reside on a web enabled computer (called a host server) located somewhere on the internet. When you type in a web address or click on a link, your browser finds the host server on the web and requests a page to display. The host server assembles the code for the page and sends it to your browser, which in turn interprets the code and uses it to create the page for you to see.
The page you are looking for could be a found in a single file containing all of the information for displaying web page, or the code for the requested page could be created by a program running on the host server based on information supplied to it by your browser.
Static vs Interactive pages:
This may be obvious to some people but knowing the difference could save you a lot of work and expense when it comes to selecting a web hosting platform and creating your page.
Static: This is a web page that contains only standard web page controls and does not require any information from your browser to display the page. Static pages may contain links to other pages and elements like news feeds which show information that changes periodically. Home pages and About Us pages are often static.
Interactive: This is a web page that changes its format and/or content based on information sent to it by your browser. This could be things like a user name, a product code, or a date range. For example, on line ordering sites are use this kind of page to process your order.
Custom Web Site vs Web Content Managers:
Creating web sites requires a fair amount of skill, even for a simple site. And if you are creating a site where the content changes frequently, like a blog or news site, or you are going to use your site to sell products or services, this becomes even more of a challenge.
You basically have 2 options:
Custom Web Site: This is a site where the page code and supporting programs and data bases are created by you or a contractor based on what you want your site to do. This can be expensive and time consuming but does allow you to build a site that looks, feels, and acts exactly as you want it to. It also allows you to add functions that may not be available in content management systems.
Content Management System: These are computer platforms which allow you to create and maintain your web site through their built in user interface without writing any code. This includes the sites like Google’s blogger.com, and the free WordPress web authoring site. Some services, like blogger.com, are free, while others charge for signing up, hosting, domain names, etc.
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