Beginners Guide to the Web: How websites work

The Internet (also known as the world wide web) is a network of computers around the world. Each computer attached to the internet runs software to provide or "serve" information and/or to access and view information.

Websites and Servers

A website can consist of one or more web pages and are stored on computers known as "servers". An internet address (known as a Uniform Resource Location(URL) , or Domain Name - ie. yoursite.co.uk) is assigned to the website. E-Mail Addresses can also be set up on web servers. (ie yourname@yoursite.co.uk).
A server sends a web page to a web browser upon request.

Browsers

A browser is a computer program that resides on your computer enabling you to use the computer to view web pages. Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape and Opera are examples of popular browsers (although there are many others).
Browsers send a request to the internet address (Domain Name - i.e. www.yoursite.co.uk) and the Web Server upon which the domain is hosted returns the document for display in the browser.

Connecting to the Internet

To connect to the Internet, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is required. This is a company that will provide the software, technology and support to enable you to connect to the web.

This is a very simplistic view of how the Internet works and if you require any further information or advice without obligation, do not hesitate to contact us.

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