In this lesson, let’s discuss What is a Website and How it Works. This will help you have a better understanding of how to work with the website. You will be able to assimilate the knowledge I share with you later much easier. I will use very simple language to ensure everyone gets it. But even if you have an understanding of how a website works, go through this material to ensure we are on the same page.

What is a Website

Before you go into all the details of the website, let’s see the big picture of What a Website Actually Is. A website is the set of documents and files located on a dedicated computer that works 24/7 and is connected to the World Wide Web – WWW. Yes, it is literally a bunch of Word Documents, Videos, Tables that you share access to.

• Articles – Text Documents
• Videos – Video files
• Audio – Audio Files
• Shop – Table/Sheet

Each article, video, or any other media is a separate item. Because people view those files on the WEB, it is called a SITE. And thus, it is a Website.

In order for people to view them, they need to find the location.

Where is the Dedicated Computer and How Can People Access It

Technically, you could have those files on your PC and have people accessing your content. But, I bet you don’t want to have your PC on 24/7, including power downtime when you need to ensure your files are still accessible. Accepting your PC running around the clock, it also has to be PROTECTED from thieves and people who want to corrupt your files. So you have to watch your PC, run antivirus, protect it from virus attacks… all of this is a lot of work.

That is why people have organized in groups and agreed to locate their files on ONE DEDICATED PC that has the capacity to run 24/7 and have people assigned to protect it – they called this PC – Server. A server serves the files.

As sites have been multiplying since the first dot.coms, we have reached 1.7 Billion websites to-date according to Internetlivestats.com, so what happens with servers?

Where Are All Those Servers?

As you can see, the demand on servers was growing and inspired the development of companies whose job is to WATCH OVER AND MAINTAIN SERVERS – they are called HOSTING providers. Hosting is a service that allows you to locate your website files on servers owned by this company. A Hosting Provider located in the US can be an owner of servers located in the US, Europe, or even in Asia if they want.

That is why when you build a website you need to rent a PLACE ON THE SERVER where your files will be located. Sometimes big companies can rent the whole server. But for users like me and you, a SHARED SERVER with other users is enough.

Usually, the cost of the server starts from $3/MONTH, and the price differs depending on the SIZE of dedicated space or the SPEED of the Server and many more.

The Hosting Provider allows you to locate your files on their servers and needs you to arrange the ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SERVER by WWW users.

How to Allow People to Find and View My Files?

To allow people to navigate to your files and view them there, you should have an ADDRESS IN THE NETWORK. By the way, there are many networks. Corporations have their private networks that can be accessed through the internal file system. It is called an Intranet. You can have your private home network that connects your home computers, and you can use files from another computer from the one you are working on now, this will be called Ethernet.

When we talk about the World Wide Network or Web and it’s known as the Internet, we have to create our main file name – DOMAIN. KateKoronis.com or Koronied.com are Internet domain names. Without these domain names, you can’t give people access to your files through the Global Network.

How to Ensure That Two or More People Do Not Use the Same Domain Name?

There is a Global Registry of Domain Names and to whom they belong (who reserved them). Let’s look into it closer because you will need to register your domain name.

Who Registers Domain Names?

To have your domain name, you need to RESERVE it with a DOMAIN REGISTRAR. A domain registrar is a business that handles the registration of domain names. The reservation of the domain name is USUALLY DONE YEARLY, but it can also be done 2, 3, or even 10 years ahead, depending on what the registrar allows. The reservation usually is a PAID SERVICE, and the price depends on the domain name extension like .com or .info (we will discuss it further when we talk about choosing your domain name). There are also some FREE OPTIONS LIKE GOOGLE DOMAINS which are not available for some territories and have limitations.

When you register your domain name, ensure to set up AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS to renew your domain registration so that you don’t lose your web address. Note: in this case, you will not lose your files because, if you remember, they are located on the Server of your Website Host. Very often Hosting Providers also are Registrars, and Registrars sometimes provide the service of Hosting your website files.

What Hosting Provider and Registrar Should I Use

In the space of WEB HOSTING SERVICES, there is a lot of competition, so from time to time, new hosting providers are coming up, and they have very good offers for yearly subscriptions so I can’t recommend anything in this video, but you can find the link to recommended Hosting Services and Registrars by the link below this video lesson.

However, for this course, I have a few suggestions on how to proceed with the Domain Name registration and the Hosting. This will be covered in a separate video.

How Are My Files Shown to the Website Visitors

A few more things should be considered for the Website to be available to the readers:

• Content Management System – CMS
• Website Template

Content Management System – CMS

Content Management System – CMS – is a software that allows you to edit and display your files in a way you want your visitors to see it. Like Work or your PC Media Player, it displays the information in a form that is EASY TO CONSUME. CMS usually takes care of different types of content:

• Text
• Images
• Media Gallery
• Video Player
• and many more.

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS for simple websites like blogs, shops, and so on. WordPress is also enhanced by additional features through Plugins developed by other companies that are more specified. A plugin means that this is an additional software that Plugs into WordPress in our case. For example, you will hear of:

• WooCommerce – Plugin that works with WordPress and allows you to build your ONLINE STORE. It has a specific way of displaying the products and giving you an interface for your customer to be able to add the product to the cart and check out.
• MemberPress or LearnPress – Plugins used to display and run your ONLINE COURSES, create student accounts, make quizzes, and so on.

Website Template

At this point, you would be able to have a fully running website. But if you have been visiting sites, you might have noticed that all of them are different in how they LOOK AND FEEL. You can instantly recognize which Website you are if the website has Branded colors and a Familiar Layout. As you know if you are visiting a Facebook page or YouTube channel from the Design those pages have.

Your Website Interface Design – the Feel and Look, can be created in WordPress with the tools this software provides you. But it requires time, design skills, and sometimes, programming.

To simplify this task, many Web Developers produce Website Templates that have a ready

• Design (Colors, Fonts, Styling)
• Layouts (The placement of text and graphics in a readable and appealing way to the reader)
• Features (Responsive design, Speedy download of the website files)
• And more

The Templates might be free and enough for the beginner to start a blog. But if you are building a business, you need to ensure your website is

• Fast,
• Up to date with the latest Technology,
• User-Friendly
• Fashionable

In this case, you will need to have a paid template that will satisfy your needs. The Template Market is huge; all the Templates are Displayed on the WordPress Market, and you can find them just by searching the WordPress Templates.

For this training, you will have Professional Templates available to you, and it will be enough to build your website and be sure to check all those boxes one professional website should have.

That is all you need to know about How the websites work. We will return to it right after we have our content for the website ready. So DON’T RUSH TO GET HOSTING OR TEMPLATE or anything… except Domain.

In the next video, we will see how you can choose and purchase a domain name so that you have your site set up and ready by the time your content is ready.

1. You can FIND THE REGISTRAR on Google. Some of the most famous are in the list under the video.
2. You can purchase your Domain name WITH MY ASSISTANCE; I will use my Registrar, and in this way, you can locate your website on My Hosting with no fee for the period of the Coaching Program and with a small fee after the program ends.

To purchase your domain, you need to have your PERSONAL DETAILS SHARED with the registrar (like address, full name, and surname, phone and email).

I will show you how I purchase a domain name. If you want to Purchase a domain with me and use my hosting later, you should REACH OUT TO ME.

Now that we have our Domain name, we are ready to move on to the Website Content Development Section of this course.