The basics explained.
Last updated Spet 2023
There are primarily three aspects to a website...
- The domain name
- The website itself
- The server
To work successfully, a website needs all three. To understand the difference, it's a good idea to think about a website as you would a mobile phone.
The domain name is the phone number. It's entirely independent of the other two and can be connected to any handset on any network, but without it, no one will be able to call you.
The website is the handset. This is the bit you actually owned. Once paid for, no one can take it away. Sometimes you never actually own it. You only rent it.
The server hosting company is the mobile network provider. You don't have to stick with any in particular and can move your website from one to another.
The way things work with a website is you buy the domain (phone number) and connect it to a website (handset), and the handset uses the network provider (hosting company) you choose.
Things Further Explained
1. The domain name
Domain names must be registered with a domain registrar; popular examples include 123-reg.co.uk & irishdomains.ie. Once you've registered a domain with them, they will register it with the relevant internet services. You pay for domains yearly at the cost of around £20 / €25 a year.
A domain name is like an address for your website. Once you have registered the name, you need to tell the registrar where the location of the server on which your website is stored or, to use the correct term, hosted. This is done by logging in to your account with the registrar and changing some settings called DNS and nameserver.
These settings can be very complicated, consisting of what appear to be random words and letters. These must be changed correctly: One wrong character and your website won't work.
If you are moving website providers (as opposed to starting a new website), your domain name will be using the settings for your old site on your old server (more on servers in a minute), so the settings need to be changed to use the settings for your new website. This task is typically referred to as "pointing your domain to a new server".
If you are moving your website to me, I am happy to make these changes for you. Send me the details to log into your domain registrar account.
2. The website
A website is just a collection of HTML code that, when "read" by an internet browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.), gets translated into web pages, navigation menus, and so on.
Some websites will display content from online content providers, like YouTube etc. These elements don't exist within the code of the site. They are displayed on the web page the code creates.
3. The server
Servers are large, powerful computers that are always connected to the internet. The companies that run these servers are called "hosting companies". All websites must be stored or "hosted" on a server.
For a website to work correctly, the server must be modern and run the latest versions of various software applications.
If I host your website on my server, I publish it for you. By this, I mean we upload all the files that make up your website to the server computer and then configure it so that when someone types your domain name into their browser and gets sent to where your website is stored (hosted), everything works.
If you choose to use your own hosting company, I will send you a zip file of your website, and you will need to publish it yourself.