How web pages work
The content displayed on a web site is normally contained in one or more HTML (hypertext mark-up language) files
- plus other resources such as image files. All of the files that make up a website must be stored on
web server. A web server is a computer that runs web-hosting software and is connected to the Internet. This allows others to view your pages via a web browser and Internet connection.
Getting your own web space
To set up a website that can be viewed by others on the Internet; you’ll need your own
web space. Web space is storage area on a web server that’s allocated to a particular site. Here are several ways to get web
space:
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Ask a friend if you can share some of their web space. |
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Use one of the many free web-hosting companies on the web. Simply type “free web hosting” in your favourite search engine and you’re likely to get millions of hits. Free web hosting is normally low on features, and the host will likely place advertisements on your site to pay for the hosting. |
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Ask your Internet Service Provided (ISP) if free or discounted web space is available to you. |
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Use a commercial web hosting company. You’ll need to pay a monthly fee but you’ll get better features and no advertisements. |
Developing the content for your website
There are many ways to develop the content for your website and these are outlined below:
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Use a text editor and write the page in pure HTML. For a basic site you’ll need a strong knowledge of the HTML language and possibly a scripting language such as JavaScript. |
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Use the web development tools and templates provided by some web hosting services. |
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Use a professional web development software package such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia (Adobe) Dreamweaver. |
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Hire a professional web developer (recommended for business websites). |
Uploading the web pages to your site
Once you’ve developed the web pages (that make up your site) on your local computer and you are happy with the finished product, you’ll need to upload them to your web space to make them “live” and available to the world. This is normally done using a utility called an FTP (file transfer protocol) Client, or by using the “Publish Web” feature in some web development applications.
Your web host will give you information about the FTP address to send your files to, what directory to store them in, and what to name the homepage file, normally
index.htm or
index.html.
What will be the address (URL) of my site?
The address of your site will depend on whether you have registered your own domain name or not. If you have not registered a domain name, the address of your site will most likely be the name of your ISP or web host followed by a slash and then your username, something like:
www.myispname.com/~myusername
This may be acceptable for personal websites but if you’re creating a website for a business, you’ll probably want to register a domain name that’s more memorable and linked to your business activity, something like:
www.mybusiness.com
Domain names are easily registered over the Internet for a small yearly fee.
How do I link my domain name to my website?
If the company you registered your domain name with (known as a Registrar) is the same as the company that is hosting your website, they should be able to automatically link the two for you. If your registrar and web host are different, you’ll need to re-delegate your domain name to your host’s Name Server(s). Your registrar will tell you how to do this. In addition, your registrar can also redirect your domain name to another address, normally for a fee.
How will others find my website?
The best way to promote your site is to get it listed with one or more
search engines. Search engines use special programs known as
"crawlers", "robots", and "spiders" to scour
the web for new listings, and so your site may eventually get listed. Some
search engines allow you to manually submit the address of your site, but
there are no guarantees that it will be listed. To enhance the chances of
your site being listed, get
other sites to link to your site and increase its traffic flow. Keep your
site content current and relevant, and choose appropriate wording for the
meta tags in the heading section of your HTML code.
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