What is a Website?
A website is a place on the internet where you can create, share and manage information about yourself, your business or topics you’re passionate about. To view a website, you need a device with a web browser (like a laptop, smartphone or tablet) and an internet connection.
Like a physical site on land that can have an address, a website has a unique URL that tells your computer where to find it online. Your website’s address is called a domain name, and you can choose one that matches your brand or niche.
When you type a website’s address into your browser, the device sends a request to connect to the web server that keeps its files. The computer then fetches and displays the webpage using technologies like HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Websites are built for multiple purposes and goals: providing information, entertaining and interacting with others. Organizations and businesses use websites to communicate with their members, customers or other stakeholders. News websites allow users to read the latest news and stay up-to-date on current events. Entertainment sites like YouTube and Netflix provide video and music content. Social networking and forum websites bring people with similar interests together to interact. Ecommerce websites enable people to buy and sell items.
The purpose of a website is determined by its structure and how it’s organized. Structured websites have a clear hierarchy of pages that are organized in sections. Each section has a specific purpose, and each page within the section is designed to meet that purpose.
For example, the Seasons in Colour blog website has sections for each season, with articles and videos that showcase the beauty of the seasons. This makes it easy for visitors to navigate the website and find the content they’re interested in. Plus, the blog is monetized with ads and affiliate links to generate income for the site owner.
If you’re thinking about building a website, the first step is to consider your objectives and what kind of information you want to display. Once you have a clear understanding of what your website will achieve, you can determine which tools and technologies to use to create it.