If you’ve ever surfed the World Wide Web and wondered how you could claim your right to the Internet, as millions of others already have, then web hosting can provide you with the services to do so. The Internet is a great way to share information, and you might just take a piece of the web and make it your own. This article introduces the term “web hosting” and provides some useful tips for web development once you’ve gotten yourself some web space.
What is the World Wide Web?
The “World Wide Web” is the network of computers around the world that communicate with each other using the HTTP protocol, a language that allows the transmission of web documents. Be careful as this term is not synonymous with “Internet” because it is defined as a network of networks, where computers communicate using protocols other than HTTP. The web is what you see in your internet browser, web pages complete with graphics, sound and other information. All this has to come from somewhere, and this is where web hosting comes into play.
web hosting
The information you see from your web browser is contained in the web pages. These web pages are stored on computers called web servers. Web hosting is about storing web pages so that people can access them. It is possible to host your own websites yourself, but the reasons that prevent most people from doing so is that there are issues to consider regarding having the right hardware and software to successfully host your web pages. Your web pages will take up a certain amount of space, users will need to download each page to view them, and your Internet connection must be fast to perform well for your visitors. Using specialized companies that offer web hosting capabilities on their web servers will take away most of these worries, but you’ll need to choose wisely and weigh costs and your needs. In addition to having access to a web server, you’ll also need to register a domain name (for a fee) that uniquely identifies your website.
What web hosting can do for you
The most basic service that web hosting offers is that it exposes your web pages for others to see. The other services are: email capabilities that allow you to receive and send email from your server; database capabilities that allow large amounts of information to be updated and accessed on the web; and dynamic content that allows users to interact with the web pages you have created.
website development
Poorly designed websites are very likely to turn away users and damage the credibility of the information they contain. You need to think about the way it looks and the way you intend your users to interact with the content. It is also recommended for more complex websites, a structured development process should be followed. Here is a guide to the logical steps of web development:
Requirements analysis: What is the purpose of the website? What content should it contain?
· Design: How should the pages be linked? What structure should they take? How should the pages interact with the user?
· Implementation: This step is the actual coding of the websites according to the previous websites.
· Testing: Does the website do what it should?
· Maintenance: Is the information on the website up to date?
Some helpful web development tips below are taken from the quality aspects of software, but apply to website development as well. They are described in web development terms:
Reliability: Is the website trustworthy? Do the failures allow the system to continue to function?
Robustness: How does the website respond to incorrect input?
Performance: How quickly does the web page respond to user actions? Is it efficient in processing requests and inputs?
Usability: Is the website easy to navigate and understand?
Maintainability: Is it easy to change the website? Can new features be added?
Portability: What software requirements does the website require? Will this limit the number of potential users?
Comprehensibility: How well do you understand the website you have developed?
When designing your website, keep these quality aspects in mind, as they will help you develop pages worth visiting. Choosing how to host your website is half the problem, the other half is creating a website that people want to visit and come back. Knowing how to produce a good design can help you get the most out of your creations.