What is a Website? [Definition, Components, and Types]

We all are very much familiar with the term ‘website’ since we use many websites in our daily lives for various purposes, from retrieving certain information to shopping online. As there are various types of websites, each of them serves a different purpose. For example, some websites are intended to provide only information, while some focus on entertainment or selling products.

Basically, a website often referred to as a site, is a collection of linked web pages, where a web page is any hypertext document that the web server provides to users on their web browsers as and when requested.

Through this article, we will help you understand what exactly a website is, its components, and its different types.

So, let us get started!

What is a Website?

A website is a set of interlinked web pages that share the same domain name and are stored or hosted on a web server. A web page is any document drafted using the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and is available on the World Wide Web (WWW). It may contain text, images, videos, audio, and other digital media content.

To put it simply, a website is a site on the web containing information about any topic or a business’s services and products, and users can access that information using the internet.

Let us understand this concept using a real-world example. Similar to a site on the land where we build our houses and other buildings to live, we build websites on the web where the information about our brand lives.

Moreover, we identify houses with their unique addresses or house numbers. Similarly, websites also have addresses called web addresses through which we can uniquely identify them. Using the web address, it becomes easier for users to find a specific website and access information provided by it.

For example, techgeekbuzz.com is a website and the page you are currently reading in your web browser using the internet is a web page. There are several other web pages on techgeekbuzz.com. All the web pages, including the one you are reading currently, are available under the same name techgeekbuzz.com and you can access them by entering ‘ www.techgeekbuzz.com ’ in your web browser.

Therefore, you just need a mobile phone, laptop, or desktop, a web browser, and an internet connection to access the desired websites. Whenever you enter the address of any website, you will be redirected to its home page, which is the main page or front page.

Components of a Website

The following are some of the major components that make up a website:

• Web Hosting Service

The web hosting service is essential for making websites live on the World Wide Web (WWW). It is responsible for storing and managing all the web pages of your website on the web server. Moreover, it is essential to have a reliable web hosting service because it directly impacts the performance of your website. It is always better to choose the dedicated hosting rather than the shared one.

• Address

As discussed above, the address of your site makes it identifiable on the internet. The address is nothing but a URL. It stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Whenever any user needs to access a particular site, they have to enter its address or URL in their web browser and the web server responds to them accordingly.

• Homepage

The front page or the main page of any site is the homepage. In other words, when you enter the URL of a specific site and the first web page that the web server displays is the homepage. Since it is the first page of any site, the homepage has to be clean, subtle, and appealing so that the visitors wish to check out all other web pages of the site.

• Design

The design refers to the overall look and feel of a site. It entails various elements, such as navigation menus, layout, typography, graphics, etc. All these elements should complement each other and look relevant over time as design trends keep on changing constantly. In addition, the design should represent the website’s purpose and appeal to the target audience. It should reflect your brand.

• Content

Content is the heart of any site and one of the most significant factors in determining its success. Good content is the key to setting your site apart from its counterparts.

If your site provides visitors with the information they are looking for, they will get satisfied and share it with other people, which, in turn, increases your site’s traffic. Therefore, make sure your site’s content is concise and easy to read and understand.

• The Navigation Structure

The navigation structure of a site refers to the order of the web pages, i.e., which web page links to another particular web page. Generally, users always look for easy-to-use and intuitive websites. They do not like a site that usually requires them to click excessive page links and get frustrated. Therefore, it is advisable to keep your site easy to navigate for visitors.

Types of a Website

Broadly, there are two types of websites, namely static and dynamic. The major difference between static and dynamic websites is the way they deliver and display their content to the users.

• Static Websites

Static websites have static content, which means that the users will get the same information or content on a particular web page every time. In terms of static websites, the web server does not process or change content on web pages. It responds to the visitor with the web pages without any changes. Therefore, static websites are fast in terms of speed.

• Dynamic Websites

Dynamic websites have dynamic content. Unlike static websites, the web server in dynamic websites first updates the content of the requested web page and then delivers it to the user. Therefore, they are slower than static websites in terms of speed. However, it becomes easier to update the content of dynamic websites than static websites.

Let us now throw light on the major differences between static and dynamic websites.

This was all about the two main types of websites. Also, there are various categories of websites that we are going to discuss in the upcoming section.

Popular Categories of Websites

The following are some popular categories of websites:

• Blogs

Blog websites provide information on any particular topic. An individual or a small group of people can create blog websites and provide users with information on various topics, including technology, beauty, travel, fitness, etc. In addition, blogging has emerged as one of the most popular ways of earning money.

• eCommerce

eCommerce websites are all the online stores from where we purchase various products. Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, etc., are popular examples of eCommerce websites. Such websites allow us to purchase products or services online.

• Portfolio

These websites act as an extension to an individual’s resume. They provide professional information about an individual or company that highlights their skills or work. Moreover, portfolio websites make it easier for recruiters to view an individual’s skillset and clients to view the work of a particular company.

• Entertainment

The sole intention of entertainment websites is to entertain users by allowing them to watch movies, listen to songs, etc. The best example of this type of website is YouTube . You can watch movies in different languages, listen to the latest music, and watch other TV shows.

• Educational

As the name indicates, educational websites provide educational content via images, audio, videos, or text. Also, some educational websites include games that act as a learning tool. Such websites facilitate the process of teaching and learning.

• Social Media

We all are very well aware of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Such websites allow people across the world to connect and communicate with each other. Also, people can share their thoughts or feelings, images, and videos on their social media accounts.

• News Portal

Such websites provide users with the latest information on health, sports, current happenings and events, culture, and various other topics. They are basically the online version of the newspaper.

Conclusion

A collection of multiple web pages make up a website, whereas a web page is an HTML document containing digital media content, like text, images, videos, or audio. All the web pages of a website are hosted on a web server. A web server makes it possible for websites to run and display the information in the web browsers of the user as and when requested.

We hope this article has helped you get a better understanding of what exactly a website is and its various components and types.

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