If you've ever browsed the World Wide Web and wondered how you could stake your claim on the Internet, like the millions of others that have done so already, then
web hosting can provide you with the services to do just that. The Internet is a
great way of sharing information and it is possible for you to take a portion 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 obtained some
web space.
What is the World Wide Web?
The "World Wide Web" is the network of
computers from all over 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 the "Internet" because it is defined as a network of networks, where the
computers communicate with protocols other than HTTP. The
web is what you see on your Internet browser, the
web pages complete with graphics, sound and other information. All this has got to come from somewhere, and this is where
web hosting comes in.
Web Hosting
The information that you see from your
web browser is contained in
web pages. These
web pages are kept on
computers called
web servers. Web
hosting is about the storage of the
web pages so that people can access them. It is possible to host your own
websites yourself but the reasons stopping most people doing this is that there are issues to consider with having the right hardware and software to successfully host your
web pages. Your
web pages will take a certain amount of space, users will need to download each page to view them and your Internet connection needs to be fast to offer good performance to your viewers. Using specialised companies that offer
web hosting capabilities on their
web servers will take most of these worries away from you but you will need to choose wisely and weigh up the costs and your needs. In addition to having access to a
web server, you will also need to register a domain name (for a cost) 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 for email to be received and sent from your server; database capabilities that allow for large amounts of information to be updated and accessed on the web; and dynamic content which allows for users to interact with the
web pages you've made.
Website Development
Poorly designed
websites will most likely turn away users and harm the credibility of the information it contains. Thought should be put in on 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 in accordance to the previous websites.
- Testing: Does the website do what it should?
- Maintenance: Is the information on the website up-to-date?
Some useful hints for
web development below are taken from software quality aspects but they apply to the
development of
websites as well. They are described in terms of
web development:
- Reliability: Is the website reliable? Do faults allow for the system to continue running?
- Robustness: How does the website respond to incorrect input?
- Performance: How fast does the web page respond to user's actions? Is it efficient in processing requests and inputs?
- Usability: Is the website easy to navigate and understand?
- Maintainability: Is the website easy to change? Can new functionality be added?
- Portability: What software requirements does the website require? Will this limit the amount of potential users?
- Understandability: How well do you understand the website you've developed?
When designing your website, keep these quality aspects in mind as they will help you develop pages worth visiting. How to choose the way to host your website is half of the problem, the other half is to
create a website that people would want to visit and come back to. Knowledge of producing a good design can help you get the most out of your creations.
About The Author
William Ly
M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
