site design

What makes a website?

Website Basics is a content resource designed to introduce you to the core concepts of designing and building a modern website. There are several important aspects to consider whether you are thinking of starting a website, or just looking to update an existing one.

This content should help you understand the various factors relevant to each website build. Use the navigation on the left to view the various sections.

What makes a website?
This is the fundamental definition of what a website actually is. A website is made up of a page or pages within a directory (known as a folder) held on a web server. Users are directed to this collection of pages through a domain name – an id that is commonly known as a web address. The pages are usually connected by hyperlinks which allow the user to navigate around and between the webpages.

What is a webpage?
A webpage can be thought as similar to a page in a magazine or a book, containing a variety of content. A webpage is written in a language known as HTML, which stands for Hypertext Mark-up Language. This language is designed to format the layout of content on the page and can be thought of as the language of the web.

Webpages are then found and read by a special program, known as a web browser. Web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari, interpret the HTML and show the page as intended.

One other crucial aspect of webpages is the ability to navigate between them. With the use of hyperlinks users can jump between pages and navigate to the content they want in whatever order suits.