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A website is a digital structure made up of linked web pages, published under a domain name and accessed with a web browser. A company's brochure page, a blog, an online shop or an organisation's information portal are all websites.
In this article we explain how a website works, what it is made of, the types of websites and the steps needed to put your own site online.
How Does a Website Work?
When you type an address into your browser, this is roughly what happens behind the scenes:
- DNS lookup: the browser uses DNS to find out which server the domain you typed (e.g. example.com) belongs to and gets the server's IP address.
- Connection: the browser connects to that server. If the site uses an SSL certificate, the connection is encrypted with HTTPS.
- Request and response: the browser requests the page and the server sends the HTML, CSS, JavaScript and image files. On dynamic sites, the server builds the page on the fly from content in a database.
- Rendering: the browser combines the files and displays the page on your screen.
The Parts of a Website
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Domain name | Your site's address; the name visitors type (e.g. example.com.tr) |
| Hosting | Where the site's files and database live on a server that is online 24/7 |
| SSL certificate | Encrypts data between the visitor and the site; the padlock in the address bar |
| Content management system (CMS) | Software that lets you add pages and posts without coding (e.g. WordPress) |
| Design (theme) | How the site looks: colours, layout, mobile friendliness |
| Database | Where dynamic content such as posts, products and members is stored (e.g. MySQL) |
| Business email | Email addresses on your domain (e.g. info@example.com.tr) |
For more on hosting see what is web hosting, and for choosing a domain see what is a brandable domain.
Types of Websites
- Corporate brochure site: a site of a few pages describing the business, its services and contact details.
- Blog / content site: a site that publishes regular posts and guides.
- E-commerce site: a site with product sales, a cart and online payment.
- Portfolio site: a site where designers, photographers or developers showcase their work.
- Web application: interactive platforms such as a booking system, a client portal or a SaaS product.
Static vs Dynamic Websites
| Static site | Dynamic site | |
|---|---|---|
| Content | Fixed HTML files | Generated on the fly from a database |
| Updating | By editing files | From an admin panel |
| Example | One-page brochure | WordPress blog, online shop |
| Hosting needs | Low | Requires PHP and database support |
How to Put a Website Online
- Define the goal: is it for presentation, sales or content? This decision shapes every other choice.
- Register the domain: find a suitable name on the domain search page.
- Choose hosting: economical plans suit small sites; plans with more resources suit WordPress and e-commerce.
- Build the site: install a CMS such as WordPress from the control panel or upload your ready-made site files.
- Enable SSL: your site should open over HTTPS.
- Content and SEO: become visible in search engines with page titles, descriptions and original content. See SEO-friendly software.
We explain which items make up the total cost in our article on website costs.
Put Your Website Online with ViHyper
ViHyper web hosting plans run on cPanel, CloudLinux, LiteSpeed and Imunify360 and include a free SSL certificate. You can move a site running on cPanel at another provider to us for free, register your domain in the same place and create business email addresses on your domain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a website and a web page?
A web page is a single page (e.g. "About us"). A website is the collection of pages under the same domain.
Do I need to know how to code to build a website?
No. With content management systems such as WordPress and ready-made themes you can build a site without coding. Specific needs may require development work.
Can I have a website without a domain and hosting?
Free site builders offer this with a subdomain on their own infrastructure, but your own domain and hosting are better for branding and control.
How long does it take to put a website online?
Once the domain and hosting are ready, installing WordPress takes minutes. Most of the time goes into design and preparing content.
