This article will explain to you the basic things you need to know about web development in “Simple English”.

If you are a Pro at this already, Sincerely you don’t need to read this, all you need to do is share this article to people you think needs it either presently or for future purposes.

In this article you will get to know the following: • What is a website • Types of websites • What is a domain name • What is hosting • The purpose of websites • How are websites made

Day by Day, the world is growing digital and many businesses have started discovering the hidden treasures in digital marketing. The fact remains that it is very difficult for any business in digital marketing to thrive without having a website. In fact, it is very necessary for every business to have a website.

But, what is web development?

Web development simply refers to building, creating, and maintaining websites. Now that you know what web development is, then:

Who is a web developer and who is a web designer or are they the same? Here we have 3 questions embedded in one question needing a detailed explanation.

The term “web developer” and “web designer” are often used interwoven but they do not mean the same thing.

A web designer only designs website interfaces using HTML and CSS while a web developer may be involved in designing a website, but may also write web scripts in languages such as PHP, C++ e.t.c. A web developer may also help maintain and update a database used by a dynamic website.

Now, what is a website?

A website is a page or collection of pages on the World Wide Web (www) that contains specific information provided by an individual or a group of people and could be accessed by a common Uniform Resource Locator (URL). Simply we can say a website contains a set of data and information about a particular subject which is made available on the internet. There are so many examples of websites such as google.com, facebook.com, e.t.c.

Types of websites

• E-Commerce Web sites.
• Blogs.
• Private Web sites.
• Picture Sharing Websites.
• Cell System Web sites.
• Informational Web sites.
• Brochure/Catalogue Fashion Web sites.
• Social Media and Networking Websites. And lots more

What is the domain?

A domain name is the name of a website. It can also be likened to as the address of the website. It is a unique name that identifies a website. Every website has a domain name that people use to access the website. Whenever you visit a website, the domain name appears in the address bar of the web browser.

Some domain names are preceded by "www" (i.e world wide web, which is not part of the domain name), while others omit the "www" prefix.

All domain names have a domain suffix, such as .com, .net, or .org. The domain suffix helps identify the type of website the domain name represents. For example, ".com" domain names are typically used by commercial websites, while ".org" websites are often used by non-profit organizations. Some domain names end with a country code, such as ".ng" (Nigeria) or ".uk" (United Kingdom), which helps identify the location and audience of the website. Domains are usually bought and tend to expire once the agreed time is exceeded. Domains could be purchased monthly, annually, bi-annually e.t.c. Domains can be bought by anybody. Examples of domain service providers are Namecheap, Bluehost, Godaddy, e.t.c.

What is Hosting?

Web hosting is the service of providing storage space for a website or application on a server on the internet. This can be likened to an individual renting land for him to be able to build his house on, the individual pays a certain amount either monthly, yearly e.t.c.

Once your website is made available on the internet, it can be accessed by other computers connected to the internet.

Web hosts are companies that rent out their services and technologies to host websites on the internet. Once the hosting company hosts your website, users can access it by typing in your web address (domain name) in their web browser e.g. Chrome, Firefox e.t.c. When they do this, their computer connects to the server your website is hosted on. The server, in turn, serves the website to your web visitor in their web browser.

There are many web hosting companies and choosing which one to work with can be very difficult, but there are some factors users should consider before choosing a particular web hosting company: • What kind of website do you plan to host online, is it a blog, an eCommerce portal, a news website, etc as this will determine how much web traffic you expect and how robust the infrastructure required to host your website, should be. • What are the goals of your website? How fast do you see yourself expanding online business? • What is your financial budget? And many more

The purpose of websites

Websites serve so many purposes, such as: • Selling products and services, • Posting and finding information on the Web, • Gaining knowledge, • Communicating with each other, • Promoting a business • Attract & reach new people; customers, investors or partners, e.t.c. • having fun, etc.

And to crown it all, the purpose of a website is to turn visitors into prospects.

How are websites made?

There are many different ways of making a website, but the most basic and straightforward is this: Create a file for each page of the website using HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that gives the content of that page. Finally, you must also pay for a domain name, like mywebsite.com, and have it point to your files.

There are also many other ways to make a website. You can make use of CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal, Wix, e.t.c.

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