- People access websites using software called a web browser.
- Ex: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera
- When you ask your browser for a web page, the request is sent across the Internet to a special computer known as a web server which hosts the website.
- Some big companies run their own web servers, but it is more common to use the services of a web hosting company who charge a fee to host your site.
- People aceess websites on an increasing range of devices including desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones.
- Screen readers are programs that read out the contents of a computer screen to a user.
- When you look at a website, your browser will receive HTML and CSS from then web server that hosts the site.
- The web browser interprets the HTML and CSS code to create the page that you see.
- Most web pages also include extra content such as images, audio, video, or animations.
- Small websites are often written just using HTML and CSS.
- Larger websites often make use of more complex technologies on the web server.
- Larger, more complex sites may use a database to store data, and programming languages suchs as PHP, ASP.NET, Java, or Ruby on the web server.
- Since the web was first created there have been several versions of HTML and CSS.
- When you visit a website, the web server hosting that site could be anywhere in the world.
- In order for you to find the location of the web server, your browser will first connect to a Domain Name System (DNS) server.
- When you connect to the web, you do so via an Internet Service Provider (ISP). You type a domain name or web address into your browser to visit a site.
- Your computer contacts a network of server called Domain Name System (DNS) server. Every device on the web has a unique IP address.
- The unique number that the DNS server returns to your cmoputer allows your browser to contact the web server that host the website you requested.
- The web server then sends the page you requested back to your web browser.