Launch Your Website series: Part 1 of 7
Before we build anything, let’s answer a simple question: what is a website, actually? It’s simpler than you think.
Think of a website like a house
Every website needs exactly three things. A house needs the same three:
| A house needs… | A website needs… | What it’s called |
|---|---|---|
| A street address, so people can find it | An address people type in, like yourshop.com |
Domain name |
| A piece of land to stand on | A computer that’s always on and connected to the internet | Hosting |
| The house itself: walls, rooms, furniture | Your pages: text, photos, buttons | Website files (or “content”) |
That’s it. Domain + Hosting + Content = Website.
What happens when someone visits your site?
Let’s say someone types yourshop.com into their phone:
- Their phone asks the internet, “Where does
yourshop.comlive?” - The internet looks up your domain and finds your hosting (your “land”).
- Your hosting sends your pages back to their phone.
- Your website appears on their screen.
All of this takes less than a second.
Words you’ll hear (and what they mean)
- Domain: your website’s address. Example:
google.com. - Hosting: the always-on computer (called a server) that stores your website.
- Website builder: a service like Wix, Squarespace or WordPress.com. It gives you hosting and an easy drag-and-drop editor in one package.
- Browser: the app people use to visit websites, like Chrome, Safari or Edge.
- URL: the full address of one page, like
yourshop.com/contact.
The good news
Today, you don’t have to put these pieces together yourself. Website builders bundle hosting and an editor, so you mostly just:
- Buy a domain.
- Sign up for a website builder.
- Fill in your pages.
- Connect the domain and press Publish.
The rest of this series walks you through each of those steps.