Key highlights
- Understand the complete journey from typing a URL to seeing a webpage displayed in your browser.
- Learn how DNS servers translate domain names into IP addresses to connect you to the right website.
- Explore the differences between static and dynamic websites and how they serve content to users.
- Discover how web hosting, servers and browsers work together to deliver seamless user experiences.
- Uncover the roles of HTML, CSS and JavaScript in creating functional and visually appealing web pages.
In today’s interconnected world, websites are at the core of our digital lives, connecting internet users to countless services. From social media and eCommerce to blogs and portfolios, websites serve many functions for website owners and developers alike.
But what is a website? How do websites work and how are websites created?
This guide answers those questions and explains the entire process in a simple way. It covers domain names, web development, web server communication and IP addresses.
This guide is for beginners and those seeking to expand their tech knowledge. It will offer insights for developers and anyone curious about how websites work.
What is a website?
To grasp how websites function, you must first understand what is a website. Essentially, it is a set of web pages located on a server. These web pages have text, images, videos and interactive elements. They aim to provide a seamless user experience.
There are several uses for websites. They facilitate social interactions, internet commerce and information provision. Whether you’re looking at educational websites, running an online store or maintaining personal websites, the underlying technology remains the same.
When a user with an internet connection enters a website address into their browser, it involves many steps to retrieve and display the page. The Domain Name System (DNS) translates a domain name into an IP address. This lets the browser find the website’s server.
Once connected, the server delivers HTML code, CSS files, JavaScript files and other resources that make up the webpage.
Technical nuances: Websites are hosted on physical computers, often called servers, provided by web hosting providers. These servers store all the resources to run the website. When a user enters a web address, they ensure that the server can send the files needed to display the page.
Key features of a website
Modern websites share several essential characteristics that make them functional and user-friendly:
- Navigation menu: A well-organised navigation system helps visitors find information quickly. Most websites feature clear menu structures that guide users through different sections, whether it’s an online store or a personal blog.
- Responsive design: With mobile internet usage dominating in Australia, websites must work seamlessly across all devices. This means the layout automatically adjusts whether you’re viewing on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer.
- Contact information: Businesses typically include multiple contact methods like phone numbers, email addresses and physical locations. This builds trust and makes it easy for customers to get in touch.
- Search functionality: Larger websites often include search bars that help users locate specific content quickly, improving the overall user experience.
- Loading speed: Fast-loading pages are crucial for retaining visitors. Users expect websites to load within a few seconds, making optimisation essential for success.
- Security features: Modern websites use HTTPS encryption to protect user data. This is especially important for businesses handling personal information as per Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) under the Privacy Act 1988.
Let’s look at the different types of websites that you might find around the web.
Examples of websites
Websites serve countless purposes across different industries and personal needs. Here’s a comprehensive overview of common website types you’ll encounter:
| Website type | Examples | Primary purpose | Key features |
| eCommerce | Woolworths Online, JB Hi-Fi, | Online shopping and retail | Product catalogues, shopping carts, secure payments, delivery tracking |
| Corporate | Telstra, Commonwealth Bank | Business presence and customer service | Company information, services, investor relations, careers |
| Government | myGov, ATO | Public services and information | Online forms, citizen services, policy information, resources |
| Educational | University of Melbourne, UNSW | Learning and academic resources | Course information, online learning, student portals, research |
| News & media | ABC News, The Australian | Information and journalism | Current events, articles, multimedia content, opinion pieces |
| Social Media | Instagram, LinkedIn | Social networking and communication | User profiles, content sharing, messaging, community building |
| Personal/Portfolio | Individual blogs, consultant websites | Personal branding and expertise | About pages, work samples, contact information, testimonials |
| Non-profit | Red Cross Australia, Beyond Blue | Community service and fundraising | Donation systems, volunteer information, awareness campaigns |
This table demonstrates the diverse landscape of websites serving Australian users. Each website is designed with specific functionalities to meet their audience’s unique needs.
What are web pages?
Web pages play a significant role in contributing to the overall web development process. These are individual documents that make up a website. Each page is written in HTML code and is designed to display various types of content, including text, images and videos.
For example, a homepage may display company information, while a product page may showcase individual products with descriptions and images. All the web pages work together to create a cohesive user experience across the entire site.
The page elements of a web page are controlled by CSS files, which define the layout, colour scheme and fonts.
JavaScript files add interactivity, such as animations, drop-down menus and form validation. Together, these components make web pages both functional and visually appealing.
Technical nuances: A web page’s structure is defined using HTML code, while its appearance is styled using CSS files. JavaScript files handle interactive features, allowing users to engage with the content dynamically. These files are loaded from the server and displayed in the browser.
What is the role of web hosting?
Today, every website needs a place to live on the internet. This is where web hosting comes in.
A web service provider offers the server space and technology required to store and deliver website files on the internet. Without hosting, a website’s web pages wouldn’t be accessible to users over the internet.
When a website is hosted, its files-including HTML code, CSS files and JavaScript files-are stored on a physical computer called a server.
When users access the website, the server delivers all the resources required to load the web pages. This entire process is managed by web hosting providers, who ensure that the server is always connected to the internet and accessible.
What are the types of hosting services?
- Shared hosting: Various websites share the same server resources. It’s cost-effective but limited, ideal for small sites. For better performance, our managed WordPress hosting optimises resources automatically, ensuring faster load times, better reliability and easy scalability as your site grows. Build and launch impressive WordPress sites effortlessly with intelligent, adaptive tools.
- Dedicated hosting: A dedicated server hosts a single website. It has more significant resources and performance. This is suitable for larger websites with high traffic.
- Cloud hosting: Website files are stored across multiple servers in a cloud network, ensuring better scalability and uptime. This makes it an excellent choice for website agencies that manage multiple clients and need reliable performance. For more control, our VPS hosting provides dedicated resources and full customisation for growing websites. It’s a powerful solution for businesses-and agencies-needing enhanced security and performance.
Web hosting ensures that a website’s files are available 24/7. The server is responsible for responding to user requests and sending back the HTML code, images and other resources needed for the browser to display the web pages.
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How do websites work?
Understanding the basics of how do websites works can help you appreciate the complexity behind the scenes.
Whenever a user enters a website address into their browser, it starts a series of actions to retrieve and display the site’s page content.
1. DNS query
When a user types a domain name (www.[sitename].au), the browser sends a DNS request to look up the corresponding IP address. The Domain Name System server acts as an address book, matching the domain name to the correct IP address.
2. Connection to the server
After locating the IP address, the browser requests the server hosting the webpage. This server stores all the resources to load the website. It has the HTML code, CSS files and JavaScript files.
3. Fetching website files
The server responds to the browser’s request by sending back all the necessary files, including HTML code, CSS files and images. These files are essential for rendering the page content in the browser.
4. Rendering the web page
Once the browser loads the files from the server, it processes the HTML code to create the webpage structure. The browser applies the CSS files to style the page and executes the JavaScript files to enable interactive features like forms or pop-up windows.
Technical nuances: This whole process involves several elements working together. The web browser first contacts the DNS server to resolve the domain name. It then connects to the hosting server, fetches the resources and displays the web page. This happens in milliseconds, making it appear seamless to the user.
Understanding DNS server: The phonebook of the web
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a crucial website component. It translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses, which are the numerical addresses used by servers and computers to communicate with one another.
Without DNS, users must remember complex IP addresses instead of simple domain names.
The DNS server searches several servers for the IP address connected to a domain name entered by a user until it locates it.
This process involves several steps, as the DNS system is distributed across various servers worldwide.
Technical nuances: The DNS comprises multiple layers, including root servers, top-level domain (TLD) servers and authoritative DNS servers. Each layer directs the web browser to the correct server, ensuring that the website address is resolved quickly and accurately.
What is a web server ?
A web server is the backbone that makes websites accessible to users around the world. Think of it as a powerful computer that stores website files and delivers them to visitors’ browsers upon request. Here’s what goes into a web server:
- Physical infrastructure: Web servers are high-performance computers housed in data centres across Australia and globally. These facilities maintain optimal temperature, security and internet connectivity to ensure websites remain online 24/7.
- Server software: The physical hardware runs specialised software like Apache, Nginx or Microsoft IIS. This software manages incoming requests from browsers and determines which files to send back in response.
- File storage and delivery: Web servers store all the components that make up a website-HTML files, CSS stylesheets, JavaScript code, images, videos and databases. When someone visits a website, the server quickly locates and transmits these files to their browser.
- Processing capabilities: Modern web servers don’t just store static files. They can run complex applications, process form submissions and generate dynamic content in real-time. For example, when you check your bank balance online, the server processes your request and generates a personalised page with your current information.
- Multiple website hosting: A single web server can host multiple websites simultaneously, efficiently managing resources and requests. This is particularly common with shared hosting services popular among small businesses.
- Geographic distribution: Many websites use Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) with servers located across Australia and internationally. This ensures faster loading times by serving content from the server closest to each user’s location.
Web servers act the framework that makes websites accessible worldwide. They constantly work in the background to deliver the seamless browsing experience we’ve come to expect.
What is the browser’s role in displaying websites?
Once the browser receives the response data from the server, it must process and display the web page. Browsers interpret the HTML code and render the page elements according to the instructions defined by the CSS files and JavaScript files.
- HTML parsing: The browser reads the HTML code to create the webpage’s structure, identifying headers, paragraphs, images and other elements.
- CSS styling: The browser applies styles defined in the CSS files to make the page visually appealing, determining the layout, colours, fonts and other design elements.
- JavaScript execution: If the webpage contains JavaScript files, the browser executes these scripts to enable interactive features like drop-down menus, forms and animations.
Technical nuances: Browsers use rendering to convert the HTML code and CSS files into a visual web page representation. This ensures that users see a fully functional and styled webpage when they access the site.
Why is mobile optimisation important?
As more users access websites via mobile phones, websites must be optimised for smaller screens. This is where responsive design comes into play.
Responsive design ensures that a website’s layout adjusts automatically based on the device being used, whether it is a tablet, mobile phone or desktop computer.
Technical nuances: CSS media queries are used by websites with responsive design to determine the screen size and modify the layout accordingly. This guarantees a smooth experience for users, irrespective of the device they use to visit the website.
Dynamic vs. static websites
Websites are typically categorised as either static or dynamic, depending on how their content is delivered to users.
- Static websites: These websites deliver the same content to every visitor. The page content is pre-built and stored on the server, meaning there’s no need for server-side scripting. For example, a basic portfolio website showcasing static images and text remains the same for all users.
- Dynamic websites: These websites deliver content that changes based on user interactions or real-time data. The server generates Dynamic content on the fly, often pulling data from a database. For example, an eCommerce website shows different product recommendations based on the user’s previous purchases.
Technical nuances: Dynamic websites use server-side programming languages like PHP, Python or Node.js to generate real-time page content. These websites often rely on databases to store and retrieve the data necessary to customise the user experience.
The role of search engines in website discovery
Search engines like Google and Bing are essential for helping users discover websites.
These platforms crawl and index web pages, making them searchable for users based on the content they seek.
For a website to rank well in search engine results, it must be optimised for search engines using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques.
SEO best practices
- Keyword optimisation: Ensure that your web pages contain relevant keywords that users might search for. This significantly improves the chances of appearing in search results. For WordPress, Yoast SEO helps optimise content. It offers tools for improving SEO, including readability and keyword usage.
- Page speed: Optimise the speed at which your web pages load. Faster websites often rank higher in the search results.
- Mobile-friendliness: Due to search engines giving preference to mobile-friendly content, mobile-friendly websites perform higher in search engine rankings.
- Yoast SEO Plugin: For WordPress, Yoast SEO helps optimise content. It offers tools for improving SEO, including readability and keyword usage. Use the Yoast SEO plugin for easy optimisation
Technical nuances: Search engines use bots (or crawlers) to crawl websites and index their content. The bots analyse the HTML code, metadata and internal linking structure to determine a website’s relevance to specific search queries.
Web developers and their role in building websites
Web developers today are responsible for building and maintaining websites. They work on websites’ front end (what users see) and the back end (the server, database and application logic).
Their job is to ensure that the web pages are functional, visually appealing and easy to use. Whether you want to create a website for your business website or hire a professional web developer, understanding their role is crucial.
- Front-end development: Front-end developers focus on the user-facing part of the website. They use HTML code, CSS files and JavaScript files to create interactive and visually appealing web pages. For example, a front-end developer ensures that a website’s navigation menu works seamlessly on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Back-end development: Back-end developers handle the website’s server side, ensuring that the server processes requests efficiently and retrieves the necessary data from the database. For example, a back-end developer ensures that user data is securely processed and stored when a user submits a form.
Technical nuances: Front-end development involves building the user interface, while back-end development focuses on the server, database and application logic. Together, front-end and back-end development ensure that a website functions smoothly.
The role of APIs in website functionality
Many modern websites use APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to connect different services and features.
An API allows one system to communicate with another, allowing websites to pull data from external sources or integrate with third-party services. For example, a weather website might use an API to pull live weather data from a third-party provider and display it on the homepage. News websites often use APIs to pull the latest headlines from various sources and display them across other relevant pages.
Technical nuances: APIs allow websites to request and receive data from other systems. This ensures that dynamic content is always up-to-date and relevant to the user.
Mobile apps and websites: How they work together?
In the age of mobile applications, websites and apps often work in tandem to provide a seamless user experience. While websites are accessed via a browser, mobile apps provide a more tailored and personalised experience.
For example, an eCommerce business might offer both a website and a mobile app. Users can browse products on the website, while the mobile app provides push notifications and personalised offers.
Technical nuances: Both mobile applications and websites often pull data from the same servers using APIs. This ensures that the user experience is consistent across platforms, regardless of how they access the content.
How websites handle user data?
Users interact with websites and often input personal information, such as login credentials, shipping details or payment information. Websites must handle this data securely to protect user privacy and prevent unauthorised access.
Websites use secure connections (such as HTTPS) to encrypt the data transmitted between the browser and the server.
Additionally, many websites store user data in databases, ensuring that it is securely processed and retrieved as needed. Site visitors expect their data to be handled securely, whether they’re browsing publicly accessible websites or using services online.
Technical nuances: Websites use encryption protocols like SSL/TLS to secure user data during transmission. Server-side validation and database security measures are also implemented to protect user information from being compromised.
Final thoughts
The answer to ‘How does a website work?’ involves many layers of technology, from web pages to hosting. It includes DNS queries, server communication and browser rendering.
Whether accessing one page or an entire website, the process involves accessing your internet, computer, web browser and address. When you open a browser tab to visit your own website or any news site, the same fundamental process occurs.
Though it may seem complex, the sequence of HTML tags, servers and browsers makes web access efficient. Understanding how the web works can help website owners, web developers and curious users gain technical knowledge.
With Bluehost’s WonderSuite, creating websites is more accessible for everyone, regardless of technical skills. It simplifies building and managing professional websites for any user.
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FAQs
A website sends a user’s request to a web server via their browser. The server responds with an HTML file and various resources, which the browser processes and displays. This involves translating the web address to an IP address and retrieving the response body.
First, with a stable internet connection, the browser sends a request to the web server. It uses the domain registrar to match the web address to an IP address. Then, the server sends the HTML file and other assets, which the browser processes, displaying a collection of web pages.
The DNS translates a web address into an IP address so the browser can find the correct web server. This allows the server to send the HTML file and other content, displaying a collection of web pages. DNS ensures websites work by enabling access via an internet connection and is managed by a domain registrar.
When you access an online page, the browser sends a request to a web server, which responds by delivering the HTML file and other content. The whole process involves translating the web address into an IP address and retrieving the webpage.
A website has three main parts: the domain name, which a domain registrar manages; the web server, hosting and storing the site’s files; and the HTML files, which are the content you see when visiting the site.
Yes, websites often cost money. For example, as a website owner, you pay for domain registration, web hosting and possibly a web developer for design and other technical aspects. Free options do exist, but they have limited features. Bluehost offers affordable hosting packages. They include a free domain for the first year and easy WordPress integration. You’ll also get reliable customer support, making it a great choice for launching a website.
