Technical Stuff

List of topics

  1. What is a web site physically
  2. Where is it stored
  3. Does it have to be on the web
  4. What is FTP and posting
What is a web site physically
It is a set of files on a computer. Some are text files, and others are images or sound files. The text files combine the text you see on the screen with other text that tells the browser to do something. So the text could be an image tag that tells the browser to download an image, and also say where to place it on screen, and how text is to flow round it.

Where is it stored
Two places, both containing identical sets of files. One set of files is held on the webmaster's computer. When web page changes are made, they get checked on one or more browsers, and then transferred to the second set of files which is the World Wide Web set. Those are the ones on a 'host' that people browse to.

Does a site have to be on the web
No. Long term the object is to share info, but it is possible to have a website operating only within a small network. During development, you may well want to see the web site privately. That is not a problem. It can sit on your computer Desktop as a folder. If the development folder is zipped, all the files are bundled together into a single file that can be emailed. Without sound or a substantial set of photos, the whole site might only be 200 kb. You unzip it onto your desktop, and open the folder. Double click on the file called index.html. Up pops the Home page and away you go browsing the site.

What is FTP and posting
FTP officially means File Transfer Protocol. This acronym has now become a verb: I will ftp the files to you. In practice, you have a program such as FileZilla that moves files from your computer onto the web and back again.  When a web page has been edited, it needs to be move from the webmaster's computer to the web host's computer. When you ftp the files to the host, they have been posted as in 'nailed to a post for all to see'.

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