| If youve ever browsed the World Wide Web and | | | | |
| wondered how you could stake your claim on | | | | Website Development |
| the Internet, like the millions of others | | | | |
| that have done so already, then web hosting | | | | Poorly designed websites will most likely |
| can provide you with the services to do just | | | | turn away users and harm the credibility of |
| that. The Internet is a great way of sharing | | | | the information it contains. Thought should |
| information and it is possible for you to | | | | be put in on the way it looks and the way you |
| take a portion of the web and make it your | | | | intend your users to interact with the |
| own. This article introduces the term web | | | | content. It is also recommended for more |
| hosting and provides some useful tips for web | | | | complex websites, a structured development |
| development once youve obtained some web | | | | process should be followed. Here is a guide |
| space. | | | | to the logical steps of web development: |
| | | | |
| What is the World Wide Web? | | | | Requirements Analysis: What is the purpose of |
| | | | the website? What content should it contain? |
| The World Wide Web is the network of | | | | |
| computers from all over the world that | | | | Design: How should the pages be linked? What |
| communicate with each other using the HTTP | | | | structure should they take? How should the |
| protocol, a language that allows the | | | | pages interact with the user? |
| transmission of web documents. Be careful as | | | | |
| this term is not synonymous with the Internet | | | | Implementation: This step is the actual |
| because it is defined as a network of | | | | coding of the websites in accordance to the |
| networks, where the computers communicate | | | | previous websites. |
| with protocols other than HTTP. The web is | | | | |
| what you see on your Internet browser, the | | | | Testing: Does the website do what it should? |
| web pages complete with graphics, sound and | | | | |
| other information. All this has got to come | | | | Maintenance: Is the information on the |
| from somewhere, and this is where web hosting | | | | website up-to-date? |
| comes in. | | | | |
| | | | Some useful hints for web development below |
| Web Hosting | | | | are taken from software quality aspects but |
| | | | they apply to the development of websites as |
| The information that you see from your web | | | | well. They are described in terms of web |
| browser is contained in web pages. These web | | | | development: |
| pages are kept on computers called web | | | | |
| servers. Web hosting is about the storage of | | | | Reliability: Is the website reliable? Do |
| the web pages so that people can access them. | | | | faults allow for the system to continue |
| It is possible to host your own websites | | | | running? |
| yourself but the reasons stopping most people | | | | |
| doing this is that there are issues to | | | | Robustness: How does the website respond to |
| consider with having the right hardware and | | | | incorrect input? |
| software to successfully host your web pages. | | | | |
| Your web pages will take a certain amount of | | | | Performance: How fast does the web page |
| space, users will need to download each page | | | | respond to users actions? Is it efficient in |
| to view them and your Internet connection | | | | processing requests and inputs? |
| needs to be fast to offer good performance to | | | | |
| your viewers. Using specialised companies | | | | Usability: Is the website easy to navigate |
| that offer web hosting capabilities on their | | | | and understand? |
| web servers will take most of these worries | | | | |
| away from you but you will need to choose | | | | Maintainability: Is the website easy to |
| wisely and weigh up the costs and your needs. | | | | change? Can new functionality be added? |
| In addition to having access to a web server, | | | | |
| you will also need to register a domain name | | | | Portability: What software requirements does |
| (for a cost) that uniquely identifies your | | | | the website require? Will this limit the |
| website. | | | | amount of potential users? |
| | | | |
| What Web Hosting Can Do For You | | | | Understandability: How well do you understand |
| | | | the website youve developed? |
| The most basic service that web hosting | | | | |
| offers is that it exposes your web pages for | | | | When designing your website, keep these |
| others to see. The other services are: email | | | | quality aspects in mind as they will help you |
| capabilities that allow for email to be | | | | develop pages worth visiting. How to choose |
| received and sent from your server; database | | | | the way to host your website is half of the |
| capabilities that allow for large amounts of | | | | problem, the other half is to create a |
| information to be updated and accessed on the | | | | website that people would want to visit and |
| web; and dynamic content which allows for | | | | come back to. Knowledge of producing a good |
| users to interact with the web pages youve | | | | design can help you get the most out of your |
| made. | | | | creations. |