Thinking about a website for your business?
Great! In this post, I’ll explain website technology in a simple way, so you can understand it and make better decisions about your website.

I’ll cover topics like domain names, hosting, CMS, WordPress, HTML, CSS, PHP, and databases. By the end of this post, you’ll know how websites work and why those tech matter.

Even if you’re not going to build your website yourself, it’s still important to understand the basics. This will help you talk to your developer and understand their work better. It will also ensure that you’re on the same page when it comes to your website’s goals and requirements.

I’ll avoid using jargon and technical terms whenever possible, and I’ll provide plenty of examples and illustrations.

If you are already a techie, you may find some explanations too simplistic & not 100% perfect. This is intentional, just to make the concept easy to understand. This content is meant only for those who have no clue about this tech.

Let’s dive in!

The Foundation: Your Domain Name

Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet. It’s how people will find your website when they search for it online.

You can buy a domain name from a domain registrar, like GoDaddy or Namecheap. When you buy a domain name, you’re essentially renting it for a certain period of time.
Domain names are pretty chill, and they don’t care whether you use lower case or upper case for them. So, Google.com and google.com are the same thing.

People capitalize for better readability. e.g. this website domain name can be written as BlueUmbrellaVentures.com or blueumbrellaventures.com or even bLUeUmBRELLavenTuRES.cOM

Now, when it comes to reading domains, they are read from right to left. I got “BlueUmbrellaVentures” with the extension “.com”, which means I own BlueUmbrellaVentures.com. As an owner, I can create as many subdomains on it as I want, without spending a dime.

I can create document.BlueUmbrellaVentures.com or usa.BlueUmbrellaVentures.com

But here’s a heads up: if you see something like google.example.com, don’t assume it’s Google’s secret project. It’s just a domain that someone who also owns example.com owns. It could be legitimate, but it’s always best to be cautious online.

Now, you might be wondering what’s the difference between “.com”, “.org”, “.net”, “.ai” or “.io” or “.in”, “.ae”, etc?

Well, these are called TLDs (Top Level Domains). Every TLD serves a purpose.

• .com – means some commercial entity e.g. Google.com or BlueUmbrellaVentures.com
• .ac – academic institution, can be a school
• .in or .uk or .ae – Country specific e.g. .in is for India, .UK is for United Kingdom, .ae is for UAE, and so on. These are just two letters.

Remember, you can’t just choose any domain name you want. Domain names have to be unique, so that no two websites can have the same address. It means, if someone else has already taken “Google.com” or “Microsoft.com”, you cannot get it.

When choosing a domain name, it’s important to choose one that is relevant to your business or website. It should also be memorable and easy to spell. A good domain name is like a good brand name. It should be something that people will remember and be able to easily find.

Sometimes your preferred domain is not available (because it’s already taken), so you have to be creative and use some extra words/terms with these BlueUmbrella (.com or .net) is not available, you can try MyBlueUmbrella or BeautifulBlueUmbrella  (anything which is relevant to you).

Hosting: Your Website’s Home

As you have got yourself a domain name, you need to find a place to store your website’s files and make them accessible to visitors. This is where hosting comes in. You can think of web hosting as building a home for your website. Just like a physical home, your website’s home needs to be always on and connected to the internet. It also needs to be secure and reliable. Hosting is a computer where your website files reside (or are hosted). It’s a 24×7 high configuration computer also called server, with specialized software & hardware.

Can you host your website on your own computer?
Yes, it is technically possible to host your website on your own computer. However, this is not a good idea for most people. Your home computer is not designed to be a 24/7 server. It’s not powerful enough to handle a lot of traffic, and it’s not as secure as a dedicated hosting server. Plus, you need specialized skills to manage it.

Hosting comes in a variety of types, just choose the right one.

What are the different types of hosting?

Different websites have different hosting requirements, just like different shops need different types of space. Some websites need more powerful computers, while others need more hard disk space. Based on these requirements, different hosting providers offer three main types of hosting:

Shared hosting is the most affordable option. Your website shares resources with other websites on the same server. This means that your website’s performance may be affected by the performance of other websites on the same server.

VPS hosting is a more expensive option than shared hosting. Your website gets its own virtual server, which means that it’s not affected by the performance of other websites on the same server.

Dedicated hosting is the most expensive option. Your website gets its own physical server, which gives you the highest possible performance and security.

Which hosting is right for me?

The best hosting for you depends on your needs and budget. If you’re just starting out, shared hosting is a good option. As your website grows, you may need to upgrade to a more expensive hosting plan.

Here are some beginner-friendly hosting providers:

Hostinger, Bluehost, HostGator, etc.
These providers offer shared, VPS, and dedicated hosting plans. They also have good customer support, which can be helpful if you need help setting up or managing your website.
When choosing a hosting provider, it’s important to consider your needs and budget. You should also read reviews to see what other users have to say about the provider.

I usually recommend Hostinger over others; people who got it have not  regretted.

Click here to get Hostinger. This is an affiliate link, which means, if you buy using this link we get some commission without extra cost to you.

 

 

Software: The Brains Behind Your Website

Now you have a domain name and hosting, you need to choose the software. This software will run your website. There are many different types of software available for creating website. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

HTML and CSS are the building blocks of every website. HTML is used to create the structure of your website, while CSS is used to style it (color, design, etc). These two are programming languages (technically, these are not exactly progarming languages but for this purpose, consider them) and are essential for creating beautiful websites.

PHP is a programming language that is often used to add dynamic elements to websites. For example, PHP can be used to create interactive forms, calculate shipping costs, or display the latest news headlines.

Databases are used to store data for your website. This data can include anything from product information to customer contact details. You can consider databases as highly complex systems similar to MS Excel or Google Spreadsheet, but used by your Website to store its data. MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL are some of the popular databases.

Content Management System (CMS) is a type of software and a very popular choice. CMSs are designed to make it easy to create and manage a website, even if you don’t have any coding experience. Some popular CMSs include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. WordPress is the world’s most popular CMS. Its features & support are available, making it the most used software for building websites. Even this website is built using WordPress.
We prefer to build WordPress websites for our clients. Remember, CMSs themselve use HTML CMS and other tech stuff but that’s not visible to the people who are using CMS to build the website.

Apart from these, there are many different programming languages & tech that can be used to build websites. HTML, CSS, and PHP are some of the most popular languages. They are also used by most CMSs, including WordPress.

WordPress is a popular choice for small and medium businesses because it is easy to use and manage, even if you don’t have any coding experience.

However, if you need a more complex website with specific requirements, you may need to use PHP or a different programming language.

Security: SSL Certificates

When you visit a website, information travels back and forth between your browser and the website. On the internet, there are numerous servers and various types of computers through which your information passes. This means that anyone who can access your information after it leaves your browser can read it. This could include your credit card information, website username and password, or any other sensitive data.

This is where SSL comes in. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It is a protocol that ensures that the information exchanged between your browser and the website is encrypted and can only be understood by them. For anyone else, it will be gibberish.

A website address that starts with https instead of http and has a lock icon before the website address means that the website has an SSL certificate. This means that you can be assured that no one else can see your information exchange.

It is important to know that SSL certificate just ensures the communication between your browser & the website is “secure”. But, it does not guarantee the website is legitimate.  A scammer who has created a website just to deceive people, can add SSL certificate to the websiet and still chat you.

Without SSL, it is like your information is written on a postcard for anyone to see. But with SSL, it is like sending that information in a super-secret code that only your browser and the website can understand. So, even if someone tries to peek, it will be gibberish to them.

If you want to learn more about SSL, read on. Otherwise, you can skip to the next section.

SSL is a cryptographic protocol that uses a pair of unique codes called keys, to encrypt and decrypt information. The public key is known to everyone, like a public lock that anyone can use to lock a door (i.e. encrypt information). Thed private key known only to the browser, is used to unlock the lock (i.e. decypt information).  This system is called asymmetric cryptography.

And, then there are symmetric keys or symmetric key. In this case we only have one key to lock & unlock (encrypt & decrypt).

Now let’s talk about how the encrypted communication begins.

The browser sends its public key to the website (server) using a process called key exchange. This process involves the following steps:

1. The browser generates a random symmetric key. This is  to both encrypt and decrypt data during the current session.
2. This symmetric key has to be sent to the Website Server or Server. The browser encrypts the symmetric key with the server’s public key.
3. The browser sends the encrypted symmetric key to the server.
4. The server decrypts the symmetric key with its private key. Because browser used server’s public key to encrypt, server can use own private key to decrypt. Now the server has browser’s symmetric key.

So far only keys have been exchanged, actual communication has not started. Once the server has the symmetric key, it can use it to encrypt and decrypt data that is sent between the server and the browser.

The browser creates a new symmetric key every time it starts a connection with a website. The symmetric key is only used for the current session, and it is not stored on either the browser or the server.

Symmetric keys are faster than asymmetric keys. So, for faster communication, Symmetric keys, are used for encrypting and decrypting data in SSL. But, as they themselves are less secure, Asymmetric keys are used to encrypt the symmetric key.

Tracking and Insights: Website Analytics

To make your website better, you need to know who your visitors are and what they want. By learning about their behavior and interests, you can make changes to your website that will make it more effective.

Powerful Website analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, provide valuable data about your visitors, including their demographics, interests, and website interactions. This information helps you understand:

• Visitor demographics: Age, gender, location, interests
• Website behavior: Page views, time spent on site, time spent on the page, bounce rate
• Marketing campaign effectiveness:Traffic sources & campaign performance, conversion rates

By analyzing visitor data, you can identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to enhance your website’s user experience and achieve your business goals:

• Personalize content: Tailor content to specific visitor segments
• Optimize website design: Improve usability and accessibility
• Target marketing campaigns: Reach the right audience with relevant messages
• Identify areas for improvement: Address usability issues and bottlenecks

Once you have this valuable data, you can use it to improve your website in a number of ways. For example, you can:

• Optimize your website’s design to make it more user-friendly
• Improve your website’s content to make it more relevant to your visitors
• Target your marketing campaigns to the right people
• Identify areas of your website that need improvement

In addition to Google Analytics, there are other valuable analytics tools available. Some of these tools offer unique insights into visitor behavior and website performance that can complement Google Analytics data.

• Adobe Analytics
• Matomo
• Hotjar
• CrazyEgg
• ClickTale
• Microsoft Clarity

Website analytics is a powerful tool for optimizing your website and achieving its full potential. By understanding your visitors and using data to guide your decisions, you can create a website that attracts, engages, and converts.

Search Engine Visibility: SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It involves optimizing your content and website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that when someone searches for a word/sentence (keyword) related to your website, your website will show up higher in the search results.

There are a few basic things that you can do to improve your website’s SEO:

• Use relevant keywords throughout your website, including in your title tags, meta descriptions, and content.
• Create high-quality content that is informative and engaging.
• Build backlinks to your website from other high-quality websites. When a high-quality website links to your website, it tells search engines that your website is a valuable resource. This can help improve your website’s ranking in search results. But remember, it helps only if the website is closely related to your niche (the subject your website deals in).

A good SEO (expert) can guide you on the specifics for your own website. Experts can tell you what kinds of keywords you need to use. When adding keywords is too much and you can be penalized by your search engine. How to get good backlinks, and more.

SEO experts use techniques like on page SEO, off page SEO, technical SEO.

• On-page SEO refers to the optimization of your website’s content and code. This includes things like using relevant keywords throughout your website, creating high-quality content, and optimizing your website’s technical aspects.
• Off-page SEO refers to the optimization of your website’s backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. The more backlinks you have from high-quality websites, the higher your website will rank in search results.
• Technical SEO refers to the optimization of your website’s technical infrastructure. This includes things like making sure your website is mobile-friendly and that it loads quickly.

By implementing the effective SEO techniques, you can improve your website’s visibility and reach a wider audience. Remember, no expert can guarantee top ranking for your website every time for every keyword. Everyone, including your competitors, is working on improving their website’s ranking. While good SEO techniques do improve ranking but don’t fall for unrealistic promises. If someone promises your website will be number on Google (or Bing), run!

SEO is a long term, complex and ever-evolving game. It’s not a one time effort. You have to continue to follow SEO methods as long as your website exists.

Pixels and Tracking: Facebook, GTM, and More

Tracking user behavior with Pixels
You must have noticed that when you visit a website, you soon start seeing related ads on the other websites. This is because of pixels. Pixels are tiny pieces of code that are embedded in websites and apps. They track user behavior, such as which pages they visit, what products they view, and what actions they take. This information can be used by businesses to improve the customer experience, target ads more effectively, and measure the success of marketing campaigns.

How do pixels work?
Let’s say you visit a website that sells shoes. The website may have a Facebook pixel or Google pixel embedded in it. When you visit the website, the pixel will send a signal to Facebook or Google servers. Facebook or Google Analytics servers will then store the information about your visit, such as the pages you visited and the products you viewed. Facebook or Google servers can then use this information to show you targeted ads for shoes on other websites, such as Facebook itself or other shopping websites.

The importance of cookies
Pixels track user behavior on websites by placing a cookie, a small text file on the user’s computer. The cookies store information about the user’s visit to the website such as the pages they visited and actions they took. If the user deletes their cookies or uses private or incognito mode, the pixel will not be able to track their behavior. This is because the cookie will not be created or stored. When the user revisits the website, the stored cookie allows website to tailor their experience based on the previous interaction.

The benefits of using pixels
Pixels are used by businesses for a variety of reasons, including:

• To improve the customer experience: Pixels can be used to track user behavior and identify areas where the customer experience can be improved. For example, if a business sees that a lot of users are abandoning their shopping carts, they can use the pixel to track what pages users are dropping off on and make changes to improve the experience.
• To target ads more effectively: Pixels can be used to target ads to specific audiences based on their demographics, interests, and behavior. This can help businesses to reach their target audience and improve the return on their advertising investment.
• To measure the success of marketing campaigns: Pixels can be used to track the success of marketing campaigns by measuring metrics such as website traffic, conversions, and sales. This information can be used to optimize marketing campaigns and improve results.

How to use pixels
If you’re interested in using pixels on your website, there are a few things you need to do:

1. Choose the right pixel for your needs. There are many different pixels available, so you need to choose the ones that are right for your business.
2. Get the code for the pixels. You can get the code from the companies that offer the pixels e.g. Facebook will provide you Facebook Pixel.
3. Add the code to your website. You can add the code to your website yourself or hire a developer to do it for you.

Once you have added the pixels to your website, you can start collecting data about how users interact with your website. This data can then be used to improve the website for everyone.

Additional Technical Details

These are some of the basic technical terms that you might come across when you’re setting up or managing a website. Here’s a brief explanation of each:

• Protocol

Protocols are the rules that allow different devices to communicate and exchange information. Think of them as a common language that computers use to understand each other. You have already see examples of protocols within this article e.g. FTP, HTTP.

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is a way to transfer files between computers over a network. If you need to transfer files to the computer where your website is hosted, FTP is one of the ways to do it. That remote computer (hosting your website) will have a special software called an FTP server, and your computer will have a software called an FTP client (similar to File Manager/Explorer, which you use to access files on your own computer).
This FTP client helps you upload or download files from the other computer, making it easier to manage and update the content on your website.

• DNS (Domain Name System)

What if you had to type a number like “142.250.9.113” in your browser to access your search engine Google instead of Google.com?
Thanks to DNS, you don’t have to do that.
The internet is a huge network of computers, and each computer is assigned a unique number called an IP address. Computers understand IP addresses, but people find it easier to remember names. This is where DNS or Domain Name System, comes in. DNS acts like a phone book, translating IP addresses to human-readable names and vice versa.

When you type Google.com into your browser, your request is sent to a DNS server. The DNS server looks up the domain name “Google.com” in its database and returns the corresponding IP address. The IP address is then used to connect to the Google website.

This process happens very quickly, so you don’t even notice it. But it’s thanks to DNS that you can easily access websites by typing in their names instead of their IP addresses.

• Server

A server is a computer that provides resources or services to other computers, called clients. It can be a physical computer, such as a web server or a file server, or it can be a software program, such as an FTP server or an email server.
The context in which the word “server” is used will usually make it clear whether we are talking about a physical computer or a software program. For example, an FTP server is a software program that runs on a physical computer. When we say “FTP server”, we are referring to the software program, not the physical computer.

• CDN (Content Delivery Network)

It’s like a global team of servers that work together to deliver your website’s content to people all over the world. When someone visits your website, the CDN makes sure they get the content from the server that’s closest to them. This can help to improve the performance of your website by reducing loading times and making it more responsive.
CDNs can also help to improve the security of your website by making it more difficult for hackers to attack. This is because the content of your website is distributed across multiple servers, so if one server is hacked, the others are still safe.
If you want to improve the performance and security of your website, you should consider using a CDN. There are many different CDN providers available, so you can choose one that best meets your needs.

• Cloud Services

Cloud services like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud Services, and Microsoft Azure provide a way to rent the resources you need to run your website or web application. This can save you money, time, and hassle, as you don’t need to buy your own hardware and software.
Cloud services provide the following resources:
Compute: This is the power to run your website or application.
Storage: This is the space to store your data.
Networking: This is the connection to the internet.
Software: This is the program that your website or application needs to run.
Cloud services offer many benefits, including:
Scalability: You can easily scale your website up or down as needed.
Security: Cloud services offer a high level of security to protect your data.
Uptime: Cloud services have a high uptime guarantee, so you can be confident that your website will be available to your users.
If you are running a website or web application, cloud services are a great option. They can help you to save money, improve efficiency, and focus on your core competencies.
However, not everyone needs cloud services. If your website is simple and doesn’t have a lot of traffic, and you don’t need special software (e.g., text-to-speech or speech-to-text), you may not need the added benefits of cloud services.

Conclusion

Now that you have a basic understanding of the different technical aspects of websites, you can start to make informed decisions about your own website.

Here’s a quick recap of the key topics covered in this post:

• A domain name is the address of your website on the internet.
• Hosting is the service that provides a home for your website on the internet.
• There are three main types of hosting: shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting.
• A CMS is a software platform that makes it easy to create and manage a website, even if you don’t have any coding experience.
• HTML, CSS, and PHP are the building blocks of every website.
• Databases are used to store data for your website.
• SEO is a process of optimizing your website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages.
• Pixels are small pieces of code that can be used to track user behavior on your website.
• DNS translates domain names into IP addresses.
• FTP is a protocol for transferring files between computers over a network.
• Server-side scripting is a way to add dynamic content to your website.
• A CDN is a network of servers that deliver your website’s content to users all over the world.
• A server is a computer that provides resources or services to other computers.
• Cloud services provide resources such as compute, storage, networking, and software on demand.

Which technical aspects of websites are most important for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. If you are running a small business, you may want to focus on choosing a domain name, hosting provider, and CMS. If you are developing a web application, you may need to consider server-side scripting, databases, and cloud services.

No matter what your needs are, there are many resources available to help you learn more about the technical aspects of websites. You can find tutorials, articles, and books online, or you can take a course or workshop.
By taking the time to learn about the technical aspects of websites, you can create a website that is both functional and visually appealing, and helps you achieve your business goals.

Remember, technology basics are not difficult to learn. You don’t need to learn it as a techie who needs to implement it, but learn it as a website owner who knows which tech can help you. Unless you know about it, you’ll not be able to take advantage of it. Whether you’re building a simple website for your small business or developing a complex web application, understanding the technical aspects of websites will help you make better decisions and achieve your goals.

What do you think about what we’ve covered? What has been your experience with website technology?

Share your thoughts in the comments below. And if you found this post helpful, please share it with others.