How does a website "appear" on the Internet? How does the magic happen?
If you're trying to put a site online, you've probably heard something about domains and hosting, and half of it sounds like a big mess. What's all that?
Internet seems to work 24/7. You write an address, you press Enter, a web page appears in your screen, no matter what time is in your country. How does the magic happen?
It's a no-brainer that all those websites out there must be stored somewhere. Internet is huge, so these websites must be stored across hundreds, thousands, or even millions of computers. And you can 'hook' on those websites anytime, so these computers must be powered on all day.
On Internet terms, these computers are not storing websites, they are hosting websites. There are companies whose business is exactly this: store other people's websites for a price. So, when you pay for a host you're paying for both the storage space and the maintenance costs of this service. Electricity, for example. But you don't just pay once, you have to pay a monthly or yearly billing. That's it, you don't buy hosting, you rent it.
That's how it works.
Now that you understand where are the websites stored, there's another question. How does my computer know where is a website stored?
This is a really really good question. This website you're just browsing is currently hosted by a Florida based company. How did your computer find it?
Answer: Your computer knows where to ask.
Let's put an example: Say you want to phone your friend Bob. You search for "Bob" in your cell phone and call it. Easy as pie.
Easy as pie because you saved Bob's number in your phone's memory, so your phone translates "Bob" into 555-5555-whatever for you. But if you don't have Bob's number saved in your cell phone, you can't phone him. You must get his number instead.
Notice this: There are no two phones with the same number. Bob's number belongs to Bob and no-one else. Nobody in the world has a phone line using the same number as Bob. When you phone Bob, you can be sure Bob's phone is the only one ringing on the other side.
This is in essence what happens on the Internet, but you don't have to get anybody's number, everything is automatic. When you write "www.myfriendbob.com" in your browser, your computer still needs a number. In Internet terms, it needs an IP address. Your ADSL or Cable Company looks inside its giant "IP list", finds "www.myfriendbob.com" website's number, and plugs you there.
But how do they know Bob's number?
That's what the domain is about. Someone must keep these huge IP lists up-to-date. When you rent a domain (again, you can't buy, just rent), you're getting a name pointing to where your website is hosted. These companies get the name for you so nobody else can get it, then send the following message out there: "myfriendbob.com" is stored in this IP: xx.yy.zz.xx
The best thing of this system is that you are not tied to a hosting company. If the service is not good, you can move your site to another hosting company anytime. You just tell your Domain Name Server where you have moved, and they spread your message around the world: "Bob's website has moved to IP: xx.yy.aa.bb"
That's how your computer knows where is Bob's website, and that's how it can be available every day, at all times.
I hope you found this useful.
So, when you pay for web hosting plans you're paying for both the storage space and the maintenance costs of this service.
Not always, but it's the most common deal.
[edited by admin] Good try, Mackenzie, but you smell like SPAM a hell of a lot.
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