Anatomy of a website

We understand technology changes quickly, and unless you work with it daily, it's easy to fall behind. That's why we've put together this handy little guide to give you a simple overview of what's involved in a website and how Groundhog fits into it. If you are ever unclear about a certain element of the process, feel free to contact us

The Server / 'hosting'

The server is a large computer that holds all the website's files, including the basic pages, such as this one, and a database (if necessary). When asked, it sends requested information and files back to the user to build up a viewable page. Groundhog offers varied levels of servers, depending on what features you need.

The Domain

A domain is essentially a mailing address. When you type an address into your browser such as www.groundhogmedia.ca, you are asking the server associated with that domain to send a page back to you, as if you have sent a letter to someone requesting information. Any characters allow the user to specify what page they would like, which by default is the home page. For example, if you type in www.groundhogmedia.ca/contact, you're requesting the 'contact' page from the groundhogmedia.ca server. Though it can get much more complicated, that's the fundamental idea behind how the web works. Groundhog also offers domains so you can buy that .com you always wanted.

The Pages

Website pages are made up of a number of different files. When you visit any given page, you're most likely downloading a number of images, style information and the page content itself. These elements are all brought together in 'HTML', a 'markup language' that can be easily transferred from the server to the user and used to build up large pages. Groundhog can design and build your pages and implement custom programming needed to build anything up to a complex application.

Unclear on anything or want to see something else here? Please contact us