The Structure of the Internet and Website Basic's

At first the concept of the Internet or World Wide Web (WWW) can be extremely daunting for the novice (newbie) internet user. For many people the first experience they may have of the internet is that of an alien world full of techno jargon, cyber speak (the net, blogging, surfing, hits, domains etc) and the impression that everybody else has cracked the code and is fully conversant with this exploding technology.

The Internet has no Age Limit

Anybody with access to a Computer (PC) and a connection to the internet can explore the vast information available via the internet. There are no age limits to this technology and nobody should feel they are too old or "out-of-touch" to benefit from this massive source of information.

Think of the Internet in a way that is easy to understand:

Imagine the Internet as a huge Filing Cabinet:

This webpage you are now reading, would be a single piece of paper, inside a folder (this website), in a particular drawer (Search Engines-Google Yahoo etc) of that filing cabinet.

To find this page again, you need to locate the correct drawer, open the correct folder and locate the correct piece of paper.

Now on the World Wide Web w.w.w. Your would search as follows:

When logging onto the internet, you are normally faced with your homepage, which more often than not defaults to whichever internet browser is installed, Internet Explorer, Mozilla etc. In the search box you can type a broad or very specific search request. This will provide a list of search related results which taking the example above would be "drawers of your filing cabinet". Once you look at these results and decide which is the most applicable to your search request, clicking on that particular website would be like picking a "specific folder within your filing cabinet drawer". Now once you are on a website, any particular page of the site can be viewed - "Your single sheet of paper".

Now, apologies to seasoned internet users, but any encouragement that can be given to widen the internet community can only be for every bodies benefit. Senior Citizens are a growing section of our communities and should be able to benefit from all the the internet has to offer. This may be a link to the outside world, a contact with Grandchildren living away or just access to numerous sources of information - many of which are posted by Government bodies.

Where do Website's Come From ?

Every website, page, blog or article that can be accessed on the internet, comes from files that are kept on a Computer Server, These can be anywhere in the world. Most website's are kept on what are called "Host Servers". These are vast Computer "farms" which hold all the information of a website within specific folders on the "host server". It is from these servers that all website's are viewed from. Anybody looking to put together a website for the first time will need to employ a host server company to place their website file's to be able to publish the site online.

Numerous Host companies are available, but some of the main players in this market are:

1. Hostmonster
2. Hostgator
3. Bluehost
4. StartLogic
5. Fasthost
6. 123-Reg

 

Compare the different hosting options here

For a more in-depth technical overview of the internet Click Here

Other essentials required to publish a website are a domain name URL and a design for your site. Whilst a domain name is relatively simple to acquire, web design can be complex with various programme's available for the keen amateur to use, to the vastly complex programming required for the more involved eCommerce sites.

Now we would not suggest any newcomer to the internet, attempt to put together their own website as for relatively small cost Off-the-shelf sites are available for a variety of simple website's.

Alternatively some excellent ready-made sites are available from Tentretni Ltd. These sites come stocked with various themed products and can be up and running within a few days.

Ongoing training is available to help get the most from your new website, with support provided by real people who will give simple to understand assistance for as long as you require.