Website

UNIT 7 WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Development

Structure

7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Meaning of Website
7.3 Evolution of Website
7.3.1 Rapid growth and expansion of WWW and the browsers
7.4 Website Usage
7.5 HTTP & HTTPS Protocols
7.5.1 HTTP

7.5.2 HTTPS
7.5.3 Difference between HTTP and HTTPS
7.6 Types of Website
7.7 Development of Website
7.8 Ingredients Required for Website Development
7.9 Website Hosting
7.9.1 Types of Website Hosting
7.9.2 Website Hosting Alternatives
7.10 Let Us Sum Up
7.11 Keywords
7.12 Terminal Questions

7.0 OBJECTIVES

After studying this unit, you should be able to:

● understand the origination of websites;

● describe website usages;
● explain HTTP and HTTPs Protocols;
● explain the various types of websites;
● describe the process of development of websites over time;
● explain the various ingredients required for website development; and
● explain the concept and various types of web hosting;

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Website Development
and Hosting 7.1 INTRODUCTION

Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as

news, education, commerce, entertainment, or social networking. Hyper
linking between web pages guides the navigation of the site, which often
starts with a home page. Users can access websites on a range of devices,
including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones. The software
application used on these devices is called a web browser. Web development
is the building and maintenance of websites. It is basically the work
happening behind the scenes to make a website look great, work fast and
perform well with a seamless user experience. Website development is done
by the web developers by using a variety of coding languages which depends
on the type of tasks they are performing and the platforms on which they are
working. This unit explains the meaning, origination, usages of websites
along with the process and ingredients required for website development.

7.2 MEANING OF WEBSITE

A website is a compilation of web pages and associated content that is

acknowledged by a general domain name and published on at least one web
server. A website (also known as web site) is a collection of web pages and
related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on
at least one web server. Notable examples are wikipedia.org, google.com,
amazon.com and www.ignou.ac.in. The software application used on these
devices is called a web browser. Basically, for a layman a website is a set of
data and information about a particular subject which is available on the
Internet. Websites can be used in various ways for a number of purposes such
as a personal website for someone’s own business or profession, a corporate
website for a company, a government website for any government
organization or any other organizational website, etc. Websites can be the
work of an individual, a business or other organization, and are typically
dedicated to a particular topic or purpose. Any website can contain a
hyperlink to any other website, so the distinction between individual sites, as
perceived by the user, can be blurred. For an example below is a snapshot of
IGNOU University portal.

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Source: www.ignou.ac.in

Fig 7.1: Website of IGNOU

The above snapshot depicts that IGNOU is an abbreviation of Indira Gandhi

National Open University which is a National Resource Centre for Open and
Distance Learning (ODL), with international recognition and presence. It
aims to provide seamless access to sustainable and learner-centric quality
education, skill up gradation and training to all using innovative technologies.
The University is committed to quality teaching, research, training and
extension activities, and acts as a national resource centre for expertise and
infrastructure in the ODL system. Emphasis is now being laid on developing
interactive multimedia and online learning, and adding value to the traditional
distance education delivery mode with modern technology-enabled education
within the framework of integrated distance and online learning.

7.3 ORIGINATION OF WEBSITE

The development of the World Wide Web (WWW) began in 1989 by Tim
Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN, an International scientific
organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. They created a protocol,
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which standardized communication
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available for general release in January 1992. CERN announced that the
World Wide Web would be free to use by anyone. Before the introduction of
the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), other protocols such as File
Transfer Protocol and the Gopher Protocol were used to retrieve individual
files from a server. We will discuss the HTTP and HTTPs in more
elaborative manner in later section

Fig 7.2: World Wide Web (WWW)

7.3.1 Rapid Growth and Expansion of WWW with Browsers

The WWW gained rapid acceptance with the creation of a Web browser
called Mosaic, which was developed in the United States by Marc
Andreessen and others and was released in September 1993. Mosaic allowed
people using the Web to use the same sort of “point-and-click” graphical
manipulations that was possible in personal computers also. In April 1994,
Andreessen co founded Netscape Communications Corporation, whose
Netscape Navigator became the dominant Web browser soon after its release
in December 1994. By the mid-1990s the World Wide Web had millions of
active users.

Table 7.1: Various Software Support Internet Applications

Year of Internet Application Logo & Parent Product Mandate
Origin Company

1994 The company's first Netscape web browser was once

product was the web dominant but lost to Internet
browser, called Mosaic Explorer and other competitors in
Netscape 0.9, released on the so-called first browser war, with
October 13, 1994. Within its market share falling from more
four months of its release, than 90 percent in the mid-1990s.
it had already taken three- Netscape advertised that "the web is
quarters of the browser Netscape for everyone" and stated one of its
market Communications goals was to "level the playing
Corporation field" among operating systems by
providing a consistent web
browsing experience across them.

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1995 Internet Explorer (IE), in Internet Explorer is a series of Website
1996 1995 as an add-on to the graphical web browsers developed Development
Windows 95 operating by Microsoft and included in the
system. Microsoft Windows line of
IE soon became the most operating systems, starting since
popular Web browser 1995. It was first released as part of
the add-on package Plus! for
Windows 95 that year.
IE was integrated into the Windows
Microsoft operating system in 1996 and came
Corporation “bundled” ready-to-use within the
operating system of personal
computers.

2002 Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox Browser for Android is

Firefox, is a free and automatically private and incredibly
open-source web browser fast.
developed by the Mozilla
Foundation and its
subsidiary, the Mozilla
Corporation. Firefox uses
the Gecko layout engine
to render web pages,
which implements current Mozilla
and anticipated web Organization.
standards
2003 Apple’s Safari is the Safari is a graphical web browser
2005 default browser on developed by Apple, based on the
2007 Macintosh personal WebKit engine. First released on
computers and later on desktop in 2003 with Mac OS X
iPhones (2007) and iPads Panther, a mobile version has been
(2010) bundled with iOS devices since the
Safari 2.0 was the first iPhone's introduction in 2007.
browser with a privacy Apple.
mode.

2008 Google launched Chrome, By 2013 Chrome had become the

the first browser with dominant browser, surpassing IE
isolated tabs, which meant and Firefox in popularity
that when one tab is
crashed, other tabs and
the whole browser would
still function
Alphabet Inc.
2015 Microsoft discontinued Microsoft Edge is a cross-platform
Internet Explorer and web browser developed by
replaced it with Edge. Microsoft. It was first released for
Windows 10 and Xbox One in
2015, then for Android and iOS in
2017, for macOS in 2019, and as a
preview for Linux in October 2020.
Microsoft
Edge includes integration with
Cortana and has extensions hosted
on the Microsoft Store.
Source: Google

For more details about web browsers refer to the unit-3 of BCOS-183:
Computer Application in Business which is a 3rd semester course of B.Com
(G). In the early 21st century, smart phones became more computer-like, and
more-advanced services, such as Internet access, became possible. Web
usage on Smartphone steadily increased, and in 2016 it accounted for more
than half of Web browsing.

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Website Development
and Hosting 7.4 WEBSITE USAGES

The proliferation of mobile phones has given birth to new categories of web
users and expanded the target audience for the businesses, and this all has
become possible with the easy access to the internet. Despite the availability
of mobile apps, mobile friendly responsive web is gaining popularity and is
preferred among the audience. A website provides a quick and easy way of
communicating information between buyers and sellers. Websites are useful
not only for the customers but also for buyers in many ways. Websites can be
tailored according to the hosts requirements. A website can provide much
information such as opening hours, contact information, images of location or
products and also the AI enabled contact forms to facilitate enquiries from
potential customers or to obtain feedback from existing ones. Various usages
of websites are explained in detail below:

1. Online Presence 24/7: Website enables customers to contact the service

provider anytime, anywhere. Even outside of business hours, website
continues to find and secure new customers. 24/7 presence offers the
user convenience as the information needed by them can be accessed in
their comfortable zones be it either their own home or workplace with no
added pressure to buy.

2. Information Exchange: Through a website a seller can provide as much

information as he wants and requires for the customers. Websites provide
the easiest way of information exchange between the buyer and sellers,
which really helps the businesses to engage the customer and sell in an
effective and cost-efficient way.

3. Credibility: Having an online presence is imperative on the part of any

sort of business these days. It makes them get ahead of their competitors
in one way or another. Most of the reputed businesses have their
presence in virtual places, which helps in building reputation and
improved credibility of the businesses in the eyes of customers. A
website can be used for answering all what’s and why’s of potential
customers. Moreover, having a good quality, easy-to-use website makes
them believe that they will get the same positive experience in all areas
of the business.

4. Market Expansion: Online presence helps in the expansion of the target

market, as it can be accessible to anyone all over the world. Anyone,
from any country, can easily find the company and as such becomes a
potential customer. Online presence actually helps the companies to
increase their market share and capitalize by a great extent which
otherwise is not possible.

5. Consumer Insights: These days various customers analytic tools such as

artificial intelligence, big data help in identifying typical customers, their
136 preferences, demand and behavior towards certain products. The diverse
 range of data available also offers hands to the businesses to better Website
Development
understand their potential customers and thus offer them products as per
their needs.

6. Advertising: Tools like Google Ad Words or advertising on Facebook

gives the power to reach customers with much more accuracy and
reliability than with traditional offline advertising methods. SEO and
online advertising are a great way to help build up awareness and
increasing traffic in no time.

7. Competitors Online: If any business player do not have a website it is

highly likely that their competitors will have. This can lead to missing
out on gaining new customers and opportunities to be at the forefront. It
is crucial that no opportunity is missed and every prospect is gained by
competition. Therefore, to stay ahead of the competition and have a
greater market presence it is required by every business to have online
presence.

8. Customer Service Online: Websites provide an easier and effective way

to handle customer service. AI enabled chat boxes can address all the
queries immediately which also helps the companies to save the costs of
customer representatives. Timely responses to the customer queries help
in improving their relationships with the service provider.

9. Growth Opportunity: Websites, in general, are great ways to provide a

place that potential investors can be referred to. It shows what the
company is about, what it has achieved and what it can achieve in the
future. Thus, having a website incredibly provides various growth
opportunities.

7.5 HTTP & HTTPS PROTOCOL

Every URL link that begins with HTTP uses a basic type of “hypertext
transfer protocol”. Which was developed in early 19909’s by Tim Berners-
Lee. This network protocol enables web browsers and servers to
communicate through the exchange of data. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data
is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The
'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications
between browser and the website are encrypted. For more details we will
study both the terms separately:

7.5.1 HTTP
HTTP is a protocol which allows the fetching of resources, such as HTML
documents. It is the foundation of any data exchange on the Web and it is a
client-server protocol, which means requests are initiated by the recipient,
usually the Web browser. A complete document is reconstructed from the
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videos, scripts, and more. It is an application-level protocol for distributed,
collaborative, hypermedia information systems.

7.5.2 HTTPs
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol. It is used for secure communication over a computer network, and
is widely used on the Internet. In HTTPS, the communication protocol is
encrypted using Transport Layer Security or, formerly, Secure Sockets Layer.

7.5.3 Difference between HTTP and HTTPs

HTTP is a protocol using which hypertext is relocated over the Web. Due to
its ease, HTTP has been the most commonly used protocol for data transfer
over the Web but the data (i.e. hypertext) exchanged using HTTP is not as
secure as we would like it to subsist. In precise, by using both the
HTTP/HTTPS the information of a particular website is exchanged between
Web Server and Web Browser. But what’s difference between these two is
extra ‘s’ present in HTTPS, Which that makes it secure! The below
mentioned table would meticulously provide concise difference between
HTTP and HTTPS.

Table 7.3: Difference between HTTP and HTTPs

Basis HTTP HTTPs
Definition It stands for Hyper Text It stands for Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol Transfer Protocol Secure
Encryption It does not encrypt the text It encrypt the text so that
no one can access it
Usage of SSL They don’t require Secure They use Secure Socket
Socket Layer at Transport Layer to encrypt the code
layer
Type It is a default protocol It is not a default protocol
Beginning URL begins with http:// URL begins with https://
Security It is an unsecure protocol It is a safe transfer
protocol
Validation It does not require any It requires validation like
validation domain verification
Address bar It has simple address bar It has green colored
address bar that shows it is
secure
Hacking It can be easily hacked It cannot be hacked easily

7.6 TYPES OF WEBSITES

As we know that Web hosting is a service that allows organizations and

individuals to post a website or web page onto the Internet. Websites are
hosted, or stored, on special computers called servers. When Internet users
138 desire to sight the website, all they need to do is to type the website address
or domain name in the browser. The choice of the type of websites depends Website
Development
on the requirement of the seller. Websites can mainly be categorized into four
broad categories namely authority website, lead generation website, sales
website and utility website explained in detail later. By knowing, what kind
of website is needed before making any design or marketing decision, one
can save oneself from a world of hurt and waste money and that also helps in
attracting the audience they want.

1. Authority Website: An authority website is a trusted, reliable source of

information. The authority website serves as an online presence for the
business. This is the place potential customers can go to see what the
company has done and how to get in contact with someone about
services and leads are generated offline. People visiting the website
already know about the company and reach there to gather more
information. Here the website serves as an online placeholder, giving
more legitimacy to the business in the eyes of customers. For example:
Healthambition.com is a great Authority site in the health sector which
has dozens of review articles that compares different products and makes
it easy for viewers to buy the recommended products from the affiliate
links as shown in the Fig. 7.3 below:

Fig 7.3: Example of Authority Websites

2. Lead-Generation Website: As its name suggests, this site is focused on

generating leads through its online presence. SEO and targeted
marketing strategies play a huge role in bringing in new customers.
Sales, however, still occurs offline. These websites are found online by
people who have buyer’s intent. This means that the prospective
customer is basically ready to spend their money and they just need to be
convinced that the business is the perfect place to do this spending. For
example, Live Chat is online customer service software with online chat,
help desk software, and web analytics capabilities which can be used as a
tool for lead generation.

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Fig 7.4: Examples of Lead-Generation Websites

3. Sales Website: These are the sites that sell products or services through
e-commerce. If a site has a cart function, then it falls into the sales
website category. This site is especially popular, as both leads and sales
are all done completely online. A company’s website can still fall into
the sales category if that business utilizes online scheduling and
payment, but provides the service in-person. For example, Amazon.com,
flipkart.com, myntra.com are the sales websites, here customers can buy
products and services online as per their needs.

Fig 7.5: Examples of Sales Websites

4. Utility Website: A utility website functions more like a tool than a

standard website. These are the companies whose business and website
are one and the same. Air BNB and Facebook are examples of utility
websites. They don’t necessarily generate leads or sales online. They just
exist in the online space and are accessible to anyone that chooses to use
them.

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Fig 7.6: Examples of Utility Websites

7.7 DEVELOPMENT OF WEBSITE

Website development is the effort involved in developing a website for the

Internet or an intranet. Web development can vary from developing a simple
single static page of plain text to complex Web-based Internet applications,
electronic businesses, and social network services. Web development is the
maintenance and development of a website, basically it is the effort that
happens in the backdrop to make a website look enormous, work speedy and
perform sound with flawless user knowledge. Website development is a
comprehensive process which is carried by the Web developers by using a
diversity of coding languages. Various steps of web development process are
explained in detail below:

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Website Development
and Hosting Step 1 • Innovative Requirement
Step 2 • Information Gathering
Step 3 • Planning
Step 4 • Web Design
Step 5 • Web Development
Step 6 • Testing
Step 7 • Maintenance
Fig 7.7: Steps off Website Development Process

Step-1:
1: Innovative Requirement: Innovative requirement is the first and
foremost requirement of the web development process. This is basically a
discussion oriented step in which the client shares his ideas, needs and
requirements
ments with the web developers and on the basis of their demands the
developers provide them innovative suggestions best suiting their
requirements. Various inputs and outputs of innovative requirement are stated
below:
Table 7.4: Various inputs and outputs of innovative requirement
Input Output

● Potential interview with the ● Development process

client, initial emails, proposals ● Estimated cost
and supporting docs by the ● Team requirements (No of designers,
client, discussion notes. developers, BA, QA, SEO etc.)
● Recorded telephone ● Hardware-software
software requirements
conversations and Skype Chat ● Report documents
● Estimated Budget Portfolio ● Final client approval for the project.
Showcase

Step-2:
2: Information Gathering: Information gathering stage is also known
as discovery phase
phase. Inn this phase, the designer portrays the client’s vision into
the paper and is most important phase of website design & development
process. In this step
step, it is important to understand the purpose
purp of creating a
website, target audience as well as the content they look for. These factors are
very crucial to determine in the fundamental phase of website design.
Various inputs and outputs of information gathering are stated below
below:

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 Table 7.5: Various inputs and outputs of information gathering Website
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Input Output

● Reports from clients and ● Complete final project documentation

documentations from with requirement specifications and
Business Analyst individual work described to the
designers as well as developers.

Step-3: Planning: Good website is the result of good planning. After the
information gathering planning is important. Planning is nothing but
prioritizing tasks for website completion. In this step, the sitemap of the
website is developed in which menu, contents, navigational system etc. of the
websites is developed. Various inputs and outputs of planning are stated
below:
Table 7.6: Various inputs and outputs of planning
Input Output

● Final project documentation ● clickable prototype and sitemap

containing all WebPages

Step-4: Web Design: Web design is the website that supports good look, feel
and makes it different from others. This is the creative phase of website
design. This is the phase where designers put their efforts to make the
website look good and different from others. The designer needs to
understand each and every aspect of the client's expectation and try to sketch
it. In this step logo design, templates etc. are discovered. Various inputs and
outputs of web design are stated below:
Table 7.7: Various inputs and outputs of web design
Input Output

● Wireframes ● Site design with layout templates and images

Step-5: Web Development: After designing, there is a development phase

also known as ‘implementing phase’. Now, this is the phase where the actual
website starts its implementation. The development phase is also a very
crucial phase for the website design. In this phase, all the information
gathered from the initial phase is integrated like creating a database, logic &
actual programming to name. Various inputs and outputs of web development
are stated below:
Table 7.8: Various inputs and outputs of web development
Input Output

● Website with forms and complete ● Website with database driven

requirement specifications functions, Coding docs
Tools: Dreamweaver CS6, Bootstrap, Jquery, AngularJS, CoIgnitor, PHP, CSS3, HTML5,
Javascript
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Website Development Step-6: Testing: After the Development phase, there is a Testing &
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Discovery Phase. The testing in this phase are done by Quality Assurance
(QA), also responsible for preparing the test cases. The various types of
website testing are. Content Testing, Functional Testing, Design Testing etc.
Various inputs and outputs of testing are stated below:
Table 7.9: Various inputs and outputs of testing
Input Output

● The site, Requirement ● Complete website testing and error logs

specifications, supporting reports, frequent interaction with the
documents, technical developers and designers.
specifications, and technical
documents.
Tools: GTmatrix, Google Page speed tool, W3c Validation, Screaming Frog

Step-7: Maintenance: The last phase is Maintenance, in this stage, the

maintenance of the website is done for a limited time period only.
Maintenance means updating the contents & design of the website. The
maintenance facility is provided for limited time by the company but if the
user wants to extend the service, they are charged extra for it. Various inputs
and outputs of maintenance are stated below:
Table 7.10: Various inputs and outputs of maintenance
Input Output

● Live Website, Analysis reports. ● Updated Website, Maintenance

reports

Check Your Progress A:

1. Name the various phases of website development.

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2. How does a website help in market expansion?
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3. Distinguish between the sales websites and utility websites. Website
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4. What is the significance of websites in information exchange?
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7.8 INGREDIENTS REQUIRED FOR WEBSITE

DEVELOPMENT

These days, the web is approximately unrecognizable from the early days of
white pages with lists of blue links. Now, sites are premeditated with
multifaceted layouts, exceptional fonts, and customized color schemes. For
staying ahead of the competition, the interactivity of websites is a must and
adding some of these types of capabilities requires a stronger programming
language. Web design is actually how a site works and the feelings it invokes
with its users. With this expanded perspective, below explained are
ingredients that are critical for an optimal website:

1. Clean navigation: Navigation is the first thing people notice about the
site. Top-notch navigation allows the users to move from page to page,
and finding everything they want without wasting a fraction of a second.
For example, in the figure 7.8, navigation is properly given through
which the visitors can easily locate what they are looking for.
2. Beautiful typography: Typography is a really big deal. A website that
looks great always has beautiful typography. Typography starts with font
choices, but goes far beyond into color, sizing, line height, paragraph
margins and padding. For example, in the figure 7.8, content is very well
designed and put to make it understandable for the visitors.
3. White space: Proper spacing is critical for a great site. In fact, it may be
the most important element. A message’s impact depends on the element
of space just as much as that message’s content. Without white space, a
site will turn into visual garbage quickly. For example, the figure 7.8
given below, proper space is provided between all the major and sub
heads.

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Website Development 4. Logical layout: Logical Layout is somewhat vague, but a site must be
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connected in a way that makes sense. A great design will take a prospect
through a journey, yet allow them to skip around at will. This is about
presenting the right thing at the right time in the right way.

Fig 7.8: IGNOU Website

5. Design with a purpose: The best design is as little design as possible.

This is a core foundational concept for beautifully designed sites.
Everything within a great website should pack a punch; it should all
accomplish something without getting in the way of itself. For example,
IGNOU website is designed keeping in mind the motive to provide all
necessary and mandatory information about the results, admission
process, and assignments submission by the learners.

6. Speed: Speed wins over the internet. Customers do not like to wait much
for their needs and they want to find what they need as soon as possible.
Making the desired customers wait is more or less equivalent to losing
forever. The speed of the website must be taken into proper
consideration, the pages must download quickly and the orders must be
processed quickly.

7. Detail: The website must provide the details the customers can look for
such as product information, service information, customer service
information etc. The details provided must be easy to access and
sufficient enough to address the queries potential customers may have.
For example, the IGNOU website in fig. 7.8 also provides various details
about its locations, study centres, headquarter, contact information etc.

8. Multiple feedback channels: The website must provide the multiple

communication and feedback options to the visitors such as phone
number, an email, a live chat link, a discussion board or social media
tools so that they can contact the concern authority in no time. In short,
the website should be great, but it should also showcase other channels
that allow the user to contact easily.

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7.9 WEBSITE HOSTING Development

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows

individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via World
Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that rent out their services and
technologies to host websites on the internet.

A space on a web server is allocated to store the files by the hosting provider.
Web hosting makes the files available for viewing online. Web hosting
provides services and infrastructure to develop, store, and deploy globally
available websites and web apps in the cloud so startups can focus on
applications and users.

Once the hosting company hosts the website, users can access it by typing in
the web address (domain name) in their web browser. When they do this,
their computer connects to the server on which the website is hosted. Web
hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for
other servers located in their data center, called Co-location. All websites on
the internet, need web hosting. When someone enters the domain name in a
browser, the domain name is translated into the IP address of the
web hosting company's computer. This computer contains website's files, and
it sends those files back to the users' browsers.

7.9.1 Types of Website Hosting

Various types of web hosting services are explained in detail below:

1. Shared hosting: Shared hosting is perfect for entry-level website

hosting. With a shared hosting plan, all domains share the same server
resources, such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and CPU (Central
Processing Unit). However, because all resources are shared, the costs of
shared hosting plans are relatively low, making them an excellent option
for website owners in their beginning stages. Although shared hosting
provides website owners with a more simplistic approach to the web.
This means that surges in usage can ultimately affect the website’s user
experience. Shared hosting plans are ideal for website owners that do not
receive a large amount of web traffic.

2. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting: A VPS hosting plan is the

ultimate middle ground between a shared server and a dedicated server.
It is ideal for website owners, who need more control, but do not
necessarily need a dedicated server. VPS hosting is unique because each
website is hosted within its own space on the server, though it still shares
a physical server with other users. VPS hosting provides website owners
with more customization and storage space. Typically, VPS hosting is
used by website owners who want dedicated hosting but do not have the
technical knowledge needed.

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Website Development 3. Dedicated server hosting: Dedicated hosting gives website owners the
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most control over the server on which their website is hosted. Dedicated
servers’ cost is one of the most expensive web hosting options. They are
mostly used by website owners with high levels of website traffic, and
those who are in need of complete control of their servers. In addition, a
high level of technical expertise is required for the installation and
ongoing management of the server. The user has full administrative
access to the server, which means the client is responsible for the
security and maintenance of his own dedicated server.

4. Cloud hosting: Cloud hosting is the current buzzword of the technology

industry. In Web hosting, it means many computers working together,
running applications using combined computing resources. This allows
users to employ as many resources as they need without having to build
and maintain their own computing infrastructure. The resources that are
being used are spread across several servers, reducing the chance of any
downtime due to a server malfunction. Cloud-based hosting is scalable,
meaning that site can grow over time, using as many resources as it
requires and while the website owner only pays for what they need.

5. Managed hosting: The user gets his or her own Web server but is not
allowed full control over it (user is denied root access for
Linux/administrator access for Windows); however, they are allowed to
manage their data via FTP or other remote management tools. The user is
disallowed full control so that the provider can guarantee quality of
service by not allowing the user to modify the server or potentially create
configuration problems. The user typically does not own the server. The
server is leased to the client.

6. Co-location web hosting service: Co-location web hosting service is

similar to the dedicated web hosting service, but the user owns the
co-server; the hosting company provides physical space that the server
takes up and takes care of the server. This is the most powerful and
expensive type of web hosting service. In most cases, the co-location
provider may provide little to no support directly for their client's
machine, providing only the electrical, Internet access, and storage
facilities for the server

7. Clustered hosting: Cluster hosting allows multiple servers hosting the

same content for better resource utilization. Clustered servers are a
perfect solution for high-availability dedicated hosting, or creating a
scalable web hosting solution. A cluster may separate web serving from
database hosting capability. Usually, web hosts use clustered hosting for
their shared hosting plans, as there are multiple benefits to the mass
managing of clients.

8. Grid hosting: Grid hosting is a service that provides grid computing

Capabilities to its clients This form of distributed hosting is adopted
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 when a server cluster acts like a grid and is composed of multiple nodes. Website
Development
Much like cluster hosting, grid hosting makes it less likely that a spike in
resource needs will take site offline

7.9.2 Web Hosting Alternatives

Websites are an important component of business these days. Hosting of
websites may not be feasible due to technology, budget, infrastructure, and
continuous updating. Web hosting is referred to as storage of contents on the
web server (host) of the hosting service provider. The host can be anywhere
in the world but it has power, internet connections and dedicated IP
addresses. Data Centre has all necessary hardware and software that provide
the connections through the Internet, Intranet, and Extranet. In a Co-location
(also spelled Co-location) service, the service provider rents a physical space
to the client to install its own server hardware. These features make your site
available 24×7×365.

The service provider is responsible for maintaining the Web server hardware
and software, and provides the connection to the Internet through its routers
and other network hardware. Since the whole world is moving from brick &
Mortar system to click & Mortar system and due the usage of Smartphone the
app based business restricts to mobile hence the app is taken as a replacement
to websites.

Check Your Progress B

1. Differentiate between HTTP and HTML.

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2. What is a URL? Give an example of URL.
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3. What do you understand by web hosting?
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Website Development …………………………………………………………………………….
and Hosting
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4. Distinguish between cloud hosting and cluster hosting.

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7.10 LET US SUM UP

A website (also in black and white as a web site) is a compilation of web

pages and associated content that is acknowledged by a general domain name
and published on at least one web server. Various examples of websites are
wikipedia.org, google.com, and amazon.com and www.ignou.ac.in etc.
Basically, for a layman a website is a set of data and information about a
particular subject which is available on the Internet. Websites can be used in
various ways for a number of purposes such as a personal website for
someone’s own business or profession, a corporate website for a company, a
government website for any government organization or any other
organizational website, etc.

Every URL link that begins with HTTP uses a basic type of “hypertext
transfer protocol”. Which was developed in early 19909’s by Tim Berners-
Lee. This network protocol enables web browsers and servers to
communicate through the exchange of data. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data
is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The
'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications
between browser and the website are encrypted.

The choice of the type of websites depends on the requirement of the seller.
Websites can mainly be categorized into four broad categories namely
authority website, lead generation website, sales website and utility website
explained in detail below respectively. By knowing the requirements of
website in advance, one can save unnecessary wastage of time, money and
opportunity cost.

Website development is the effort involved in developing a website for the

Internet or an intranet. Web development can vary from developing a simple
single static page of plain text to complex Web-based Internet applications,
electronic businesses, and social network services. Web development is the
maintenance and development of a website. Basically, it is the effort that
happens in the backdrop to make a website look informative, speedy
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processing and provide exact information. Process of website development Website
Development
includes various steps such as, innovative requirement, information
gathering, planning, web design, web development, testing & maintenance.

These days the web is approximately unrecognizable from the early days of
white pages with lists of blue links. Now, sites are premeditated with
multifaceted layouts, exceptional fonts, and customized color schemes. For
staying ahead of the competition, the interactivity of websites is a must and
adding some of these types of capabilities requires a stronger programming
language. Web design is actually how a site works and user friendliness.
Expanded perspective ingredients critical for an optimal website are clear
navigation, beautiful typography, white space, logical layout, synergy
between message and design, design with a purpose, speed ,detail, multiple
feedback channels etc.

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows

individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via World
Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that rent out their services and
technologies to host websites on the internet. Once the hosting company
hosts the website, users can access it by typing in the web address (domain
name) in their web browser. When they do this, their computer connects to
the server your website is hosted on. Various types of web hosting are Shared
hosting, Virtual private server (VPS) hosting, Dedicated server hosting,
Cloud hosting, Managed hosting, Co-location web hosting service, Clustered
hosting, Grid hosting etc.

7.11 KEY WORDS

HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is the set of markup

symbols or codes inserted into a file intended for display on the Internet. The
markup tells web browsers how to display a web page's words and images.

HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a connectionless text-based

protocol. Clients (web browsers) send requests to web servers for web
elements such as web pages and images. After the request is serviced by a
server, the connection between client and server across the Internet is
disconnected.
Search Engine: Search engine is a web service that helps in finding other
web pages, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. are normally accessed through
a web browser or through a web page.
URL: URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is nothing more
than the address of a given unique resource on the Web.

Web Browser: A web browser is an application used to access and view

websites. Examples of most commonly used web browsers are Microsoft
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Website Development Edge, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari
and Hosting
etc.

Web Hosting: Web hosting is an online service that enables the publishing
of a website or web application on the Internet. When one signs up for a web
hosting service, they basically rent some space on a physical server.

Web Page: Web pages are also called just pages. Basically, a web browser is
a document which can be displayed in a web browser.

Web Server: A server is a computer that provides data to other computers.

The data may be served to a system either on a local area network (LAN) or
on a wide area network (WAN) over the Internet.

Website: A website is a collection of related web pages, including

multimedia content, typically identified with a common domain name, and
published on at least one web server.

7.12 TERMINAL QUESTION

1) What is a website?
2) Briefly explain the origin of the website.
3) What are the various types of websites?
4) State the usages of websites.
5) State the differences between HTTP and HTTPs.
6) State the various phases of the website development process.
7) What are the various ingredients required for making a website?
8) What is web hosting? What are the various types of web hosting?

These questions are helpful to understand this unit.

Do efforts for writing the answer of these questions
but do not send your answer to university. It is only
Note for your practice.

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