Unit – 2 :website planning process

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global network of billions of computers and other electronic devices. With the
Internet, it's possible to access almost any information, communicate with anyone else in the
world, and do much more.

You can do all of this by connecting a computer to the Internet, which is also
called going online. When someone says a computer is online, it's just another way of saying
it's connected to the Internet.

What is the Web?

The World Wide Web—usually called the Web for short—is a collection of
different websites you can access through the Internet. A website is made up of related text,
images, and other resources. Websites can resemble other forms of media—like newspaper
articles or television programs—or they can be interactive in a way that's unique to computers.
The purpose of a website can be almost anything: a news platform, an advertisement, an online
library, a forum for sharing images, or an educational site like us!
Once you are connected to the Internet, you can access and view websites using a type of
application called a web browser. Just keep in mind that the web browser itself is not the
Internet; it only displays websites that are stored on the Internet.

How does the Internet work?

At this point you may be wondering, how does the Internet work? The exact answer is pretty
complicated and would take a while to explain. Instead, let's look at some of the most important
things you should know.

It's important to realize that the Internet is a global network of physical cables, which can
include copper telephone wires, TV cables, and fiber optic cables. Even wireless connections
like Wi-Fi and 3G/4G rely on these physical cables to access the Internet.

When you visit a website, your computer sends a request over these wires to a server. A server
is where websites are stored, and it works a lot like your computer's hard drive. Once the
request arrives, the server retrieves the website and sends the correct data back to your
computer. What's amazing is that this all happens in just a few seconds!
Watch the video below from Tata Communications to learn more about how the Internet
functions. https://youtu.be/jKA5hz3dV-g

Other things you can do on the Internet

One of the best features of the Internet is the ability to communicate almost instantly with
anyone in the world. Email is one of the oldest and most universal ways to communicate and
share information on the Internet, and billions of people use it. Social media allows people to
connect in a variety of ways and build communities online.
There are many other things you can do on the Internet. There are thousands of ways to keep
up with news or shop for anything online. You can pay your bills, manage your bank accounts,
meet new people, watch TV, or learn new skills. You can learn or do almost anything online.

What Can You Do Online?

Introduction
There's almost no limit to what you can do online. The Internet makes it possible to quickly find
information, communicate with people around the world, manage your finances, shop from
home, listen to music, watch videos, and much, much more. Let's take a look at some of the
ways the Internet is most commonly used today.

Finding information online

There are many different search

engines you can use, but some of
the most popular include Google,
Yahoo!, and Bing.
 Email

Short for electronic mail, email is a

way to send and receive
messages across the Internet.
Almost everyone who uses the
Internet has their own email
account, usually called an email
address. This is because you'll
need an email address to do just
about anything online, from online
banking to creating a Facebook
account.

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Social networking

Social networking websites are another

way to connect and share with your
family and friends online. Rather than
sharing with just a few people over email,
social networks make it easier to connect
and share with many people at the same
time. Facebook is the world's largest
social networking site, with more than 1
billion users worldwide.

Chat and instant messaging (IM) are short

messages sent and read in real time, allowing
you to converse more quickly and easily than
email. These are generally used when both
(or all) people are online, so your message
can be read immediately. By comparison,
emails won't be seen until recipients check
their inboxes.

Examples of instant messaging applications

include Yahoo Messenger and Google
Hangouts. Some sites, like Gmail and
Facebook, even allow you to chat within your
web browser. Nowadays recent trend in chat
is Whatsapp Chat
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Online Media
There are many sites that allow you to
watch videos and listen to music. For
example, you can watch millions of videos
on YouTube or listen to Internet radio on
Pandora.
Other services, like Netflix and Hulu, allow
you to watch movies and TV shows. And if
have a set-top streaming box, you can
even watch them directly on your
television instead of a computer screen.

Everyday tasks You can also use the Internet to

complete many everyday tasks
and errands. For example, you
can manage your bank account,
pay your bills, and shop for just
about anything.

The main advantage here is

convenience. Rather than going
from place to place, you can do all
of these tasks at home!
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And a whole lot more!

Remember, these are just a few of the things you'll be able to do online. Keep working through
this tutorial to learn more about connecting to the Internet and using the Web!

Connecting to the Internet

How do I connect to the Internet?
Once you've set up your computer, you may want to purchase home Internet access so you can
send and receive email, browse the Web, stream videos, and more. You may even want to set
up a home wireless network, commonly known as Wi-Fi, so you can connect multiple devices to
the Internet at the same time.

Watch the video from below link to learn about connecting to the Internet.

https://youtu.be/hMX6dVa61t0

Types of Internet service

The type of Internet service you choose will largely depend on which Internet service providers
(ISPs) serve your area, along with the types of service they offer. Here are some common types
of Internet service.
Dial-up: This is generally the slowest type of Internet connection, and you should probably
avoid it unless it is the only service available in your area. Dial-up Internet uses your phone line,
so unless you have multiple phone lines you will not be able to use your landline and the
Internet at the same time.
DSL: DSL service uses a broadband connection, which makes it much faster than dial-up. DSL
connects to the Internet via a phone line but does not require you to have a landline at home.
And unlike dial-up, you'll be able to use the Internet and your phone line at the same time.
Cable: Cable service connects to the Internet via cable TV, although you do not necessarily
need to have cable TV in order to get it. It uses a broadband connection and can be faster than
both dial-up and DSL service; however, it is only available where cable TV is available.
Satellite: A satellite connection uses broadband but does not require cable or phone lines; it
connects to the Internet through satellites orbiting the Earth. As a result, it can be used almost
anywhere in the world, but the connection may be affected by weather patterns. Satellite
connections are also usually slower than DSL or cable.
3G and 4G: 3G and 4G service is most commonly used with mobile phones, and it connects
wirelessly through your ISP's network. However, these types of connections aren't always as
fast as DSL or cable. They will also limit the amount of data you can use each month, which isn't
the case with most broadband plans.

Choosing an Internet service provider

Now that you know about the different types of Internet service, you can do some research to
find out what ISPs are available in your area. If you're having trouble getting started, we
recommend talking to friends, family members, and neighbors about the ISPs they use. This will
usually give you a good idea of the types of Internet service available in your area.

Most ISPs offer several tiers of service with different Internet speeds, usually measured in Mbps
(short for megabits per second). If you mainly want to use the Internet for email and social
networking, a slower connection (around 2 to 5 Mbps) might be all you need. However, if you
want to download music or stream videos, you'll want a faster connection (at least 5 Mbps or
higher).

You'll also want to consider the cost of the service, including installation charges and monthly
fees. Generally speaking, the faster the connection, the more expensive it will be per month.

Although dial-up has traditionally been the least expensive option, many ISPs have raised dial-
up prices to be the same as broadband. This is intended to encourage people to switch to
broadband. We do not recommend dial-up Internet unless it's your only option.

Hardware needed
Modem- a broadband modem
 Once you have your computer, you really don't need much
additional hardware to connect to the Internet. The primary
piece of hardware you need is a modem.

The type of Internet access you choose will determine the

type of modem you need. Dial-up access uses a telephone
modem, DSL service uses a DSL modem, cable access
uses a cable modem, and satellite service uses a satellite
adapter. Your ISP may give you a modem—often for a
fee—when you sign a contract, which helps ensure that
you have the right type of modem. However, if you would
prefer to shop for a better or less expensive modem, you
can choose to buy one separately.

Router - a wireless router

A router is a hardware device that allows you to
connect several computers and other devices to a
single Internet connection, which is known as a
home network. Many routers are wireless, which
allows you to create a home wireless network,
commonly known as a Wi-Fi network.

You don't necessarily need to buy a router to

connect to the Internet. It's possible to connect
your computer directly to your modem using an
Ethernet cable. Also, many modems include a
built-in router, so you have the option of creating a
Wi-Fi network without buying extra hardware.

Setting up your Internet connection

Once you've chosen an ISP, most providers will send a technician to your house to turn on the
connection. If not, you should be able to use the instructions provided by your ISP—or included
with the modem—to set up your Internet connection.

After you have everything set up, you can open your web browser and begin using the Internet.
If you have any problems with your Internet connection, you can call your ISP's technical
support number.
Home networking
If you have multiple computers at home and want to use all of them to access the Internet, you
may want to create a home network, also known as a Wi-Fi network. In a home network, all of
your devices connect to your router, which is connected to the modem. This means everyone in
your family can use the Internet at the same time.

Your ISP technician may be able to set up a home Wi-Fi network when installing your Internet
service. If not, you can review our lesson on How to Set Up a Wi-Fi Network to learn more.

If you want to connect a computer that does not have built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, you can
purchase a Wi-Fi adapter that plugs into your computer's USB port.

Understanding the Cloud

What is the cloud?

You may have heard people using terms like the cloud, cloud computing, or cloud storage. But
what exactly is the cloud?

Simply put, the cloud is the Internet—more specifically, it's all of the things you can access
remotely over the Internet. When something is in the cloud, it means it's stored on Internet
servers instead of your computer's hard drive.

Watch the video from below link to learn more about the cloud.

https://youtu.be/gu4FYSFeWqg

Why use the cloud?

Some of the main reasons to use the cloud are convenience and reliability. For example, if
you've ever used a web-based email service, such as Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, you've already
used the cloud. All of the emails in a web-based service are stored on servers rather than on
your computer's hard drive. This means you can access your email from any computer with an
Internet connection. It also means you'll be able to recover your emails if something happens to
your computer.
Let's look at some of the most common reasons to use the cloud.

File storage: You can store all types of information in the cloud, including files and email. This
means you can access these things from any computer or mobile device with an Internet
connection, not just your home computer. Dropbox and Google Drive are some of the most
popular cloud-based storage services.

File sharing: The cloud makes it easy to share files with several people at the same time. For
example, you could upload several photos to a cloud-based photo service like Flickr or iCloud
Photos, then quickly share them with friends and family.

Backing up data: You can also use the cloud to protect your files. Apps like Mozy and
Carbonite automatically back up your data to the cloud. This way, if your computer ever is lost,
stolen, or damaged, you'll still be able to recover these files from the cloud.
backing up files through Mozy
What is a web app?
Desktop applications allow you to perform tasks on your computer. But there are also web
applications—or web apps—those run in the cloud and do not need to be installed on your
computer. Many of the most popular sites on the Internet are actually web apps. You may have
even used a web app without realizing it! Let's take a look at some popular web apps.

Facebook

Facebook lets you create an

online profile and interact
with your friends. Profiles
and conversations can be
updated at any time, so
Facebook uses web app
technologies to keep the
information up to date.

Pixlr:
 Pixlr is an image editing
application that runs in your
web browser.

Much like Adobe

Photoshop, it includes
many advanced features,
like color correction and
sharpening tools.

Google Docs:
 Google Docs is an office suite that
runs in your browser. Much like
Microsoft Office, you can use it to
create documents, spreadsheets,
presentations, and more. And
because the files are stored in the
cloud, it's easy to share them with
others.

Using a Web Browser

A web browser is a type of software that allows you to find and view websites on the Internet.
Even if you didn't know it, you're using a web browser right now to read this page! There are
many different web browsers, but some of the most common ones include Google Chrome,
Internet Explorer, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox.

No matter which web browser you use, you'll want to learn the basics of browsing the Web. In
this lesson, we'll talk about navigating to different websites, using tabbed browsing, creating
bookmarks, and more.

Watch the video from below link to learn the basics of using a web browser.

https://youtu.be/FxirRVJWUTs

We'll be using the Google Chrome web browser throughout this lesson, but you can use any
browser you want. Keep in mind that your browser may look and act a bit differently, but all web
browsers work in basically the same way.

URLs and the address bar

Each website has a unique address, called a URL (short for Uniform Resource Locator). It's like
a street address that tells your browser where to go on the Internet. When you type a URL into
the browser's address bar and press Enter on your keyboard, the browser will load the page
associated with that URL.

In the example below, we've typed www.bbc.com/travel into the address bar.

Links
Whenever you see a word or phrase on a website that's blue or underlined in blue, it's probably
a hyperlink, or link for short. You might already know how links work, even if you've never
thought about them much before. For example, try clicking the link below.

https://www.bing.com/

Links are used to navigate the Web. When you click a link, it will usually take you to a different
webpage. You may also notice that your cursor changes into a hand icon whenever you hover
over a link.

If you see this icon, it means you've found a link. You'll find other types of links this way too. For
example, many websites actually use images as links, so you can just click the image to
navigate to another page.

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Navigation buttons

The Back and Forward buttons allow you to move through websites you've recently viewed. You
can also click and hold either button to see your recent history.
The Refresh button will reload the current page. If a website stops working, try using the refresh
button

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Tabbed browsing
Many browsers allow you to open links in a new tab. You can open as many links as you want,
and they'll stay in the same browser window instead of cluttering your screen with multiple
windows.

To open a link in a new tab, right-click the link and select Open link in new tab (the exact
wording may vary from browser to browser).
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To close a tab, click the X.

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To create a new blank tab, click the button to the right of any open tabs.
Bookmarks and history

If you find a website you want to

view later, it can be hard to
memorize the exact web
address. Bookmarks, also known
as favorites, are a great way to
save and organize specific
websites so you can revisit them
again and again. Simply locate
and select the Star icon to
bookmark the current website.

.
 Your browser will also keep a
history of every site you visit. This
is another good way to find a site
you visited previously. To view
your history, open your browser
settings—usually by clicking the
icon in the upper-right corner—and
select History

Links don't always go to another

website. In some cases, they point
Downloading files to a file that can be downloaded,
or saved, to your computer.

If you click a link to a file, it may

download automatically, but
sometimes it just opens within your
browser instead of downloading.
To prevent it from opening in the
browser, you can right-click the
link and select Save link as
(different browsers may use
slightly different wording, like Save
target as).
Saving images

Sometimes you may want to save

an image from a website to your
computer. To do this, right-click
the image and select Save image
as (or Save picture as).

Plug-ins
Plug-ins are small applications that allow you to view certain types of content within your web
browser. For example, Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight are sometimes used to play
videos, while Adobe Reader is used to view PDF files.

If you don't have the correct plug-in for a website, your browser will usually provide a link to
download it. There may also be times when you need to update your plug-ins
Understanding Hyperlinks
Have you ever noticed that certain words on the Web look a little bit different? Whenever you
see a word or phrase that's underlined in blue, it's probably a hyperlink, or link for short. You
might already know how links work, even if you've never thought about them much before.

Links are used to navigate the Web. When you click a link, it will take you to a different
webpage. In the example below, we're clicking a link to learn more about the DuPont Circle
neighborhood.
You may also notice that your cursor changes into a hand icon whenever you hover over a link.

If you see this icon, it means you've found a link. You'll find other types of links this way too. For
example, many websites actually use images as links, so you can just click the image to
navigate to another page. In the example below, we're clicking the picture of the deer-shaped
salt and pepper shakers to open a page with more information about them.
Links don't always go to another website. In some cases, they allow you to download a file.
When you click a link like this, the file will be downloaded to your computer. In the example
below, we're downloading an installation file for a new application.
As you can see, links are an important part of using the Web. They allow you to navigate
between different WebPages, download files, and do a whole lot more.

Downloading and Uploading

While exploring the Internet, you’ve
probably encountered the terms
downloading and uploading.

Downloading means receiving data or a

file from the Internet on your computer.
Uploading means sending data or a file
from your computer to somewhere on
the Internet.

These terms describe activities you may

have already learned how to do. If
you've ever opened an example
document in one of our tutorials, you've
downloaded that file. If you’ve ever
shared a photo you took on Facebook or
another social media site, you've
uploaded that photo.

Downloading

Usually, when you download a file

you will start the download by
clicking a link to that file. Many of
our tutorials contain links to files,
like this:

If you click the link, your browser

should prompt you to select one of
two methods for downloading the
file. Either way, once you click OK,
the download begins. Your
browser will indicate the progress
and time remaining on the
download.

 Open with will download

the file and load it
immediately in the
specified program.
 Save File will download it
and save it to your hard
drive.
Download progress bar

Once the download is complete, either the file will be saved to your computer or it will open in
the program you selected. If you have troubles finding the file after you’ve downloaded it.

Some browsers don’t always start this download process when you click the link to a file. In
these cases, you can right-click the link, then click Save Link As, then select a location to
download the file.

Uploading
If a site allows uploads, it will have an upload
utility to help perform the file transfer. Each site
handles this process differently, but we’ll give
some common examples. Usually, the site will
have help pages to walk you through the
upload process.

Many sites have an upload button that opens a

dialog box. For example, Facebook has a
camera icon that begins the upload process.
 A dialog box will appear,
prompting you to select a file.
Browse to the location where your
file is stored, select it, and then
click the Open button. Afterward, a
progress bar tracking the upload
process will appear on the page.

Some sites support a drag-and-

drop interface. For example, when
logged in to Drop box you can
drag the files from a folder on your
computer and drop them into the
browser window.

Drag and drop upload interface on

Drop box
Many other upload utilities have
similar features. A more detailed
example of uploading a file is
available in our Google Drive
tutorial.

Using Search Engines

With billions of websites online today, there is a lot of information on the Internet. Search
engines make this information easier to find. Let's look at the basics of using a search engine,
as well as some techniques you can use to get better search results.

Watch the video from below link to learn more about searching the Web.

https://youtu.be/7RlB1CJovTs
How to search the Web

There are many different search

engines you can use, but some of
the most popular include Google,
Yahoo!, and Bing. To perform a
search, you'll need to navigate to a
search engine in your web
browser, type one or more
keywords—also known as search
terms—then press Enter on your
keyboard. In this example, we'll
search for recipes.

After you run a search, you'll see a

list of relevant websites that match
your search terms. These are
commonly known as search
results. If you see a site that looks
interesting, you can click a link to
open it. If the site doesn't have
what you need, you can simply
return to the results page to look
for more options.

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 Most browsers also allow you to
perform a web search directly from
your address bar, although some
have a separate search bar next to
the address bar. Simply type your
search terms and press Enter to
run the search.

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Search suggestions
If you don't find what you're looking for on the
first try, don't worry! Search engines are good
at finding things online, but they're not perfect.
You'll often need to try different search terms
to find what you're looking for.

If you're having trouble thinking of new search

terms, you can use search suggestions
instead. These will usually appear as you're
typing, and they're a great way to find new
keywords you might not have tried otherwise.
To use a search suggestion, you can click it
with your mouse, or select it with the arrow
keys on your keyboard.
Refining your search

If you're still having trouble finding

exactly what you need, you can
use some special characters to
help refine your search. For
example, if you want to exclude a
word from a search, you can type
a hyphen (-) at the beginning of a
word. So if you wanted to find
cookie recipes that don't include
chocolate, you could search for
recipes cookies -chocolate.

You can also search for exact

words or phrases to narrow down
your results even more. All you
need to do is place quotation
marks (" ") around the desired
search terms. For example, if you
search for recipes "sugar cookies",
your search results will only
include recipes for sugar cookies,
instead of any cookies that happen
to use sugar as an ingredient.

These techniques may come in handy in certain cases, but you probably won't need to use
them with most searches. Search engines can usually figure out what you're looking for without
these extra characters. We recommend trying a few different search suggestions before using
this method.
Content-specific searches
There may be times when you're looking for something more specific, like a news article,
picture, or video. Most search engines have links at the top of the page that allow you to
perform these unique searches.

In the example besides, we've

used the same search terms to
look for images instead of
websites. If you see an image you
like, you can click to visit the
website it originally came from.
 You can use the extra search tools
to narrow down your results even
more. These tools will change
based on the type of content
you're looking for, but in this
example we can filter our images
by size, color, image type, and
more. So if you wanted to find
cookies with pink frosting, you
could search for images that are
mostly pink.

Understanding URLs
Every time you click a link on a website or type a web address into your browser, it’s a URL.
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Think of it like a street address, with each portion of
the URL as different parts of the address, and each giving you different information. Let’s
examine each component of a URL and what we can learn from it.

Watch the video from below link to learn the different parts of a URL.
https://youtu.be/5Jr-_Za5yQM

Every URL begins with the scheme.

Scheme This tells your browser what type of
address it is so the browser connects to
it correctly. There are many types of
schemes, but for typical web browsing
you will mostly see http and https.

Your browser usually won’t show the

scheme in the address bar, and usually
you don’t need to type the scheme
when typing a web address; instead,
you can just begin with the domain
name. The scheme is still always part of
the URL; it just isn’t being displayed.
Domain name

The domain name is the most

prominent part of a web address.
Typically, different pages on the
same site will continue to use the
same domain name. For example,
all pages on this site share the
GCFLearnFree.org domain name.

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Each segment of the domain name

separated by a period is called a
domain. The domain on the right is
called a top-level domain, with the
domain to the left of it called the
second-level domain, then third-
level domain, and so on.

You can often learn something about the site from the domains. One of the domains usually
identifies the organization, while the top-level domain may give you more general information on
what kind of site it is. For example, in the domain name ferry.ncdot.gov, the .gov domain means
it is a government website in the United States, the ncdot domain identifies it as the website of
the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), and the ferry domain means this
particular page is about ferries operated by the NCDOT.

In most URLs, the www domain can be omitted. Google.com and www.google.com lead to the
same page. However, other sub domains cannot be omitted. For example, all pages under
news.google.com require the news sub domain in the URL.
File path
The file path—often just called the path—tells your browser to load a specific page. If you don’t
specify a path and only enter a domain name, your browser is still loading a specific page; it’s
just loading a default page, which usually will help you navigate to other pages.

URLs that end with the domain name without a file path usually will load a homepage or an
index page that's designed to help you navigate to specific pages on the site. Often, if you can’t
remember the file path for a specific page, you can go to the homepage and search for it.

Parameters

Some URLs include a string of characters after the path—beginning with a question mark—
called the parameter string. You have probably noticed this part of a URL appear in your
address bar after performing a search on Google or YouTube. The parameter string can be
clear or confusing to a human user, but it is critical information for the server.

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Anchor
Also appearing after the path, the
anchor tells your browser to scroll
to or load a specific part of the
page. Usually the anchor begins
with a hashtag and is used to
direct your browser to a specific
part of a very long page, much like
a bookmark. Different anchors
don’t load different pages; they
simply tell the browser to display
different parts of the page.

A whole URL

When combined, these elements make up a URL, although not all URLs will have all five parts.

Using what we learned in this tutorial, we can tell from the domain name of this URL that it’s on
Wikipedia, from the parameters that the page is probably about burritos, and from the anchor
that we’ll be looking at the section on burritos for breakfast.

Keep in mind that these are the most common components of a URL. There are many other
parts, but these are the five you will see most often and that can usually give you the most
information.
What is a Domain Name and How Do They Work?
What is a Domain Name?

Quite simply, a domain name is the address of your website. It is the name that people type into
the URL bar of their browser to find your website.

The domain name for this website, for example, is https://makeawebsitehub.com/

Domain names can be purchased through a domain registrar or through your hosting provider.
They are also often provided for free by hosting companies or website builders.

How Do Domain Names Work?

Domain names are crucial, as they enable computers to find the server where your website is
hosted. Website files can then be retrieved from that server, allowing users to access your site
on their browsers.

But to fully understand this process, you first need an understanding of what an IP address is,
and how the Domain Name System enables computers to translate domain names into IP
addresses. Let’s find out more…

What is an IP Address?
Every computer and server has its own IP address – a string of unique numbers that are
separated by full stops. Computers use these IP addresses to connect and communicate with
each other, and importantly find and retrieve web data.

An IP address looks something a bit like this 66.220.144.0.

However, remembering strings of numbers is not possible for most humans, which is where
domain names come into play. Instead of having to type in an IP address, when someone wants
to open a website they simply type the domain name into their browser.

The Domain Name System then transfers this domain name into an IP address, which is the
address of the server that hosts the website. The server can then quickly be contacted, and the
website served to the user.

To understand this further, let’s look in more depth at how the Domain Name System works…

What is the DNS?

Domain names are part of a much larger network called the Domain Name System (DNS). The
DNS is managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). This
non-profit organization is responsible for the on-going maintenance and management of the
DNS, creating policies and regulating domain registrars.

The DNS is a large network of servers that are located across the globe. These servers contain
a distributed database of IP addresses and act like an address book, transferring domain names
into IP addresses. Servers can then be located, and websites requested and served to
browsers.

Domain name is the address of your website that people type in the browser URL bar to visit
your website.

In simple terms, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address.

A more detailed explanation:

The Internet is a giant network of computers connected to each other through a global network
of cables. Each computer on this network can communicate with other computers.

To identify them, each computer is assigned an IP address. It is a series of numbers that

identify a particular computer on the internet. A typical IP address looks like this:

66.249.66.1

Now an IP address like this is quite difficult to remember. Imagine if you had to use such
numbers to visit your favorite websites.

Domain names were invented to solve this problem.

Now if you want to visit a website, then you don’t need to enter a long string of numbers.
Instead, you can visit it by typing an easy to remember domain name in your browser’s address
bar. For example, wpbeginner.com.
How Domain Names Actually Work?
To understand how domain names actually work, we will take a look at what happens when you
enter it in your browser.

When you enter a domain name in your web browser, it first sends a request to a global network
of servers that form the Domain Name System (DNS).
These servers then look up for the name servers associated with the domain and forward the
request to those name servers.
For example, if your website is hosted on Bluehost, then its name server information will be like
this:
ns1.bluehost.com

ns2.bluehost.com

These name servers are computers managed by your hosting company. Your hosting company
will forward your request to the computer where your website is stored.
This computer is called a web server. It has special software installed (Apache, Nginx are two
popular web server software). The web server now fetches the web page and pieces of
information associated with it.
Finally, it then sends this data back to the browser.

What Are the Parts of a Domain?

There are essentially three parts to a domain name; Subdomain, a Second-Level Domain, and a
Top-Level Domain. However, it can be broken down even further than that so let’s take a look.

Subdomain

A Subdomain is a domain that is a part of a larger domain under the Domain Name System
(DNS) hierarchy. Subdomains are used as an easy way to create a more memorable Web
address for specific or unique content with a website.

For example, you could use a Subdomain to make it easier for users to remember and navigate
to the picture gallery of a site by placing it in the address gallery.example.com, as opposed to
example.com/media/gallery. In this example, the Subdomain is gallery. Example, whereas the
main domain is example.com. You may also hear a Subdomain referred to as a child domain.

Second-Level Domain

A Second-Level Domain (SLD) is a specific part of a website, page domain name or URL
address that complements a Top-Level Domain. One of the easiest ways to define a Second-
Level Domain is that it consists of that portion of the domain name to the left of the “.COM” or
other similar extensions, which is called a Top-Level Domain. Analysis of the Top-Level and
Second-Level domains helps to analyze a URL or page address.

Top-Level Domain or TLD

A Top-Level Domain, or TLD, is a term you may have come across before while you were trying
to search for that perfect domain name. TLD is just a fancy term for your domain name’s
extension. The domain name extension is the letters to the right of your Second-Level Domain.
An easy example of this is .COM or .ORG. When someone is referring to a TLD they are
referring to the extension only.
Generic Top-Level Domain or gTLD

A Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) refers to domain extensions that are generic in nature.
Google recognizes these as generic and you can feel free to register them all for your business
or personal domain name. Some of the common ones you will find are .XYZ, .ONLINE, etc.
There are literally hundreds so good luck!

Country-Code Top-Level Domain or ccTLD

A Country-Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD), refers to custom domain extensions that are
region- or country-specific domains. An easy and popular example of this would be something
like .CA (Canada) or .JP (Japan). Undoubtedly you have seen these before online or even
visited a site with a Country-Code Domain.

Sponsored Top-Level Domain or sTLD

We touched on a couple of sponsored top-level domain extension meanings at the beginning of

this article. Basically, though, a Sponsored Top-Level Domain (sTLD) is used by specific niches
and is not allowed for use by the general population or general customers. Two of the more
recognizable are .GOV and .EDU.

The .GOV domain is only available and in use by the American government. The .EDU domain
is an extension that is only available to postsecondary education institutions and related
organizations for registration.

In order to be eligible to use this domain extension, said institution must be located in the United
States, legally organized in the U.S., or recognized by a U.S. state, territorial, or federal agency.

What Is a Domain Extension?

Domain name extensions are the last part of a domain name. For example, in ‘hostgator.com,’
the domain name extension is .com.

You’ll also see domain name extensions referred to as top-level domains (TLDs). These terms
will be used interchangeably throughout the post.

Your domain name and domain name extension give you a working domain name that your
target audience can type into their browsers to access your website.

There are a few different types of domain name extensions available:

1. Generic Domain Extensions

These are the most common form of domain extension. For a while you could only choose
between .com, .org, and .net. But, in recent years the number of generic top-level domains has
exploded. Now you’ll find a lot of unique top-level domain names to choose from like .beer,
.blog, and more.
2. Sponsored Domain Extensions
This style of domain extension is restricted to certain types of organizations and groups. To
register this style of TLD you’ll need to satisfy certain requirements and there are restrictions on
who can register these domains. Common examples of this are the .aero, .gov, and .edu
domain extensions.

3. Generic-Restricted Domain Extensions

This type of domain extension is similar to a generic top-level domain, but they are intended for
more specific types of websites. When you register this domain extension you’ll typically need to
provide a bit more information about your website and it’s intended purpose. Some examples of
this TLD include .name and .pro.

4. Country Code Domain Extensions

Lastly we have country-code domain extensions. Each country has its own TLD that helps to
identify that site as being from a specific country. Common extensions include .co, .uk, and .us.
However, these extensions are more flexible and can be used for more than just identifying
locations. For example, the domain extension .co is the TLD for Colombia, but it’s also used by
businesses and startups the world over.

A Brief History of Domain Extensions

If you were trying to access a website in the early 1980’s you would have had to type in a long
string of numbers known as an IP address. The only way that early computers were able to
communicate on this network was by using these numerical IP addresses.

Having to type in these strings of numbers was inefficient and a definite hindrance on allowing
the web to scale. It was a far cry from the consumer web that has become a routine part of our
lives today.

Luckily, things have come a long way since then. Thanks to the Domain Name System (DNS),
we can now type easy to remember domain names into our web address bars to access
whatever website we desire. Instead of having to type in a complicated IP web address, we type
in a domain name like ‘google.com’ or ‘hostgator.com.’

Along the same time as the new DNS came into effect, so did domain name extensions. These
were used to help classify domain names into specific groups. The first six domain name
extensions created were .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, and .mil.

When these were first created, there were rigid rules about what kind of websites could use
these domain name extensions. Today these rules are much more relaxed, and hundreds of
different domain name extensions have come into existence.

The introduction of domain name extensions made accessing the web much easier. It wasn’t
the sole factor that led to the explosion of the internet, but it certainly did help.

Up until 2008, there were only around 28 different domain name extensions you could choose
between. However, the TLD system changed dramatically when the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) allowed anyone with enough money to apply to create
their own top-level domain.
A lot of massive corporations jumped on this and applied for top-level domain names that could
be used in conjunction with their own brand. Think companies like Microsoft, Google, and
Amazon.

How is Domain Name Different from a Website and Web Hosting?

A website is made up of files like HTML pages, website builder software, images, and more.
If the domain name is the web address of your website, then web hosting is the home where
your website lives.
This is the actual computer where your website’s files are stored. Such computers are called
servers and they are offered as a service by hosting companies.
To create your website, you need both domain name and web hosting. A web hosting service is
a type of Internet hosting service that provides individuals, organizations and users with online
systems for storing information, images, video, or any content accessible via the Web
However, it’s important to remember that they are two separate services, and you can buy them
from two different companies.
Now you may be wondering, how would it work if you bought them from two separate
companies?
You just need to edit your domain name settings and enter the Name Server information
provided by your hosting company. Name Server information defines where to send user
requests for your domain name.
We recommend getting both your domain name and hosting from the same company. This
allows you to easily manage them under the same account.

Who is Responsible for Domain Name System?

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) manages the domain names
system. It is a non-profit organization that creates and implements the policies for domain
names.
ICANN gives permission to companies called Domain Name Registrars for selling domain
names. These domain registrars are allowed to make changes to domain names registry on
your behalf.
Domain name registrars can sell domain names; manage its records, renewals, and transfers to
other registrars.
As a domain name owner, you are responsible for telling the registrar where to send requests.
You are also responsible for renewing your domain registration

What are the types of web design?

Dynamic content design

A website’s design will usually depend on how dynamic the page’s content is – that is, whether
the content changes, updates, or remains still over time.
There are two types of page content web design:
 1. Static/fixed
Static (or ‘fixed’) websites are the most simplistic websites when it comes to design. The content
on these websites doesn’t automatically change or adapt depending on the user, and is not
regularly updated.
Static websites are built using simple HTML code, and are usually there to provide information.

2. Dynamic
A dynamic website will display different content each time a user visits. This type of design is
commonly used for blogs and ecommerce sites, or any website that is regularly updated.
Dynamic content design can also show different content to each user at different times of the
day. The upside of dynamic content web design is that it creates a more personal and
interactive experience for the user; the downside, however, is that these websites are more
complex to develop, and may take slightly longer to load than static sites.

Optimization design
Optimized design is when a website reformats its layout to clearly display the page on a
different screen size. For example, a website that is mobile responsive will completely reshuffles
its layout in order to fit on a mobile screen, keeping the user journey as smooth as possible.
There are three different types of optimised design:

1. Static/fixed
2. Fluid/liquid
3. Responsive

1. Static/fixed
A fixed website is not optimised for screens of different sizes. The website will remain a fixed
width of pixels, no matter which device it’s displayed on – whether that’s a desktop, tablet, or
mobile.
When viewing a static/fixed website on a mobile, you’ll need to pinch, zoom, and swipe in order
to see what’s written on the page. This results in a bad user experience, and means we
would not recommend this design.
In fact, 57% of internet users would not recommend a business that had a poorly designed
mobile website. If your website has static design, you might want to do something about it.

2. Fluid/liquid
A website built with a fluid or liquid design ensures that the website looks the same in terms of
proportions no matter which screen it’s displayed on. Each element of the website, such as the
navigation bar, will take up the same relative amount of space on every device, resulting in a
simple user journey.

3. Responsive
Responsive design goes one step further than fluid or liquid. A website with responsive design
will actually look different on each device – in fact, some less important elements will even
disappear in order to fit on the screen, in order to minimise the need for zooming, pinching, or
scrolling.
If your target audience spends most of its time on mobiles, then it’s absolutely vital that your
website is mobile responsive. Luckily, website builders like Wix offer mobile ready themes, so
you don’t need to worry about optimising your website.

Different Types of Websites

1. Brochure or Homepage: purpose of such website is to represent or showcase your brand

online. So, it’s the face of your brand and the main hub of your website.

Your homepage should reflect your brand image with brand colors, consistent design, and
should provide navigation to all your brand’s online resources.

2. E-commerce: is the online store where visitors can purchase products or services. Products
should be correctly categorized and tagged so the user can find and navigate to them easily.

Pro Tip: for SEO perspective, notice less sold products and similar products and merge them.
You can also index one main product for the group of products with Meta tags.

Get a user friendly as well as SEO friendly any type of Website at Pak Web Studio

3. Blogs: are a bunch of regularly updated articles with photos and illustrations. Commonly
made to gain credibility, to do affiliate marketing and brand awareness.

Companies or individuals make blog to write articles about their expertise which gives away free
knowledge in return of gaining credibility.

Usually blog is a part of every website including e-commerce.

Pro Tip: Write less articles but lengthy and in depth researched articles with updated content.

4. Portfolio: is the place to showcase your creative work which can be your designs, projects or
anything which represents your best work.

A portfolio is usually a part of brochure or landing page website.

5. Landing Pages: are the campaign specific web pages to get a specific action from the user.

For example, a page to ask customers to contact you for the quotation.

The content of such pages revolve around specific call to action (CTA), removing any useless
design elements and other content.

CTA should be limited to one or two, otherwise your visitor will have many choices and he/she
will get confused easily.
6. Magazines: are the informational and educational websites flowing around a flow of
instructions with constant design elements. It’s quite similar to the Blogs.

7. Social Media Website: is the community website where people can interact around a topic
such as Quora, facebook or Linkedin.

8. Directories: are a bunch of pages which provide easy navigation to the internet links around
some niche. These can be contact pages of specific industry in specific region or worldwide.

Website Development Required Skills

The skills required to set up a website can vary from very basic to the most advanced. If you are
going to set up a professional website for a global audience, then you should have the following
set of skills or you would have to hire a group of people to do this job for you.

Content Experts
Content experts supply the content that is to be published on the website. They design the
content as per the requirement of the target audience and then, edit and polish the content
before it gets published.
Content experts normally rely on the expertise of the site designer and the webmaster. Note
that the content can be text, data, images, audio or links.

Website Designer
A web designer is a technical person who designs and maintains the Graphical User Interface
(GUI) of the website. For example, where the buttons should be placed, how the images are
to be displayed, etc.

Graphic Designers
Graphic designers develop image files that are to be included in the website. These
professionals have a keen understanding of developing suitable graphics for the web
environment.

Web Developers
Web developers create the program codes to manipulate the supplied content, based on the
site design established by the website designer. A web programmer should use a set of
programming languages to compile specific functions that the WebPages should do in the
background. Here is a set of important programming languages that a web programmer must be
good at:
 HTML / XHTML − these are the markup languages which you will use to build your
Website. A web programmer must have a good understanding of HTML and XML.

 PHP – It is a popular programming language to develop WebPages.

 PERL Script − PERL is another language which is being used to develop interactive
Web Applications.
  Java or VB Scripts − these scripts are required to perform user-level validations and to
add more interactivity to your Website. So, a web developer is required to have
adequate knowledge of any of these client-side scripts.

 AJAX Technology − AJAX is the latest technology on the Web. Google and Yahoo are
using this technology to give a better browsing experience to their website visitors.

 ASP or JSP – Web developers are required to be well-versed with ASP or JSP to
develop interactive websites.

 Macromedia Flash − you can use Macromedia Flash to build a Website. It can be a little
time-consuming to learn this technology, but once you learn how to use it, then you can
develop attractive websites using Flash.

Web Researcher
You should research on new tools, trends and issues affecting the web technology. Web
researchers report to the webmaster regarding new techniques that can be integrated in the
website. They optimize appropriate site traffic and evaluate site development tools, which can
be either hardware or software. Hardware and Software Support Resource The Support
Resource upgrades the hardware and software as and when needed. They play a crucial role in
keeping the system up and running in a flawless manner. Marketing and Promotion Marketing
professionals mostly use popular Social Media Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to
promote the content and resources available on the site. They reach out to the target audience
and create awareness among them. System Administrator A System Administrator knows how
to set up and point the protocols as HTTP, FTP, SMTP and DNS records. System
administrators are those experts who look after every aspect of website development and its
maintenance.

Website Development - Domain Name Registration

To register a domain name involves registering the name you want with an organization called
ICANN through a domain name registrar. For example, if you choose a name like
"mydomain.com", you should go to a registrar, pay a registration fee that costs around 10 USD
per year for that name. That will give you the right to the domain name for a year. You should
renew it annually for the same amount per annum. Some webhosts will register your domain
name for free, if you purchase a hosting plan from them, while others will do it for you as well,
but you will must foot the registrar fees and charges. Some of the biggest registrars where you
can register your domain are given below:

 GoDaddy - with the URL https://uk.godaddy.com

 Name – with the URL https://www.name.com/

iPage – with URL https://www.ipage.com

BlueHost – with URL https://www.bluehost.com/

Hostgator – with URL http://www.hostgator.com/

Now, let us see step by step how to register a domain name at GoDaddy. Firstly, we should
choose our domain name and see if it is free for purchase.

In my case, I wrote “tutorialspoint.com “and clicked “Search Domain”.

As you can see in the results that are in the following screenshot, this domain is already taken
and it is not free. Then GoDaddy will recommend me other similar names, which we might be
interested in.
We will select another domain name that GoDaddy suggested us, which is
“tutorials point. Online”.

Click on the green “Select” button.

Then click on “Continue to Cart” as shown in the screenshot given below.

On the other page, GoDaddy will ask if I want to hide my personal information from the internet
for an extra fee with regards to this domain name, because by default they are open to public.
GoDaddy is an accepted Domain name registrar. It is also a Hosting provider which offers you
hosting services for your website. It allows you to purchase and at the same time gives a
suitable plan for your website.
Click “Continue to Cart”.

In the webpage that opens next, you must choose the number of years for your domain that
it will be required with the possibility to extend this period.
 Also, you have the possibility to buy other similar domains.
 Click “Proceed to Checkout”.
As we are a new customer, we will click on “Continue”.
In the Billing Section, we should fill genuine data because it should match with the payment
Information.

In the account information, we will enter an email id (we will get all the billing related and other
notifications to this email address), username, password and PIN (this email id is also important
for account resetting or other ownership issues, if the account gets hacked).
Now, we should enter the credit card details or PayPal details. Then click “Continue” as shown
in the following screenshot.
The following screen will show up once the purchase of the domain is successful.
Website Development Subdomains
Subdomains are extensions of domain name that you can forward to URLs or point to IP
addresses and directories within the hosting account or different servers. Sub domains function
separately from your main domain. We can create areas of a website by using subdomains.

Example
You can create a subdomain for a blog on site called "Blog" that is accessible through the URL
– blog.tutorialspoint.com in addition to the already existing www.tutorialspoint.com/blog.
We can add endless subdomains per domain name in theory. We can also add multiple levels
of subdomains. For instance, you can add info.blog.tutorialspoint.com to delve into an even
more specific area of interest on the site. Each subdomain can be up to 25 characters long.
Website Development – Domain Privacy
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) broadly requires that the
mailing address, phone number and e-mail address of those owning and administrating a
domain name should be made publicly available through the "WHOIS" directories. But this rule
enables spammers, direct marketers, identity thieves or other attackers to use the directory for
personal information. Although ICANN has been exploring changing WHOIS to enable greater
privacy. There is a lack of consensus among major stakeholders as to what type of change
should be made. However, with the offer of private registration from many registrars, some of
the risk has been mitigated.

There are four contact positions in a domain's WHOIS record, which are –
 Owner
 Administrator
 Billing and
 Technical

Some registrars will not shield the owner organization name to protect the ownership of the
domain name.

Let us now have a detailed stepwise understanding of what is being discussed here.

Go to the URL https://whois.icann.org/en and then enter the domain name of which we want to
see the public data
The next step is to click on “Lookup” as shown in the following screenshot.

The information that this domain name has will be shown as follows. The main section is
“Contact Information” which has some subsections like:
 Registrant Contact
 Admin Contact
 Tech Contact
Each of these sections have:
Name and Surname, Company name, Address, Phone Number and email address.

The following screenshot shows the registrant name which in this case is GoDaddy.com, LLC
 The following screenshot shows the information of when the domain name was registered and
when it will expire.

While the last screenshot will show the name servers (DNS) of the domain.

Configure DNS record on Hosting Platform

DNS records are mainly used to convert domain names into servers’ IP that host this website.
It is important to mention that the records are entered at domain registrars. They generally
provide you with a DNS manager panel. The main purpose is that people and applications don’t
have to remember big numbers to navigate to a domain. For example,
www.tutorialspoint.com has an IP of 93.184.220.42, so it is easier to remember a friendly name.
Pointing a Domain to an IP is done through a record. For example: www.tutorialspoint.com A
93.184.220.42
There are other types of DNS records that are used for a webpage, depending on the functions
that we need to publish.

Let us now see it practically: earlier the domain tutorialspoint.online was purchased at
GoDaddy, which needs to now point to an IP. For doing this, we must follow the steps given
below.

To begin with, you should start with entering the username and password. Then click on
“Manage My Domains”.
Select the Domain whose DNS should be managed by clicking on Click on “Manage DNS”

A new window will pop up and you must then select the record that you want to enter. In this
case, we should enter A Record to publish on the website.
The boxes shown in the following screenshot will be opened. In the “Host” box, enter the
subdomain name which will be www and in the “Points to” box enter the IP –
93.184.220.42. In the “TTL” drop box, we need to select 1 Hour, which means in one hour the
record will be spread globally and the webpage will be effective. Once all this is done, click
“Save”.

Build Your Website/Blog

What is WordPress?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) available in the
cyber-world. While that might sound highly technical, it’s really quite simple. A content
management system does exactly that — it manages how your content is displayed. This is
fantastic for anyone who wants to create or maintain a website without having to learn the nuts
and bolts of HOW to make it work.
A WordPress website is a great option for building a
flexible site without learning code.
A WordPress website allows you to have a modern, easy-to-use website with all kinds of cool
features without having to learn any computer programming or coding.

Who should use WordPress?

Anyone! Word Press isn’t only for businesses, or just a platform for bloggers. WordPress works
great for those people, but it’s good for others, too. The mom who wants a family website to
share photos of her kids, the photographer who wants an online portfolio, or the online forum
you’ve always wanted to discuss science fiction and whittling.

You can create all these types of websites and more with WordPress.

OK, but how does WordPress work?

A WordPress website is easiest to think of in terms of layers. WordPress is the center-most

core layer. It’s the framework on which everything else rests. The content of your site (your
text, images, videos, etc.) make up the next layer. This is the most important part of your
website, and where you want to focus.

The outermost layer is the theme, which is the window-dressing of how your content is
displayed.

The beauty of WordPress is you can easily add content

without having to alter your core structure.
You can expand, remove or edit without any change in functionality. You can also choose to
change your look (i.e. your WordPress theme) without losing any content or again, changing the
structure. WordPress handles HOW to display it all for you, so all you have to worry about is
WHAT to display.
The final “big” component of any WordPress website that is worth mentioning are plugins.
These are small, additional pieces of code you can add onto (or plug INto) your website to add
non-standard functionality. Think of your mobile phone – some functions like making calls or
storing your contacts are included as part of the standard phone software. When you want your
phone to have added capabilities (playing music from Pandora, for example), you install an app.

Plugins are like apps for your WordPress website.

What you need to build a WordPress website

There are two major components to any website: the domain name (URL) and the hosting. The
domain name is how people access your site. The hosting refers to the physical computers that
run your website files (this is the account that “hosts” your content for you).

To create your first WordPress website, you’ll need a domain name and hosting. And of course,
you’ll need to download WordPress.

There are a few other things you’ll need to get your website up and running:

 Content — what are you going to say?

 Images — because an all-text website would be incredibly dull.
 Theme — WordPress comes with several defaults installed, and there are many free themes
to choose from beyond the default options. If you prefer a certain look, there are also themes
available for purchase from online sources such as ThemeForest.

 Expensive editing or web-design software — everything in WordPress is created, added

and edited from the web browser.
 A rich uncle or family inheritance — WordPress is free and hosting plans are very
affordable.
 An advanced degree in computer programming, mathematics or physics — once you know
the basics, WordPress is easy!

Setting up your WordPress website

The single easiest way to set up WordPress is to start with a hosting account specifically
designed for WordPress websites. With a GoDaddy Managed WordPress account, for example,
WordPress is already installed for you.

Many hosts will offer a one-click option or simple directions to install WordPress directly from
their control panel. Even without these, any hosting account will allow you to run WordPress
provided you have a database in which to store the site information and a location to upload the
WordPress files.
Create a database.

Check with your host to see if you can install WordPress automatically. If you need to install it
manually, log into your cPanel (or similar portal) to manage your hosting. Click to create a
MySQL Database for your website.

Give the database a name, and create a user to go along with the database. Mark down the
database name, user name and user password — you’ll need these later.

Upload the WordPress files.

Download the latest version of WordPress from WordPress.org and unzip the files. Using either
your File Manager for your hosting account or an FTP client, upload all of the WordPress files to
your website host.
When you are finished uploading, you should have a folder structure that looks similar to this
one:
Install WordPress.

For the final step, go to a web browser and visit your website at whatever domain name you
picked. The installation process should begin automatically for you by asking you to select a
language.
Enter your credentials.

Remember those credentials we saved from earlier? Here is where you will need them. Enter
the database name, username and user password in the appropriate boxes. Most hosts will use
local host for the host name. If you are uncertain, your web host can provide this information.
Continue the installation.
Set username and password.

Here, you will set the username and password you will use to log into your new WordPress
website. It is a good idea to use a username other than “admin”. This is the default username,
and therefore increases the chances of your site being hacked later on. Give your website a title
if you wish, and continue the installation.
That’s it! WordPress is now installed. You access your user dashboard at yourdomainname/wp-
admin. This is where you will log in using the username and password you just set. This
dashboard is the center for all things WordPress.

Setting your URL writing rules by configuring Permalinks.

By default, WordPress utilizes a form of URL writing that is not SEO friendly. Configuring your
URL writing rules is critical during your WordPress setup. Do not wait to complete this task; get
it done quickly before you start publishing pages or blog posts. It is recommended you leverage
the expertise of an experienced SEO, but if you do not have that opportunity then follow this
guidance at a minimum.

In the Dashboard find the Settings category link on the left rail navigation. Select Settings and
then Permalinks.

The Plain URL writing rule will be selected by default. We need to change that, so select
the Custom Structure option. In the text field enter the following exactly:

/%postname%/
It should appear like this:
What did that accomplish?

The URL is a significant keyword ranking signal for search engines, and we just fine-tuned that
element by changing the URL writing rule. Let’s say you wanted to publish a page or blog post
titled, “How to build a WordPress website for the first time,” and you want organic referral traffic
from search engines like Google and Bing. Which URL below do you think will be more helpful
for a search engine and a user?

Plain URL: example.com/?p=123

Custom Structure URL: example.com/how-to-build-a-wordpress-website-for-the-first-
time

If you do not have an inkling, then trust me when I say definitively the Custom Structure URL is
the BEST option.
Getting to know the WordPress dashboard
From the WordPress dashboard, you can control every aspect of your website. All of the main
sections are located on the menu to the left. Under each of these main headings is a sub-menu
of options.

The first type of content we will discuss are posts versus pages. Posts are generally used for
content that is updated frequently, such as blog articles. For content that does not change as
frequently, such as an About Me section, it is better to use pages.

Most themes will display your most recent Posts by default. However, you can change this
setting to always display a Page if you wish. This option, as well as other options — like setting
your time zone or changing the administrator email address — is found under the Settings tab
on the left menu.
The Appearance menu is where you will control your theme and everything related to the
visual display of your website. Here you can select a theme, upload a new theme, or make
customizations to the theme you are using.
The Plugins menu allows you to view plugins currently installed and add new ones when you
wish. Any plug-in currently installed on your WordPress website will show on this page.
However, only plugins that are activated can be used on your website. Sometimes when you
install a plug-in, a new menu item will be added to the left-hand menu (themes can also add
these menus). Often, however, new options will be added to one of the existing menu items.
The Media page is where you can view, edit or delete images you have added to your
WordPress website. All images, regardless of where they are added, will appear in the media
library. For example, you can add an image to a post or page directly from the post or page edit
screen. However, these images will still show up in the gallery. Conversely, if you add an image
directly to the media gallery, it is accessible from the Content section of your pages.

Choosing a theme for your WordPress website

While the most critical piece of any website is the content, you should also give careful attention
to your theme.

The theme affects how your website is displayed and the overall
impression it gives to your visitors.
There are many things to consider when choosing a good theme. Overall, you want a theme
that is stable, clean and easy to work with. Many themes are also highly customizable, allowing
you to change colors and backgrounds with ease. This can help you achieve a more unique
look that better suits your website design idea.
Adding content to your WordPress website
Nearly all content is added via a post or a page in WordPress. Adding content to a page and
post are handled the same way.

 Click to add a new page or post.

 Enter the title information. Think of this as your main idea or headline.
 Enter your content in the larger box.
You will see two tabs on the right, Visual and Text. Make sure you are editing in the Visual tab.
The Text tab shows you the code markup if you need to make specific code changes.

Within the content box, you can add bolded text, italics, or even insert images. To insert images,
click Add Media. The buttons across the top of the content box provide additional functionality.
If you want an item to be properly formatted as a headline or sub-headline, for example,
highlight the text and change the format from “paragraph” to “Heading 1,” “Heading 2”, etc.
Along the right-hand side, you will see some additional options. Setting a featured image, for
instance, automatically sets the thumbnail image that goes along with posts in many themes.
You can also save an item in draft format if it is not yet finished. This saves your changes, but
does not make them live to your website. Only posts and pages that are published will be
visible.
There is so much that WordPress can do that we have hardly scratched the surface. If you
would like to learn more, check out the WordPress Codex and the WordPress article archive on
Garage. Good luck, and have building your first WordPress website!