Website

A website is a place on the web.

It has many pages. You can find news or games there.

You use a device to see it. You can use a phone or a computer. You use a special app to look at it.

This app is called a browser.

Some sites stay the same for a long time. Other sites change to show new things. You can even use them to buy things. It is fun to explore the web!

A website is a group of web pages. All these pages share one name. They live on a web server.

You can use many tools to see them. These tools are called web browsers. You can use a phone or a laptop.

Some websites are static. These sites stay the same for a long time. They show the same info to everyone. It is like a printed brochure. Other sites are dynamic. These sites change often. They can show new news or special info just for you.

Tim Berners-Lee made the World Wide Web in 1989. In 1993, the web became free for everyone. This helped it grow very fast. There are over one billion websites now. Many sites are for fun or news. Some sites are for e-commerce. This is a way to buy things online. Some sites also use a freemium model. This means basic parts are free. You must pay for the best parts.

A website is a collection of web pages. These pages share a single domain name. They are stored on a computer called a web server.

Most sites focus on one topic. Some sites share news or help with learning. Other sites are for shopping or social media. You can visit them using a web browser. This app works on phones, tablets, or laptops. All public websites together make the World Wide Web.

Websites work in two main ways. Static websites are like a printed brochure. They show the same information to every visitor. The owner must manually change the text or photos. Dynamic websites are different because they change automatically. They use computer code to build pages on the fly. This allows a site to show personal info. For example, a store site might show search results for the Beatles. This changes the page based on what you type.

The World Wide Web has a famous history. Tim Berners-Lee created it in 1989. He was a computer scientist at CERN. In 1993, CERN made the Web free for everyone. This choice helped the Web grow very fast. Before the current system, people used other ways to find files. They used things like the gopher protocol. These older ways used simple lists of files. They did not have the fancy layouts we see today.

There are many huge numbers to know about the Web. In 1995, there were only about 19,000 websites. By 2009, that number grew to over 215 million. The Web reached 1 billion sites in 2014. By March 2016, it passed 1 billion again. In 2021, there were over 1.2 billion websites. These sites live on millions of different computers. However, about 85 percent of all websites are now inactive. This means they are not being used anymore.

Websites connect to many things you use every day. You might use a site for e-commerce to buy goods. Some sites use a freemium model for their work. This means basic parts are free to use. You must pay for the premium parts. You can also find sites that require a subscription. These are used for news or special gaming. Many people visit Google, YouTube, or Facebook every single day. These sites help us stay connected to the whole world.

A website is a collection of web pages identified by a common domain name. These pages are published on at least one web server, which is a computer that stores the site's data. Websites usually focus on a specific purpose, such as education, news, or social media. Users access these sites through a web browser on devices like smartphones, tablets, or laptops. All publicly accessible websites together make up the World Wide Web. Some websites are private and only work on internal networks for specific groups, like employees at a company.

Websites function in two primary ways: they are either static or dynamic. A static website stores pages in a fixed format on the server. These pages are primarily coded using Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML. Cascading Style Sheets, known as CSS, are used to control the visual appearance of the site. Because the information is pre-defined, every visitor sees the same content. This is similar to handing out a printed brochure to a customer. To change a static site, an owner must manually edit the text or photos.

Dynamic websites are more complex because they change or customize themselves automatically. These sites use computer code to generate HTML pages "on the fly" when a user requests them. Various software systems, such as CGI or Java Servlets, help create these dynamic environments. Web application frameworks in languages like Python or PHP make it easier to build them. A dynamic site can show personalized information to a specific user. For example, a retail site uses a database to show search results. If you search for "Beatles," the page spontaneously changes to show related products.

Modern websites also use interactive technologies to improve the user experience. In the past, users needed plug-ins like Adobe Flash Player to see video or audio. Today, HTML5 allows for audio and video without needing extra software. JavaScript is built into most browsers and lets creators modify page content interactively. The browser uses a Document Object Model, or DOM, to represent the content internally. For 3D graphics, a tool called WebGL allows for interactive animations. Many sites also use responsive design. This means the layout changes to fit the specific device being used.

The history of the web began with Tim Berners-Lee. He was a computer scientist at CERN in 1989 when he created the World Wide Web. On April 30, 1993, CERN announced the Web would be free for anyone to use. This decision caused the Web to grow immensely. Before the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, people used other methods like the gopher protocol. These older protocols used simple directory structures to find and download files. Most early documents were just plain text without any special formatting.

The growth of the web has been massive over the decades. In August 1995, there were only 19,732 websites. By 2009, that number reached 215,675,903. The Web hit a milestone of 1 billion websites in September 2014. While the count sometimes dips due to inactive sites, it grew past 1 billion again by March 2016. In April 2021, there were 1,212,139,815 websites across over 10 million computers. However, an estimated 85 percent of all websites are currently inactive.

Websites use different business models to function. Some use e-commerce to sell products directly to users. Others use a freemium model, where basic content is free but premium content requires payment. Some sites rely on advertising to make money. Many services, such as news or gaming, require a subscription. Websites are also part of a larger ecosystem of digital tools. They connect users to social networks, email, and real-time stock market data. This connectivity makes the web a central part of modern life.