HTML 6 : 🌐 How HTML Web Page Hosting Works: Server, Domain, URL & Database Explained

 

🌐 How HTML Web Page Hosting Works: Server, Domain, URL & Database Explained

Creating a website is more than just writing HTML code. Behind every page you see on the internet, there's a network of servers, domain names, and often a database managing content. Let’s break it down step by step.

🧾 1. What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a service that stores your website’s files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc.) on a server, making them accessible on the internet.

💡 Think of it like this:

  • Your HTML files are like the furniture in a house.

  • A web host (server) is the house.

  • The internet is the road system that connects people to your house.

🖥️ 2. What is a Web Server?

A web server is a computer that:

  • Stores website files (HTML, CSS, images, etc.).

  • Responds to requests from browsers.

  • Sends back the right content via HTTP/HTTPS protocols.

Example:

When you visit https://example.com/about.html, here's what happens:

  1. The browser contacts the server where example.com is hosted.

  2. The server looks for a file called about.html.

  3. It sends that file back to your browser, which displays it.

Common Web Servers:

  • Apache

  • NGINX

  • Microsoft IIS

  • Node.js (custom apps)

🌍 3. What is a Domain Name?

A domain name (like example.com) is the human-readable name of a website. It maps to an IP address (like 93.184.216.34) of the server where the site is hosted.

How it works:

  1. You type example.com into your browser.

  2. Your browser asks a DNS server (Domain Name System) to translate that to an IP address.

  3. The browser then connects to that IP and requests the web page.

🔗 4. What is a URL?

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It specifies:

  • Protocol (HTTP/HTTPS)

  • Domain name (e.g., example.com)

  • Path (e.g., /about.html)

  • Optional parameters (?user=123)

Example URL:

https://example.com/products/shoes?id=42

  • https:// → Protocol

  • example.com → Domain name

  • /products/shoes → Page path

  • ?id=42 → Query parameters

Each HTML file or web page has a unique URL.

💾 5. Where Is the Server?

Servers can be located:

  • In data centers (physical hosting)

  • In the cloud (like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)

  • On your own computer (for local development)

You usually rent space on a server via hosting companies like:

  • Bluehost, HostGator (Shared hosting)

  • DigitalOcean, Linode (VPS hosting)

  • Netlify, Vercel (Static site hosting)

  • AWS, Google Cloud (Cloud hosting)

🛢️ 6. How Does Database Connection Work?

A database stores dynamic content such as user data, products, comments, etc.

Common Web Databases:

  • MySQL

  • PostgreSQL

  • MongoDB

  • SQLite

How HTML Connects to a Database:

HTML alone cannot connect to a database. You need a server-side language like:

  • PHP

  • Python (Django, Flask)

  • Node.js

  • Java (Spring)

  • Ruby (Rails)

Example:

When a user submits a login form:

  1. The form sends the data to a server script (e.g., login.php).

  2. The script connects to the database.

  3. It checks if the username and password exist.

  4. It sends a response back (e.g., "Login successful").

🔁 Data Flow Example:

User → Browser → HTML form → Server-side script (e.g., PHP) → Database (MySQL) → Server response → Browser output

🛠️ 7. How to Host an HTML Website: Step-by-Step

1. Create your files

index.html
about.html
style.css

2. Choose hosting

  • Free: GitHub Pages, Netlify

  • Paid: Bluehost, Hostinger

3. Upload files via:

  • FTP (FileZilla)

  • Hosting dashboard

  • Git (for GitHub Pages)

4. Connect a domain

  • Buy domain via Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc.

  • Update DNS to point to your hosting server

5. Test your URL

Visit https://yourdomain.com/index.html

🌟 Summary

Component Role
HTML/CSS/JS Defines the content, layout, and behavior of web pages
Web Server Hosts and serves the website files
Domain Name Human-friendly address that points to the server
URL Specific address for a web page
Database Stores and manages dynamic data
Server-side Connects front-end (HTML) with database and logic

🧠 Bonus: Tools for Beginners

  • Local server: XAMPP, WAMP (for PHP + MySQL)

  • Free hosting: GitHub Pages (static), Firebase, Netlify

  • IDE for coding: VS Code

  • Inspect HTML: Chrome DevTools (Right-click → Inspect)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 automation test cases for https://www.saucedemo.com/ (Sauce Demo)

 Here are 10 automation test cases for https://www.saucedemo.com/ (Sauce Demo), each with detailed steps and expected results . These are designed to simulate realistic user scenarios and we would be implemented using tools like Selenium, Cypress, or Playwright later. 🔹 Test Case 1: Valid Login Objective : Verify successful login with valid credentials. Steps : Navigate to https://www.saucedemo.com/ Enter Username : standard_user Enter Password : secret_sauce Click the Login button Expected Result : User is redirected to the inventory page ( /inventory.html ) with a list of products displayed. 🔹 Test Case 2: Invalid Login Objective : Validate error handling with incorrect credentials. Steps : Navigate to the login page Enter Username : invalid_user Enter Password : wrong_password Click the Login button Expected Result : Error message displayed: "Epic sadface: Username and password do not match any user in this service...
Read more

Java Roadmap for SDET Superstars!

Image
Java Roadmap for SDET Superstars! Your ultimate journey to mastering Java for test automation! Step 1: Java Basics – The Foundation Learn the grammar of Java 📚✨ 🧮 Variables & Data Types (int, float, boolean) ➕ Operators (+, -, *, /, %) 🔁 Loops (for, while, do-while) 🧠 Conditions (if-else, switch) 📦 Arrays & Strings Step 2: OOP – Think Like a Developer Become a Java ninja with Object-Oriented Programming 🐱‍👤⚔️ 🧱 Classes & Objects 🏗️ Constructors 👪 Inheritance 🎭 Polymorphism 🧬 Abstraction & Interfaces 🔐 Encapsulation Step 3: Exception Handling – Be Ready for Chaos Handle the unexpected like a pro! 🧨⚠️ try , catch , finally throw and throws 🚨 Custom Exceptions Step 4: Collections – Organize Like a Boss Work with lists, maps & sets like a data wizard 📦🪄 🗃️ List, Set, Map 🌀 ArrayList, HashMap, HashSet 🔁 Iteration (for-each, iterator) 🧠 Sorting & Filtering Step 5: Java 8+ – Modern & Cool Features Lev...
Read more

Mastering XPath in Selenium 4 🚀 – Supported Functions & Axes Explained

 Absolutely! Here's a complete list of XPath functions and axes supported by Selenium 4 (which uses XPath 1.0), with descriptions and examples . 🟢 XPath Features Supported by Selenium 4 🧭 ALL XPath Axes (13 Total) Axis Name Description ancestor:: All ancestors (parent, grandparent, etc.) of the current node ancestor-or-self:: All ancestors + the current node attribute:: All attributes of the current node (usually @attribute shorthand is used) child:: All direct children of the current node descendant:: All descendants (children, grandchildren, etc.) of the current node descendant-or-self:: All descendants + the current node following:: All nodes after the current node in the document following-sibling:: All sibling nodes after the current one namespace:: All namespace nodes of the current node (rarely used in HTML) parent:: Immediate parent of the current node preceding:: All nodes that come before the current node prece...
Read more