If you're new to development of a website, don't feel left out. The proliferation of the web has only been since 1993 when a web browser was invented. Although it may seem somewhat complex to setup a website, it isn't too bad if you understand the core facts about domain names and web hosting. This guide is developed to introduce you to the world wide web, and describe the functions of web hosting, and technology involved in developing a website.

The World Wide Web, also known as www, web and w3, is one of the core service provided by the Internet. The world wide web started as a networked information project at CERN, and University of Illinois graduate Tim Berners-Lee, developed a web browser in 1993 which proliferated use of the web. The World Wide Web is comprised of mesh of hyperlinks that connects one website to another, and provides a means to access information available on the Internet at the convenience of point-and-click.

Web hosting is referred to as providing storage space for websites, and deliver thoses contents stored on the server when requested by the Internet users. A web hosting providers, also known as the web host, is also responsible for providing databases, email services, and other value-added services for publishing a website. No website can exist without a web host.

Now that we have basic understanding of world wide web and web hosting, we need to talk about Internet address. Think about mailman delivering a mail to your mailbox, and giving direction to your friend to find your house. You have a globally unique home address that anyone in the world can find you. Similarly, to allow anyone in the world to visit your website (or send email to you), you must have a globally unique internet address. An Internet address is composed of numbers that the computers can understand, but they are hard for humans to remember. To make Internet addresses human friendly, domain names come into play. The domain names and Internet addresses are administered by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority.

Domain name is a human readable Internet address. To setup a website or create an email address, you'll need a domain name. You may use someone else's domain name to create a website or create an email address, but what happens if the company or a friend providing you with a domain name vanishes. It takes time (and money if you own business) to advertise your website to the world, so why not start with your own domain name.

Domain name is comprised of at least two parts: top level domain (TLD) and second level domain (SLD). TLD is the names that ends with .COM, .NET, .ORG, .INFO, .BIZ, and etc. Each TLD is designed for a specific purpose, so choose the one that is right for you. If you're looking to build a business website, the .COM domain name is the right choice; and for non-profit organization, family or hobby website, the .ORG domain name will work.

The domain name that you can register from a registrar, is the second level domain (SLD) name followed by TLD. The domain names starts from right to left separated by a dot, so TLD is the rightmost name, SLD is the one before that, and third level domain name is the one before SLD, also known as subdomain name. To register a domain name, you'll have to pick a name that suits your purpose. A domain name can consist of alphabet, numbers, and - (dash). The name cannot start with a dash. The topwebhosts.org is the domain name we used to publish our web hosting website. You may choose to find one that meets your personal or business needs. You can register a domain name online at our domain names web page.

A web host provides you with storage space for your website, and also allows you to create email accounts using your domain name. Your web host delivers web contents to your visitors, and also provides email services. Since your website needs to be up 24x7 and you need uninterrupted email services, it is important that you find a reliable web host. We've published an article that will help you find a right web host.

The next step is building your web pages. There are many ways to develop web pages. If you're just starting out, HTML Editors such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver will work. If you're comfortable with HTML, you may choose to compose the web pages directly using HTML on any text editor. An alternate way to build a website is using the pre-built applications such as content management system (CMS), blog, bulletin board, or shopping cart. There are many freely available applications that you can use to build your website. Examples of such applications include Joomla, php-nuke, Wordpress blog, phpBB and osCommerce.

To learn about setting up an ecommerce website, please refer ecommerce setup article.

This article is written by Scott Seong, President and CEO of Edula, Inc. If you have questions or comments about this article, please forward them to feedback@edula.com.