How Websites Work, Part 1: Servers and IP Addresses

When I started my first website , I was a generally tech-savvy person with no idea whatsoever about how websites and the Internet worked. I knew you typed an address in the address bar, but I assumed the rest was taken care of by magical pixies or something.

I really wanted someone to explain how things worked and how they related to each other, but there weren’t any good resources around (this was in the infancy of YouTube, remember). So I did what any sensible person would do: I joined a web-hosting company, read a shitload of books, drew myself diagrams, took some Microsoft certifications, and figured it all out eventually. I enjoyed the learning, but it was damned frustrating trying to assemble the pieces.

I want to save you that frustration! If you know flat out nothing about websites like I did, or if you know some things but there are gaps, this video is the first in a series explaining in very plain English how websites work. This first episode is about the computers that host websites and how we communicate with them.

I’d love to know that this video has helped you, so if it has please leave a comment below!

P.S. One hundred thousand thanks to Elizabeth Potts Weinstein and her stunningly helpful free guides at 4 Weeks To Video. I’ll be paying for the full course as soon as $97 frees itself up!

Chock-full of tasty learning and want some more? Part 2 on domain names is here!

http://www.beawesomeonline.com/how-domain-names-work How Websites Work, Part 2: Domain names | Be Awesome Online

[...] time I talked about servers and IP addresses, and this time we build on that to include how domain names come into the [...]
http://www.timothyjohnsoniii.com Timothy Johnson III

I thought the video was excellent! The concept of the Web being a series of computers connecting with servers, through their IP address, was quite easily digestible. Being on video, for the first, can be extremely nerve wracking. I’ve only done it once, and before I made the final video, I practiced exactly what I was going to say, about 10 times, and even when I made the final video, I was still nervous. I guess one’s video presence gets better with practice?
http://www.BeAwesomeOnline.com Catherine Caine

Thanks! It gets a LOT easier with practice, I promise. I keep meaning to re-shoot this series with my new (decent) camera and the new calmness, but it always seems to be a later-on thing.