A website is essentially a collection of interconnected files stored on a remote computer called a server. These files include HTML for structure, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for interactivity. When organized together in folders on the server, they form what we know as a website.
Have you ever wondered what really happens when you visit a website? Every day, billions of people type URLs into their browsers and instantly see web pages. But there's a fascinating process happening behind the scenes that most people never see.
The client-server architecture is fundamental to how websites work. Your device, called the client, sends requests to a web server. The server processes these requests and responds by sending back the website files. This request-response cycle happens every time you visit a webpage.
Before your browser can connect to a website, it needs to find the server's IP address. This process is called DNS resolution. When you type a URL, your browser first asks a DNS server to translate that human-readable domain name into an IP address that computers can understand.
HTTP is the protocol that enables communication between browsers and servers. When you request a webpage, your browser sends an HTTP request containing the method, headers, and URL path. The server responds with an HTTP response that includes a status code, headers, and the actual webpage content.
Once your browser receives the website files, it begins the rendering process. First, it parses the HTML to build the DOM tree, then applies CSS styling rules, executes JavaScript for interactivity, and finally renders the complete webpage. Additional resources like images and fonts continue loading in the background. This entire process, from typing a URL to seeing a webpage, happens in just seconds!
Domain names like google.com are human-friendly addresses that need to be translated into IP addresses that computers understand. The Domain Name System, or DNS, acts like the internet's phone book. When you type a URL, your browser asks a DNS server to look up the corresponding IP address, then uses that IP to connect to the actual web server.
HTTP is the protocol that defines how browsers and servers communicate. When you request a webpage, your browser sends an HTTP request with a method like GET, headers containing metadata, and the URL path. The server responds with an HTTP response containing a status code, headers, and the requested content. Status codes like 200 OK indicate success, while 404 means the page wasn't found.
Now let's see the complete journey of how websites work. When you click a link, your browser first asks DNS to resolve the domain name to an IP address. Then it sends an HTTP request to the web server, which processes the request and responds with the website files. Finally, your browser renders the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to display the complete webpage. This entire process happens in just a few hundred milliseconds!