View source for How to make a website

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''(Note: this is the fundamental page on this website. Everything starts here. But this page is still only half-finished, and most of the other pages it refers to are [[red links]].)''

Making a [[website]] can be very simple, or it can be very complicated. One should logically start with something simple and work up to more complicated. But most beginners, being unaware of all the possibilities, tend to start with something overly complicated, and suffer as result.

==Developer-hosted versus user-installed==
The simplest way to make a website is to sign up for a free [[blog]] on a [[developer-hosted platform]]. The website software is operated by the developer for the benefit of the blog authors. It is very easy to create your own personal blog using a default format. If you want to configure your blog to a personal format, most of these platforms will let you do so, but you will generally have to know [[HTML]] and [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]]. So this "simple" solution can rapidly become quite complicated.

It is somewhat more difficult, but much more rewarding, to learn to install your own websites. This is generally done by using a [[web hosting service]], which provides space on a [[web server]] that they own (or lease) and run, as well as the Internet connectivity. For more information on intalling a website on a [[web hosting service]], see [[How to install a website on a web server]].

A still more ambitious alternative is to rent your own [[web server]] from an [[internet hosting service]]. You can then install as many websites as you want on your own server (within limits, of course). For information on running your own web server, see [[How to run a web server]].

==Static websites versus dynamic websites==
There are fundamental differences between a [[static website]] and a [[dynamic website]]. A static website is far simpler to create, configure and manage. Novice [[webmaster]]s should logically start by making a static website, but they often begin by struggling to implement a dynamic site, through lack of familiarity with all of the alternatives.

The simplest form of [[static website]] is just a collection of [[static web page]]s, written in [[HTML]], and stored in the [[file system]] of the [[web server]]. These static web pages generally contain [[hyperlinks]], by which the pages point to each other, and which tie them together to make a "site." The webmaster needs few skills beyond a rudimentary knowledge of [[HTML]], for formatting the [[static web page]]s, and of [[FTP]] for installing the files on the [[web server]].

A [[dynamic website]] is a highly complex system, made up of a hierarchy of files written in a mixture of [[HTML]], [[CSS]] and a [[scripting language]], and connected to a [[database]]. The website script dynamically reconstructs the [[web page]] each time the server receives a request for the page from a client. It uses a standard format stored in the file system, and fetches the appropriate contect for each page element from the website's database. A [[dynamic website]] is generally implemented by using a [[Content Management System]] (CMS), selected from among the many that are available for creating and managing dynamic websites. While use of a CMS simplifies deployment of a [[dynamic website]], such deployment requires knowing how to install and use the CMS software, and generally also requires some knowledge of database management, scripting languages and other more advanced Internet skills.

==Installing your website on a web hosting service==
(To be written)

:See [[How to install a website on a web server]]

==Installing a test website on localhost==
(To be written)
:See [[How to install a website on localhost]].

==See also==
*[[How to install a website on a web server]]
*[[How to install a website on localhost]]
*[[How to run a web server]]

==Wikipedia Links==
*Developer hosted platforms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog_hosting_service#Developer-hosted_platforms
*User Hosted Platforms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog_hosting_service#User_hosted_platforms
*Web hosting service: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_hosting
*Static website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website#Static_website
*Dynamic website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website#Dynamic_website

==Other External Links==

[[Category:How-to]]
[[Category:Websites]]
[[Category:Draft]]