Websites are an integral part of the development of the internet, and currently their number reaches 1.9 billion worldwide. In fact, this number will continue to grow because the type of website continues to grow.
Initially, the website was for personal use purposes only. However, nowadays almost all companies have it. Call it, Facebook, Apple, BBC News and others,
Then, how did the history of the website get to what it is today? What are the functions of a website and its benefits that are most helpful for both personal and business life?
Don’t worry, you will find the answers to all these questions in this article! Starting from the understanding of the website, its history, to how to make it. Let’s see!
What is a Website?
Website is a collection of pages that contain certain information and can be accessed easily by anyone, anytime, and anywhere via the internet.
You can access the website by writing the URL in the website address in the browser. For example, when you type the URL https://heavenhosting.com/, you will enter the Heaven Hosting website.
So, to make it easier for visitors to access the information they are looking for, these pages are grouped in a menu that can be accessed from the main page.
Most websites already use this method to further enhance the visitor experience when accessing it. Then, how was the website when it was first created?
Website History
The world’s first website was created by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980s in the World Wide Web (W3) project. The website was officially launched online on August 6, 1991 with the URL http://info.cern.ch.
And on April 30, 1993, the website was introduced to the public and can be used free of charge by anyone, be it individuals, organizations, or companies. From there the website developed rapidly until now.
Website Elements
There are five very vital elements on a website. Without this element, the website cannot be found or accessed by internet users. What are the elements on the website?
1. Domain
You may have heard it many times, but what is the definition of a domain and its role on a website?
Understanding the domain is the address of a website. Initially, to visit a website you need to know the IP address marked with a series of numbers.
Because IP addresses are very difficult to remember, a system of “naming” website addresses was created. For example, niagahoster.co.id, youtube.com, google.com, and so on.
Well, you can use a domain name that matches the intent or purpose of the website. For example, using a business brand name, personal name, or the name of the topic of the website.
You can choose any name as your domain, as long as it’s short, easy to remember, spell and write. The goal is to make it easier for visitors to visit your website.
2. Hosting
Hosting or web hosting is a server where all your website files are stored and can be accessed and managed via the internet.
Hosting can be likened to a house and a website is the entire contents of the house, ranging from images, videos, text, and others.
3. Content
You certainly visit the website with a specific purpose, right? It can be for searching for information, shopping, or others.
Well, all that information is provided in the form of website content. With content, visitors can find information on a website in the form of images, videos, and even text.
So, the content displayed is an explanation of various products on several landing pages, information on product usage and topics about products in the form of blogs, to course pages that provide more value to consumers.
4. Programming Language (Code)
Tim Berners-Lee initially developed a website with the HTML programming language.
As the world of coding developed, several programming languages ??were created such as CSS to adjust the appearance of website elements, JavaScript to make websites more dynamic and interactive, and others.
These three programming languages, started to make many interesting websites popping up and gave birth to many great programmers who are able to make websites well.
However, website technology continues to develop so that people who do not have programming language skills can create websites with CMS (Content Management System), software to manage website content.
Currently, there are more and more CMS options that you can use. One of the most popular CMS is WordPress, which has been used by more than 30 million websites or equivalent to 60% of websites in the world.
5. Display
Information on a website is important, but a good appearance is also desired by visitors. In fact, 48% of internet users say that website design is a factor in determining its credibility, especially for business websites.
The appearance of the website is not only attractive, but also must be user friendly. That is, attractive thanks to the right color combination with a neat structure that makes it easy for users to access on all devices.
To create an attractive appearance by coding, the CSS programming language is used. However, if you use a CMS like WordPress, there are thousands of ready-to-use templates to choose from.
Currently, there are even many templates that make it easy for you to customize such as editing fonts, choosing font colors, setting layouts, and others.
Types of Websites and Examples
In general, there are two types of websites based on their nature, namely static websites and dynamic websites.
If the information remains or does not change, it is called a static website. Conversely, if the information on the website is always changing, it is called a dynamic website.
However, when viewed from the purpose of use, websites are divided into seven types, namely:
1. Personal Website
A personal website is a type of website owned by an individual, which is usually used for professional purposes or to convey personal opinions.
For example, you can show your various works or knowledge through a portfolio website.
In essence, you can build a website as you wish, as well as build personal branding
2. Online Store/E-commerce Website
This type of website is used as a shop in the online realm. The use of an online store website is very popular because it is considered to be able to run a business effectively, especially with a much wider online market share.
Online store websites have pages and menus that show the business activities of a place to shop. Among them are shopping cart features, checkout, catalog and product pages, and more.
You can also design an online store website with a layout according to your needs using typical business colors, logos, and so on.
3. Website Company Profile
Website company profile is a type of website that is used to show the existence of a company. So, when someone wants to find information about the company through the internet, this website is the main source
Not only that, the company profile website is also important to increase business credibility. This website will display profiles and various information about the company.
4. Community Website
Community website or forum website is a type of website that can be a forum for communicating for its users.
This website usually has facilities such as, users can create threads or content on various topics, then other people ask questions, comment, and so on.
From there, website visitors can interact with other visitors.
5. Website Gallery
As the name suggests, a gallery website is a type of website that displays visual content such as photos and videos.
Usually, gallery websites provide stock photos in large quantities and with high quality. You can get these photos for free or by purchasing a license and can be used to support content, ad visualizations, and more.
6. News Website
A news website is a type of website that aims to spread the latest news. This type of website is increasingly popular because currently the realm of offline news has begun to be abandoned.
Like newspapers, news portal websites contain the latest information on various topics, such as politics, health, the environment, and even interviews with certain figures.
7. Blog
A blog is a type of website that can contain a lot of article content, which is called a blog. Usually, blogs cover a specific niche or topic, such as finance, technology, beauty, culinary, and others.
Website Benefits You Need to Know
Without realizing it, the website has many benefits for everyday life, both for personal affairs, business, to society. So, what are the benefits?
1. Become a Media to Share Insights
If you have hobbies, knowledge, and experience in a certain field, you can make it your niche blog. For example, culinary, design, technology, travel, and others.
That way, you can share information with many people and at the same time communicate with people with similar interests to share experiences.
2. Become a Source of Income
Not only to convey personal opinions, websites can also be a source of income.
There are quite a few ways, through blog media you can earn income from Google AdSense ads, make paid posts as a blogger or promote certain products as an influencer.
In fact, there could be other ways to earn money from websites that you can create yourself according to your expertise.
3. Become a Business Platform
If you have a business, then the website can be your representation in the online world.
For example, even though you already have an offline store, you can open an online store to make it easier for potential customers to buy your products anytime and anywhere.
Not only as a reference for the most updated information about products for consumers, this website can be the most ideal place to carry out various interesting promotions.
4. Build Branding
Websites can also be used to build business branding. That’s because you can customize the website according to business needs that explain your online identity. For example, you can include a logo, brand identity, and so on.
Not only for businesses, websites can also be used to build personal branding. You can fill the website with various works or articles about the skills you master.
For example, the website can be used to build a personal portfolio. This is very useful when looking for a particular job or project.
5. Increase Business Credibility
By having an official website, consumers will know that your business really exists. Consumers know where to find information about products, contact customer service, and so on. That way, the credibility of the business can be maintained.
6. Business Development Tools
There is a lot of potential that you can do to grow your business through the use of a website. For example, digital marketing efforts, SEM or paid advertising strategies on search engines, SEO or optimization to be on the top page of Google searches, and others.
7. Become a Source of Information
Based on Hootsuite’s research, 202.6 million people in Indonesia search for information on the internet, equivalent to 73.7% of the total population. That means, websites can be a source of information, both news websites, community websites, blogs, and others.
8. Accessing Public Services
Websites can be owned by anyone, including agencies that provide public services, such as hospitals, banks, police stations, tax offices, and so on. That way, people can access services more easily and quickly.
9. Organizing Social Action
Not a few websites that are intended to organize social actions as a type of community website or the like.
One example, Kitabisa.com is a website where people can participate in fundraising to help people in need.
In addition, there is a change.org website which is a forum for solidarity by signing petitions, and others.
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