Website basics, simply explained
What is a domain name?
Understand what your business domain identifies, how it differs from a page address and why its renewal account should stay under your control.
Website basics, simply explained
New to websites? Understand domains, SSL, hosting and everyday web terms, with examples you can use without buying a service.
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27 guides to explore
Website basics, simply explained
Choose a domain customers can remember
Shortlist a clear business domain, test its spelling and email use, and check ongoing costs before putting a new address on your marketing.
Website basics, simply explained
.co.uk, .uk or .com: choosing your address
Compare familiar domain endings for a UK business without assuming you need every variation, a new website or a guaranteed search advantage.
Website basics, simply explained
What is DNS, in plain English?
Understand how DNS connects your business address to a website and email, and why its records matter even when you never edit them yourself.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a subdomain?
Understand addresses such as shop.example.co.uk, how they differ from pages and why each connected service needs its own access and security checks.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a URL? Reading a website address
Learn the parts of a web address so you can share the right page, recognise lookalike destinations and avoid exposing private links in support requests.
Website basics, simply explained
What is web hosting?
Understand what hosting supplies, what a website needs to run and which responsibilities to check before buying or changing a hosting service.
Website basics, simply explained
Shared hosting and managed service are different
Separate the infrastructure behind a hosting package from the people and tasks included in website management, and compare the responsibilities clearly.
Website basics, simply explained
What are SSL and TLS?
Understand the technology behind a secure website connection, what a certificate helps establish and what it does not promise about a business.
Website basics, simply explained
HTTPS versus HTTP: what changes?
Learn why your public website should use HTTPS, how an old HTTP link should behave and why a secure address is only one part of a safe customer journey.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a CDN?
Understand how a content delivery network can serve website resources, why it does not replace every hosting function and what to check when content looks old.
Website basics, simply explained
What is website caching?
Learn why websites reuse saved responses, how that can speed up visits and which questions help when a published change is not visible everywhere.
Website basics, simply explained
What does bandwidth mean for a website?
Understand the difference between connection capacity and a hosting data-transfer allowance, with a simple example of how downloads affect usage.
Website basics, simply explained
Website storage is not the same as bandwidth
Compare the space your website occupies with the data it transfers, and learn which usage figures matter when you receive a hosting-limit warning.
Website basics, simply explained
301 and 302 redirects: what is the difference?
Understand permanent and temporary page redirects, choose a useful destination for old links and avoid sending every missing page to the homepage.
Website basics, simply explained
What does a 404 page mean?
Understand a page-not-found response, distinguish it from a whole-site outage and gather the original link so a missing-page issue can be repaired.
Website basics, simply explained
What does a 500 server error mean?
Understand a server-side failure, capture a useful report and avoid duplicate payments or risky live-site changes while the cause is investigated.
Website basics, simply explained
What should a website backup contain?
Understand backups, restore points and recovery checks so you know whether your website can actually be recovered rather than merely copied.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a staging website?
Understand a separate website testing environment, what it can help verify and why copying it onto the live site needs careful handling of new data.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a CMS?
Understand a content management system, how it helps with website editing and which responsibilities remain even when you do not write code.
Website basics, simply explained
What is a website plugin?
Understand how plugins add website features, what to check before adding one and why removing an unfamiliar plugin can break an important function.
Website basics, simply explained
Website themes and custom design explained
Learn the difference between a website theme, a template and custom design, and ask clearer questions about what a website proposal includes.
Website basics, simply explained
What is responsive website design?
Understand how a responsive website adapts to different screens and use practical checks for menus, content and buttons on phones and computers.
Website basics, simply explained
What is your browser cache?
Understand the temporary website files kept by your browser, why an old image can linger and how this differs from cookies, history and passwords.
Website basics, simply explained
Website cache or browser cache: what to check
Work out where an outdated website view may be coming from before clearing anything, and avoid removing sign-ins or disrupting a live checkout.
Website basics, simply explained
Check a website in a private browser window
Use a fresh private browsing session to compare a public website without changing your normal sign-in, and understand what this check cannot prove.
Website basics, simply explained
A browser and a search engine are different
Understand the difference between Chrome or Safari and Google search, so you can report the right problem when a website is missing or looks wrong.