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What is a web site?
A web site is the front end of your operation; it is what your visitors and potential customers will see. A web site is usually designed to cater to your expected traffic types and create the largest visitor to customer ratio possible. Much like a tradeshow, situated amongst a variety of companies and competitors, you want to stand out and get the most traffic to your booth. Think of the Internet as the world's biggest tradeshow, and your web site is your booth.
What is a domain name?
A domain name marks your place on the web. Much like a telephone number, people find and contact you using your domain name. The most common domain names end in .com, .net, and .org (such as lfchosting.com); however, there are numerous other suffixes available. Your domain name can also be used for your e-mail address making it easier to remember.
Why do I need a web site?
The need for a web site has evolved over the last five years from almost non-existent, to an absolute necessity for any business. Unlike the traditional local retailer, with a web site you're able to do business without time or location restrictions. Web sites, besides selling products, are also useful for making public announcements, providing support to your customers, receiving feedback from your visitors, and much more.
How does a web site work?
A web site consists of a number of files, including text, graphics, and scripts, which all work together to give you the desired look, feel, and functionality. These files are then stored on a computer connected to the Internet (referred to as a Web Server) so other people may view them. Your domain name (explained above) points to this computer storing your files so your potential customers can simply type in your domain name, and the Internet will locate the computer with your web site and display it. The computer storing your information must be extremely powerful and have a number of high end software applications installed to process and respond to visitor requests accordingly. In addition, an exceptionally fast connection to the Internet is needed to process the visitor requests in a timely manner. Most people and businesses do not have the resources to run a web server, that's where web hosting comes in.
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