How the Web Works: a Cheesy Description
A Cheesy Description of How the Web Works, Literally Cheesy
Have you ever been curious about how the web works? How is it that you type in some words and you arrive at just the right page, with just the right information for the purchase you wanted in an eCommerce store? Here is a simple explanation of how the web works in a way you might be familiar with.
The internet is a network...a gigantic network comprised of computers, databases, files, and information. In my opinion, it is the pinnacle of human engineering and represents our need for information, learning, and progress. In the simplest way of describing the internet, everything is connected by way of clients and servers (no, the internet is not a series of tubes or holes, but thanks for trying Ted Stevens). You can think of the client as the computer that has a request for information and a server as the computer that contains the information and responds to the request with the needed information. Does that sound familiar at all?
Let's imagine for a moment that you, the reader, are the client. You are hankerin' for a of cheese. What do you do? You get up, go to the refrigerator, the server, and get that hunk of cheese. But let's expand this a bit because you exist in a world with more than cheese and refrigerators.
Our Scenario
Let's further imagine that the internet is a road, or all of the roads, turnpikes, highways, trails, and paths in the world. Let's make your house into the client, and a store several miles away the server. You are wanting to visit a store that has the most awesome pan in the world (and for some reason you also are still wanting cheese).
The Ingredients
- User: The actual consumer of the information or request being sent. This is you. Even having read this blog post, you are the user.
- Client: The machine, hardware, and browser you are using to make the request for information. Think of this as the house of the user.
- Internet connection: The ability to send and receive data. Think of this as the road(s) connecting your house and the store. Keep in mind there can be obstacles on this connection. Hackers, disabled sites, slow connections - oh my!
- TCP/IP: This is short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. This is the way the data is packaged and defines how data should travel as well as the mechanisms that allow you to view a page, order goods, and chat. This is like your car.
- DNS: The Domain Name System is the server in which the words you type in as the website address is translated to the IP address. Think of this as the Yellow Pages of the internet. You have to look up the address of the store before you can visit.
- HTTP: The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the common language established for clients and servers to communicate. Think of this as the user speaking English or Spanish to communicate with the cashier at the store.
- Server: The computer in which the requested information is stored. Think of this as the store you intended to visit.
- Files: These are the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, PDF, MP3, Excel documents that have the requested information. Think of this as being that awesome pan (and while you are here, maybe look at that cheese section, I heard the cheese is pretty good).
How Do We Get to the Store?
In day-to-day life, you would open the Yellow Page to get the address, get in the car, leave your house, drive to the store, buy the cheese (because you forgot to look at the pans), drive home, and have more cheese.
In terms of the internet, he's what happens:
- You type in the URL (the name of the website, for example https://studio1585.com). Your browser goes to the DNS to look up the IP address of that site. (This is the step in which you open the Yellow Pages and look up the address.)
- The browser sends out an HTTP request to the server, asking for a copy of the website. This request is sent by way of the internet using TCP/IP. This website will be sent to the client.
(This is the step in which you get in the car, buckle your seat belt, and drive to the shop.) - If the server finds the website, and everything is ok, a message "200 OK" is sent back approving the request and sends the needed files to the client.
(This is the step where you might ask a store employee for help finding the cheese and they take you to the cheese aisle, you pay and leave.) - The server sends small chucks of the files over the connection until the entire is sent. The browser then assembles the chunks and displays the website to you.
(This is the step you arrive home, get the plate out, and dive into that glorious hunk of cheese.) - You are satisfied with the website, and move on with your evening, probably to have more cheese.
Did you find this explanation helpful and easy to understand? Are there concepts that you'd like us to help you understand? Please reach out to us and we'd be happy to help. We are here to help you with you web design, branding, SEO, eCommerce store fronts, or any digital marketing services you might need.
