How the Web Works 🌐

What Happens When You Visit a Website?

Every time you go to a website, a lot happens in less than a second:

1. You type a URL like google.com into your browser
2. Your computer asks a DNS server to look up the address (like a phone book)
3. Your browser sends an HTTP request to that server: "Give me this page, please!"
4. The server sends back an HTTP response with the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
5. Your browser reads those files and renders (draws) the page on your screen

Key Terms

• 🌎 Browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari. Reads HTML/CSS/JS and shows you the page.
• 🖥 Server — A computer that stores website files and sends them to browsers.
• 🔗 URL — The address of a page: https://okstem.org/courses
• 👥 HTTP/HTTPS — The rules for how browsers and servers talk. HTTPS is encrypted (secure).
• 📄 HTML — The structure of the page (like a building's frame).
• 🎨 CSS — The style of the page (like paint and decorations).
• ⚙ JavaScript — The behavior of the page (like the electricity that makes things work).

Frontend vs Backend

Web development has two sides:

• 🖥 Frontend — what you see and interact with. HTML, CSS, JavaScript. Runs in your browser.
• 🔦 Backend — the behind-the-scenes logic. Databases, servers, user accounts. Runs on the server.

This course focuses on frontend development. By lesson 18, you will deploy a live site!