The difference between a website and
a homepage
is a question so difficult to define that even those in the IT and web industries are at a loss for answers. In other words, there are parts that each person has a different interpretation of. However, if you look into the history and terms related to websites and homepages, you will find that there is a definite difference between a website and a homepage.
In this article, we will explain the history of the web, the difference between a website and a homepage, and what happens when a user views a web page, so please use this article as a reference to deepen your knowledge.
history of the web
First, let’s unravel the history of the web in the first place. The history of the Web can be broadly divided into three stages:
I will explain each in turn.
Started at the Swiss research institute “CERN”
The web was first created by the Swiss research institute CERN. Thousands of researchers come and go at this research institute, and it can be difficult to understand what information each other has, or it can take a very long time to find specific data, which can reduce work efficiency. There were some bad problems.
The Web began when Tim Berners-Lee, who was working at the institute at the time, made it possible to access the institute’s data and information through links. This has made it easier to access information within the research institute, resulting in a significant increase in work efficiency.
Web browser site was born in 1991
Web development started at CERN, the Swiss research institute mentioned above, but compared to today, it was not something that could be easily used by users all over the world. However, many researchers and people in charge focused on web development, and in 1991, about two years after development, the world’s first web browser and website were born.
In 1991, the core of how websites worked was hypertext. Hypertext is a document that connects web pages to each other. It may be easier to understand if you imagine it as a document that has a function that allows you to move to a web page by clicking on it, such as what we would call an “internal link” or “external link” today.
A web browser called a “WWW client” was also developed. This is a browser that translates text specified on your computer so that it can be read by the human eye. In modern times, a typical example is Google Chrome.
With the creation of these two web browsers and websites, gradually more users will be able to access specific information using the web.
Founding of W3C
Since the first web browser and website were created in 1991, many other web browsers have been created. However, each of them has independent rules, and it is true that those who want to publish a new website have to take over the rules each time.
In order to improve efficiency, the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) was created to establish common rules for web browsers and websites. W3C was created in 1994 to standardize the Web.
Since then, standardized rules have been applied to all browsers, so the history of the web has changed so that development can proceed using the same mechanism no matter what country or language it is in.
What is the difference between a website and a homepage?
So far, we have explained the history of the web. However, this information alone is insufficient to understand the difference between a website and a homepage. From here, we will explain the web industry terminology necessary to understand the difference between a website and a homepage.
What is Web?
In the first place, there may be few people who have a clear understanding of the outline of the Web. Web is an abbreviation for “World Wide Web,” and is a document publishing and viewing system that is standardly used on the Internet.
Web also has the meaning of “spider’s web.” The hypertext mentioned above is a typical example of a spider’s web, and since it is possible to go back and forth between the parts where they connect, the web represents that structure as a spider’s web.
What are web browsers and web servers?
Next, you also need to know about web browsers and web
servers
. First of all, a web browser is a mechanism that understands the content received by a server and displays it on the screen in an easy-to-understand manner for humans.
Next, a web server is a software or computer that provides information on the web. Please note that the information provided by web servers varies. Typical examples include “domain name” and “directory.”
The server provides this information to the browser, and the browser displays it to the user in an easy-to-understand manner. This is the relationship between a web browser and a web server.
What are websites and web pages?
Next, we will explain about websites and web pages. Simply put, a website is a collection of multiple web pages.
First, the basic unit of information on a website is the web page. The information unit of a web page is a markup language such as `
`HTML
” or “
CSS
.”
HTML is an abbreviation for “Hypertext Markup Language”, and it allows you to specify the main text, links, headings, etc. CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) is used to adjust their appearance. By using CSS, you can decorate the text within the body and change the shape of headings.
In addition to the text mentioned above, it is also possible to embed elements such as images, forms, and videos on web pages. A website is a collection of web pages made up of these, and it may be easier to understand if you think of it as a “website = database of various information”.
What is a web application?
A web application is a service that uses a computer program to process data dynamically, rather than sending files statically like the websites mentioned above. For example, you can change the displayed content or change the transition page depending on each user’s action.
Typical examples of web applications include e-commerce shops and SNS. These are returned dynamically by the server, allowing users to interact with each other.
Difference between web and internet
As mentioned above, the Web refers to the document publishing and viewing system that is standardly used on the Internet. The biggest difference between the Web and the Internet is the breadth of their scope.
While the Web is a document publishing system, the Internet is a general term for communication technology between computers. In other words, the Web exists within the Internet. Basically, it is safe to assume that the Internet includes all of the Web.
Difference between website and homepage
Up to this point, we have explained all the terms and mechanisms used on the web. “Home” also has the meaning of headquarters or headquarters, and on top of that, homepage has the meaning of “first page” of a website. In addition, the first page that appears when you view a browser is sometimes called the home page.
In other words, the different uses of websites, homepages, and web pages are as follows.
As you can see, you can see that there is a clear difference between a website and a homepage. In Japan, the terms “website” and “homepage” are considered to be synonymous, but if you look at the meanings in detail, there are differences as described above.
What happens when a user views a page
So far, we have explained the differences between a website and a homepage. This section explains what happens on the web when a user views a page.
The client receives data from the web server. Displays the received data on the browser side.
All that’s happening on the web is the two simple steps above. First, the client (smartphone/PC) receives data such as “links” and “text” from the web server. The web browser reads the received data and sends a response to the smartphone or PC. This allows the page to be viewed.
Summary: The difference between a website and a homepage is clear
We have explained the difference between a website and a homepage. Finally, we summarize each of them once again as follows.
In other words, a homepage is a type of website, and a website is a collection of web pages. In addition, the meaning of each term differs depending on the industry and business type, and also differs from country to country. In Japan, the term “website” means homepage, but in other countries, the usage is clearly divided, so why not try to use it differently depending on the person you are talking to?