Difference Between Webpage, Website, Web Hosting Server, And Search Engine

When you cover the term ‘web hosting server,’ you may be confused about some related terms like the web page, website, search engine, etc.

Like any field of learning, the web comes with different juggling. Don’t worry; we won’t let you down. But there are some prerequisites that you should understand in the beginning because whenever you read this, you will hear these thoughts all the time. These terms are sometimes easy to confuse as they mention related but different features. Moreover, you’ll occasionally view these terms as being misused in the news and somewhere else. Therefore, it’s understandable to mix them up!

Here in this guide, we will comprehensively cover these terms and technologies to help you understand them more separately.

Web Page

A file can be seen in a web browser like Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Edge, or Apple’s Safari. They are also known as just “pages.” A web page is a simple document that can be displayed through a browser. These documents are written in HTML and can insert different resources, like:

style information — monitoring a page’s appearance and performance
scripts — apply interactivity to the page
media — pictures, voices, and videos.

Important point: Browsers can also show other documents like PDF files or pictures, but the term webpage particularly mentions HTML documents. Or else, we just use the term document.

You can access all web pages on the web through a unique URL. To reach them, just enter their address in your browser search bar.

For other comparative terms, see here; Virtual Dedicated Server vs. Virtual Private Server

Website

A group of web pages that are compiled together and generally linked to each other in different ways. It is also known as a “website” or a “site.” In simple words, a website is a group of related web pages that share a unique domain name. Each web page of a particular website gives apparent links in the form of a clickable test part. In this way, it permits the users to forward from one web page to another.

To reach a website, you can just type its domain name in your browser search bar. The browser will show you the website main page or home page.

The concept of a web page and a website can easily be intermingled, particularly for a website with only one web page. Hence, such a type of website is sometimes known as a one-page website.

Web hosting Server

A web hosting server is a system that hosts different websites. Hosting” clarifies that all the web pages and their backup files are located on that system. Generally, we can say that it is software or a program which allocates web pages as they are requested. The primary purpose of a web hosting server is to save, operate and send web pages to the users.

Do not intermingle website and web hosting server.

Don’t confuse websites and web hosting servers. For instance, when someone is saying that his website is not working, it means that the webserver is not responding. So that’s why there is a problem with his website working.

Most noteworthy, as a web hosting server can host numerous websites, a web server will never designate a website. This can lead to confusion. By saying that my web server is not working, several websites on that web server are not working.

Also read here: The benefits of a virtual hosting

Search Engine

The search engine is a web service that supports users in finding other relevant web pages that they entered in the search box, i.e., Google, Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo. Generally, they can also be accessed through a web browser. So, for example, you can do your search engine searches directly in the search bar of Firefox, Chrome, etc.

To consider it properly, see here what you would usually do when visiting a library:

Discover a search index and search for the label of the book you need.
Create a note of book list number
Now, forward to the specific section covering the book, find the exact catalog number, and meet the book.

Let’s make a comparison of this library with a web server:

This library is the same as a web server. It has many components, much like a web server that hosts numerous websites.
The different parts of the library, like science, math, history, etc., are like a website. Each piece is the same as a unique website (the two sections are not identical books).
The books in each part are the same as the web pages. A website can have numerous web pages; for example, the science part (website) will contain books on heat, sound, thermodynamics, statics, etc. Web pages can be seen at each unique address (URL).
Search Index is the same as a search engine. Each book in the library has its location) which is determined by the catalog number.

Search engines are a general misunderstanding source on the web. It is a particular type of website which supports the users to find web pages from other websites. However, you can also see that there are differences. Some of them are generic, and some are particular for special purposes. You can choose according to your preference as well as requirements.

Being a new user, you may easily be distracted between search engines and browsers. However, you can understand it more precisely in this way; a browser is a type of software that extracts and shows web pages. On the other hand, a search engine is a website that supports people in finding web pages from other websites. However, this distraction may come when someone launches a browser for the first time. A browser shows the home page of a search engine.

It is sensible, as the first thing you perform on a browser is to search a web page to show. So don’t focus on the structure to avoid confusion. Hopefully, this given detail will also help you understand the apparent difference between confusing terms.

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