What is a Web Site?

It's Time for School!

Large Print.

To make the size of the print larger on your computer so it is easier to read, click on this Large Print link, and then follow the instructions. Then to return to this page, click on the BACK button at the top of your screen

Introduction.

The following is a very basic explanation of what a "web site" is. Along with the explanation of basic terms, there are some lessons that are designed to teach you how to move around on your web site. If you don't have basic computer skills and you would like to try some of the lessons, ask a friend to help you.

You can simply read the explanation of basic terms if you don't want to take the lessons.

If you do decide to take some of these lessons, it is important to remember that you can always return to THIS page at any time by just clicking on the underlined phrase "What is a Web Site." This phrase will always be located in the underlined list of page names located at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen. Do you see it?

If you have a printer, you can print this page to make it easier for you to follow the instructions for some of the lessons.

What is a Web Site?

A "web site" can consist of just one page, or it can have many pages. Some web sites consist of hundreds of pages!

Look at the list located at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen. Find the underlined word "Home."

A web site always begins with a "Home Page." The "Home Page" is always the first page that you go to when you visit a web site.

Sometimes there are other pages on a web site along with the "Home Page."

These other pages are always "linked" to the Home Page. When we say that a page is "linked" to the Home Page, we simply mean that it is "connected" to the Home Page.

How to Move Around
in a Web Site

There are two ways that you can move from one page to another in a web site.

Look at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen. You will see a list of underlined page names. These underlined words are the names of all of the different pages in this web site. You can click on any of these underlined words and you will go to the page with that same name. This is the first way to move around on your web site.

Lesson 1: Click on each underlined page name located at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen until you have visited all of the pages on this web site. When you are done, return to this page which is called "What is a Web Site."

The second way to move around on your web site is a little different than the first way. At the very bottom of this page you will see three underlined words. The underlined words are: "Back," "Home," and "Next." Some or all of these three words will appear on most of the pages of this web site.

You can go to the Home Page from almost any of the other pages by clicking on the underlined word "Home" located at the very bottom of most of the pages. This gives you a second way to reach the Home Page, because you can also click on the underlined word "Home" located at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen. You can choose which way is the most convenient for you.

You can move back and forth between the pages of this web site by clicking on the underlined "Back" and "Next" words. Following is an explanation of these two functions.

You can go from one page to the next page by clicking on the underlined word "Next" located at the very bottom of almost every page.

Lesson 2: Look at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen and find the underlined page name "E-Mail Directory." Click on that page name to go to the "E-Mail Directory" page. When you are on the "E-Mail Directory" page, look at the very bottom of the page and find the underlined word "Next." Click on the underlined word "Next" and you will go to the next page of the web site. Now find the underlined word "Next" at the very bottom of that page and click on it to go to the next page. Keep doing this for all of the pages until you return to this page, which is titled "What is a Web Site?."

You can also go from one page to a previous page (moving backward through the web site) by clicking on the underlined word "Back" located at the very bottom of almost every page.

Do you see how every page is connected to every other page? That is what is meant by the word "web" in "web site." Each page of a web site is linked to the Home Page, and most of the pages are linked to each other as well.

Learning about Links

When you see an underlined word, phrase, or sentence anywhere on a web site, the underline is almost always a signal that the word, sentence or phrase is a "link" to that subject.

Lesson 3: Look at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen and find the underlined page name "Home." Click on that page name to go to the "Home" page. When you are on the "Home" page, look in the 4th paragraph for the underlined page name "Topic of the Week." Click on the underlined "Topic of the Week" name, and this link will take you to the Topic of the Week page of this web site. Now look in the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen for the name of this page, "What is a Web Site?" and click on it to return to this page.

Sometimes you can have a link on a web site page that will take you to an entirely different web site!

Lesson 4: In this next exercise, you will actually be LEAVING this web site and visiting another web site. Wait until someone is around to help you before you do this, because you may need help finding your way back to THIS web site.

Look at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen and find the underlined page name "Web Sites to Visit." Click on that page name to go to the "Web Sites to Visit" page. When you are on that page, look down the list of web sites and find one you would be interested in visiting and then click on its link (the underlined web site address).

Now, to get back to this web site, look at the VERY top of your computer screen for a gray bar. In the upper-left hand corner of this gray bar you will see two arrows pointing in different directions. This is another "back" button. Keep clicking on the arrow pointing to the left until you return to this web site page.

What is the Internet?

The "internet" consists of hundreds of thousands of web sites.

Usually each web site has many links that connect it to many other web sites. The resulting maze of connected web sites can be thought of as a sort of "net."

Think of a big fishing net. If we could actually see the internet, it would look a lot like a big fishing net. That is where the word "net" in "interNET" comes from.

Visiting a web site just for the fun of it is called "Surfing the Net" because you are "surfing" from one web site to another on the internet. In fact, you can now say that you have truly "surfed the net" because you have already visited THIS web site.

Lesson 5: Look at the upper left-hand corner of your computer screen and find the underlined page name "Hometown Newspapers." Click on that page name to go to the "Hometown Newspapers" page. Look through the list of links to newspaper web sites. Click on any of the newspaper links and its web site.

Congratulations!

You have just finished Basic Web Site Class! You can repeat these lessons and study this page as many times as you want. Soon you will be comfortable moving around on your web site all by yourself. Before you know it, you can begin visiting the web sites of people and businesses located all over the world! Then you will understand what we mean when we say that the "Elders Without Walls web site brings the world to your door!" Happy surfing!

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