What Web site is
A place on the World Wide Web that's comprised of files organized into a hierarchy. Each file or document contains text or graphics that appear as digital information on a computer screen. A site can contain a combination of graphics, text, audio, video, and other dynamic or static materials. As a form of media, Web sites are similar to motion pictures, television, or print magazines, which also create and manipulate digital pictures and text. But a Web site is also a communications medium.
The main difference between a Web site and traditional media is that a Web site is on a computer network (the Internet) and is coded in such as way that allows users to interact with it. Once you're on a site, you can make purchases, do searches, send messages, and other interactive activities.
As is the case with many Net terms, "Web site" is often used interchangeably with other words, such as homepage and Web page. For example, you may hear someone refer to their "homepage" when in fact they are talking about an entire Web site. (A homepage is usually a vanity page.) Like homepage, "Web site" is often spelled as one word and not capitalized, as in, "website."
It is important for Web developers to establish a style guide for consistency, which among other things should state whether the preferred usage is the single-word or two-word form. We feel that the two-word form is more grammatically correct; the single-word form is rarely used outside of marketing campaigns. At its bare minimum, a Web site is simply any computer hooked up to the Internet and available via a host name, domain name, or URL.
The meaning of Network
The term actually has many different meanings depending on the person, company, or context in which it is being used. Basically, it is a collection of two or more computers and associated devices that are linked together with communications equipment. Once connected, each part of the network can share the software, hardware, and information contained in the other parts.
The most common types of network are LANs (Local Area Networks, in which the computers share the same office space, room, or building) and WANs (Wide Area Networks, in which LANs are connected at different geographic locations by telephone lines or radio waves, as in wireless communications). Network connections are established by twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, connectors, or NICs (network interface cards). Network computing depends on protocols that work with a variety of operating systems and network hardware (see: IEEE and ISO). When you hear someone talking about "sharing network resources," they are referring either to client/server networks or peer-to-peer networks.
Also, you may hear Internet companies refer to their "network of Web sites," a group of associated sites that's analogous to a television network or cable TV network. If you have a small business that uses a network for Internet access and file sharing, be sure to have a firewall installed, to protect yourself from unauthorized access.
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