Solo Signal Series: The Web Stack Explained
Websites, at their core, are very simple things: a single file of plain text and markup that tells the user’s browser what to display. Sometimes there are hyperlinks, images and forms included on those pages, but that is typically as complex as the majority of websites ever get. So why does it cost so much to have a quality website developed? What takes place behind the curtains of a website?
As a visitor to a web page, you only see the final output of a series of tasks that must be completed to generate that page. I refer to the components that are responsible for executing these tasks as the Web Stack. The web stack contains approximately 8 levels, each essential for storing, generating and delivering any standard web page to the end user. Over the next two weeks we will go into detail on each of these pieces of the stack and explain how they relate to the overall web development process.
At the end of this series you will have an understanding of all the back-end processes involved in delivering web content to your users. I will also provide a graphic that visually represents the stack and shows exactly how all the pieces link to each other. This knowledge will be invaluable for you as you take on the task of architecting your own website (whether your build it yourself or outsource the work).
The Web Stack
- Physical Server and Infrastructure
- Webserver Software
- Database Management System
- Business Logic Programming
- HTML and Markup
- Cascading Style Sheets
- Graphic Design
- Client-side Scripting
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7 Responses to “Solo Signal Series: The Web Stack Explained”
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As a blogger and entrepreneur, I am least concerned with the technical requirements and inner workings of the Internet and websites. I am more concerned with how I can monitor the traffic coming through my website, i.e. where are the hits coming from? Where do my visitors go when they leave my site?
I am interested in learning how to create more buzz about my products and services, my blog, and getting my name out there so it’s recognized (developing my website name into a brand). While this may seem more of a marketing concern, it takes a special talent to advertise on the Internet. Different search engines find information in different ways.
I look forward to reading more blog posts concerning the behind-the-scenes technical workings of a website from a website traffic management and marketing approach.
[...] June 30th @ 9:20 pm by Aaron This is the first installment of our first series: The Web Stack Explained. Today we are going to talk about the first level of the stack: the physical [...]
Thomas, those are great questions. I will make sure that we cover all of those topics very soon, since I am pretty sure you are not the only reader curious about that. Stay tuned!
[...] July 2nd @ 7:20 pm by Aaron Part 2 of The Web Stack Explained leads us to the webserver software. Webserver software basically serves as the interface for files [...]
[...] is used by search engines to associate keywords with the link. Take this link for example: “The Web Stack Explained“. In this link the anchor text is “The Web [...]
[...] July 10th @ 10:18 pm by Aaron Today we continue our look at the web stack by explaining Business [...]
[...] 6 of our journey through the Web Stack brings us into the design realm. In the world of web design, HTML is the cake and Cascading Style [...]