Web Page versus Web Site
Am I opening a new 'web page' or am I opening a new 'web site'? Does it even matter?
Web Page: Every time the web address changes because you either entered a new web site address or you clicked on a hyperlink, you are viewing a different 'web page'.
Web Site: A 'web site' can include one or more 'web pages'. Some 'web sites' have hundreds, if not thousands, of 'web pages'.
Examples: ShopWithTrust.com is a 'web site', which consists of 'web pages'. Some of our 'web pages' include listings of stores from your local mall or shopping center. We have other 'web pages' like this one, which include lessons on improving your interent skills. All of these 'web pages' can be found on our 'web site'.
Keep an eye on whether you are staying on the same 'web site' as you click on different 'web page' links: Our home page has the web address of www.ShopWithTrust.com. Think of the home page as being similar to the front page of a newspaper. It is a starting point for previewing some of the articles that you will find once you open up the newspaper. Every time you click on a link with your mouse, you are opening our web site to find web pages that interest you. Again, this is similar to a newspaper where you open it to find more articles to read.
Every time you go to a new 'web page' on our 'web site', the web address will expand to look something like this: www.ShopWithTrust.com/Retail/Beginner/Website.html. The first part of the web address will always include www.ShopWithTrust.com. This helps you realize you are still visiting the 'ShopWithTrust.com' web site. You will notice the same thing when you visit other web sites. For example, the home page for Walmart is www.Walmart.com. If you open up their gift registry, the address expands to www.Walmart.com/giftregistry/.
Be aware when you are leaving one web site and visiting another web site: To use our newspaper analogy, imagine you are reading the New York Times, turn pages, and then all of a sudden find you are now reading the Wall Street Journal. This will not happen when you are reading the physical newspaper but will occur frequently when you open new pages on the internet. For example, a newspaper's web site may write an article about a new store at the local mall. You will probably see a hyperlink to visit the web site for the new store. When you click on this link, you will leave the newspaper's web site. The online newspaper will provide many links. Some of them will go to other pages on their web site, like different sections of the newspaper or other articles written by the author. Other hyperlinks will go to other web sites such as references for information used in their articles or links to their advertisers' web sites. With ShopWithTrust.com, we provide links to other lessons on our web site and we provide links to the web sites of stores you have come to trust at your local mall or shopping center.
The importance of knowing when you are linking to a different web site: Every web site has a different privacy policy on how they use the information they collect from you when you visit their web site. Learn more about this with our lesson on Privacy Policies, which we discuss in our Internet Security for Beginners tutorial. Most web sites will use your information in an appropriate manner. If you are new to using the internet, it can be a little intimidating to find there are millions of online businesses that you have never heard of before. There are new ones opening online every day. Unfortunately, a few web sites do not have good intentions. For this reason, you want to find some level of comfort when you visit different web sites. One way, especially when you are just beginning to use the internet for shopping, is to familiarize yourself with the online world by first getting comfortable with store names that you recognize from your local mall or shopping center. This is why our ShopWithTrust.com web site makes a point to provide links to stores that you have come to trust over the years.
Be aware if a new browser window opens when you link to a different web site: This is a reminder for what you learned in Lesson 3, when we discussed the difference between opening a new page in the current web browser window and a new web browser window. You will frequently find that web pages for the current web site will open in the current web browswer window while web pages for a different web site will open in a new web browser window.
That ends this lesson on understanding the difference between websites and web pages. You have instant access to billions of web pages around the globe. It is easy to get distracted and run off in a 100 different directions when you first start navigating on the internet. There is so much to explore. It can also be very intimidating with so many options being presented to you. This is why it helps to know when you are leaving one web site to visit another, especially when you did not intend to do so. If you forget anything along the way, you can always come back to this article by using our 'Quick Access for Beginners' drop-down list in the right column of each page. The drop-down list provides a link to all of the Beginners Lessons. Javascript required.
More Lessons on Internet Help for Beginners
See also Internet Security for Beginners and Email for Beginners
- Lesson 1: Computer Mouse - How to use it and when to push the buttons
- Lesson 2: Hyperlinks - How to open a new web page
- Lesson 3: Back Button - How to return to the previous web page
- Lesson 4: Windows - How to manage windows on your screen
- Lesson 5: Web Browser - What are Internet Explorer, Firefox & Safari?
- Lesson 6: Address Bar - How to enter a web address
- Current : Web Page vs. Web Site - Learn the difference between the two
- Lesson 8: Menu Bar - Access to everything you need
- Lesson 9: Bookmark Favorites - Save your favorite web sites
- Lesson 10: Drop-Down-Lists - How to make selections on web sites
- Lesson 11: Javascript - Why some web sites do not work for you
- Lesson 12: Web-Accessibility - Problems reading web sites
Help Others & Good Luck
Our goal is to make you comfortable using the ever expanding internet. We especially want to reach out to online beginners and let them know it is not too late to get started. As more services, especially free ones, move online, we believe it is important that everyone learn the basics for navigating the internet. Think of a family member or friend who may find this web site helpful and forward it to them today. We wish you Good Luck and an Enjoyable Journey on the Internet.
ShopWithTrust.com also provides easy access to trusted retailers. We keep things simple for you by only listing stores with a long history of name recognition. We would like to be your one stop source for online shopping with stores like Macy's, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy. Thank You and Best Wishes.
