"How Do You Do That?!" A Guide to How Websites Work

When I tell people I build websites by hand, I usually get one of two reactions: a polite nod (followed by a quick subject change), or wide eyes and the question that inspired this post—"How do you actually DO that?!"

It's a fair question. Most people use websites every single day without ever thinking about what's happening behind the scenes. And honestly? That's how it should be. A good website just works. You don't need to understand the engine to drive the car.

But if you've ever been curious—or if you're a small business owner trying to understand what you're paying for when you hire a web developer—this one's for you.

The Internet: A Brief History

Before we get into the technical stuff, let's appreciate just how new all of this is—and how far we've come in such a short time.

The internet as we know it started on October 29, 1969—the same year humans first walked on the moon. It was called ARPANET, a U.S. Department of Defense project designed to let computers at different universities share information.

The very first message ever sent over this network? The word "LOGIN." Except the system crashed after just two letters. So technically, the first internet message was just "LO"—as in "Lo and behold." They got the full login working about an hour later.

For the next two decades, the internet was mostly used by researchers, scientists, and the military. It wasn't until 1989 that a British scientist named Tim Berners-Lee proposed what would become the World Wide Web—the system of websites, links, and browsers we use today.

He published the very first website on August 6, 1991. It's still online at info.cern.ch. And then he did something remarkable: on April 30, 1993, CERN released the web's underlying code to the public domain. No patents. No royalties. Free for everyone.

As Berners-Lee later said: "Had the technology been proprietary, and in my total control, it would probably not have taken off. You can't propose that something be a universal space and at the same time keep control of it."

• 1991: The first website goes live. About 4.3 million people are online.
• 1995: Around 16 million internet users. About 23,500 websites exist.
• 2000: 400 million users. The dot-com bubble bursts.
• 2005: 1 billion users. YouTube launches.
• 2014: The web hits 1 billion websites for the first time.
• 2025: Over 5.5 billion users (68% of humanity). 1.3+ billion websites exist.

Let that sink in. The entire World Wide Web is only about 34 years old. In a single generation, we went from "LO" crashing a computer to 5.5 billion people connected across the globe. Your smartphone has more computing power than the machines that sent astronauts to the moon—and you use it to check the weather and watch cat videos.

The internet isn't ancient infrastructure like roads or phone lines. It's brand new. And it's still being built—by people like me, writing code one line at a time.

Some Perspective: The Web Is Massive

As of 2025, there are over 1.3 billion websites on the internet. That's billion with a B. And roughly 250,000 new websites are created every single day.

But here's the wild part: only about 15-17% of those websites are actually active and maintained. The rest are parked domains, abandoned projects, or digital ghost towns. So when you're building a website that actually serves real people and gets updated regularly, you're already ahead of the game.

Every single one of those websites—from Google to your local pizza shop's menu page—is built with the same basic ingredients. Let me introduce you to the three amigos of web development.

The Three Languages of Every Website

Every website you've ever visited is made up of three core technologies: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. That's it. Whether it's Facebook, Amazon, or the blog you're reading right now—same three building blocks.

Let me break them down in a way that actually makes sense.

• HTML is the skeleton — the bones and structure that hold everything together and give it shape.
• CSS is the skin and appearance — your hair color, eye color, freckles, all the visual features that make you you.
• JavaScript is the muscles and brain — the parts that make the body actually move, react, and do things.

HTML: The Skeleton

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Just like your skeleton gives your body its shape and holds everything in place, HTML gives a website its structure. It defines what goes where—headings, paragraphs, images, buttons, links.

When I write HTML, I use "tags" (words wrapped in angle brackets) to tell the browser what each piece of content is. A heading is marked as a heading. A paragraph is marked as a paragraph. Simple as that.

CSS: The Skin

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. If HTML is the skeleton, CSS is everything you actually see—the skin, the hair color, the freckles. It controls colors, fonts, spacing, layout—all the visual stuff.

With CSS, I can say things like "make this heading teal, this specific size, and centered on the page." CSS is where I spend a lot of my time—getting a website to look right on phones, tablets, AND desktops is all CSS work.

JavaScript: The Muscles and Brain

JavaScript (often shortened to JS) is where things get interactive. Think of it as the muscles and brain—the parts that let your body move, react, and respond to the world.

JS handles things like showing a menu when you click a button, validating a form before you submit it, animating elements as you scroll, and loading new content without refreshing the page. Basically, anything that "reacts" to what you do.

• HTML = The skeleton (structure)
• CSS = The skin (appearance)
• JavaScript = The muscles and brain (movement and behavior)

So What Do I Actually Do All Day?

When I build a website, I'm writing these three languages—by hand, in a code editor—to create something custom for each client. I'm not dragging and dropping boxes in a template builder. I'm typing out instructions that tell browsers exactly what to display and how.

A typical project might involve:

• Writing semantic HTML that's organized and accessible
• Creating CSS that looks great on every screen size (mobile-first!)
• Adding interactive features like menus and forms
• Optimizing images so pages load fast
• Testing on different browsers and devices
• Making sure the site works for people using screen readers

It's part puzzle, part art, part obsessive attention to detail. And honestly? I love it.

Why Does This Matter for Your Business?

You might be thinking: "Cool, but why should I care how the sausage gets made?"

Fair. But here's why it matters:

Custom-coded websites are faster. Template builders and page builders add a ton of extra code you don't need. That slows things down. My sites are lean because I only write what's necessary.

Custom-coded websites are more accessible. When I write the HTML myself, I can make sure it's structured properly for screen readers and keyboard navigation. Many template sites fail basic accessibility tests.

You actually own it. When your site is custom code, you're not locked into a platform. You can take your files anywhere, host them anywhere, and you're not paying monthly fees to a website builder forever.

It's built for YOU. Not squeezed into a template that 10,000 other businesses are also using. Your site reflects your brand, not a theme designer's idea of what looks professional.

The Magic Is in the Simplicity

The web was designed to be open and accessible. Tim Berners-Lee didn't patent his invention—he gave it away so anyone could participate. And at its core, the technology is still beautifully simple: text files that browsers know how to read.

When I build your website, I'm not using magic. I'm using the same fundamental tools that power the entire internet—just applied with care, intention, and a lot of practice.