First, we need to "publish" our web site.

Publish? It's a web site, not a book, Blip.

Just as you publish a book so people can have their own copy, you "publish" your web site so people can view it from their own computers. You see, right now, our cool site is just sitting in our computer's hard drive. No one else can view it. To make it available to the public, we need to send it to a web server. That's called "publishing."

What does it mean to publish a web site? When your web site is ready for Internet visitors, you will need to "publish" it. When you first created your web site files, you stored them on your own computer only. To make your web site available to the public, you need to transfer your files to a computer that is has a special connection to the Internet. This type of computer is known as a "web server."

Oh, I missed that. Tell me what a web server is again.

A web server is a powerful computer that stays connected to the World Wide Web all the time. When our web site is on the web server, people can view it around the world and around the clock.

What is a web server? A "web server" is a high-powered computer that stores web site documents. One web server may store documents for many different web sites. When people visit your web site, they do so by connecting to your server through the World Wide Web. This Internet connection allows visitors to receive - or "download" - your web site documents into their own computers. Many businesses and institutions - including schools and school boards - use their own servers to connect to the Internet. Many people also connect to the Internet using an Internet Service Provider (ISP). An ISP is a company that specializes in selling Internet access and web site file space on its servers. You publish your web site when you "rent" space for your web site files on an ISP server. Many large cities have a variety of ISPs to choose from and most small towns are likely to have at least one ISP. You'll want to make sure your web site is in good working order before you publish it. It's important to check your hyperlinks to make sure your visitors will get to the places you are offering to send them. You'll also want to ensure that every word in your entire site is spelled correctly.