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How web hosting works

When someone visits your website, four things happen in about half a second. Here’s the whole journey:

A visitor's request travels from their browser, to DNS, to your server, and the page travels back Visitor types pulmocon.org DNS the internet's phone book Your server runs OrbixPanel, holds your files Page shows up 1 2 3 asks "where?" "it's at IP 1.2.3.4" "show me" your server sends the page back to the visitor

In plain words

  1. Someone types your address (pulmocon.org) into their browser.
  2. DNS looks it up. DNS is like a phone book: it turns your human-friendly name into the IP address (a number like 1.2.3.4) of the actual computer that holds your site. You point your domain at your server once; after that it just works.
  3. Your server answers. That computer is always on, running OrbixPanel. It finds the right files (or runs your app) and sends the page back.
  4. The browser shows your page. Done — all in a fraction of a second.

What this means for you

  • “The server” is just a computer that’s always on. You don’t touch it directly — OrbixPanel is the dashboard you click around in.
  • Your job is only two things: put your website’s files on the server, and tell the server which domain they belong to. The next guides show exactly where and how.
  • A domain and a server are separate. You buy a domain from a registrar; you rent a server (or VPS). Pointing one at the other is a one-time step (DNS / an A record).

Nothing you click in the panel can “break the internet.” Worst case you fix a setting and try again. Deep breath — it’s just files on a computer.

Next: Where your website’s files live →