In keeping with our general education about the World Wide Web and different components of the Internet, we decided to entertain and inform you a bit with some of the funnier and quite common questions that we have heard during our 12 years of being in business as an SEO Web Design Company. While a few of these might seem a bit elementary to some, you would be surprised at how little you truly know and understand about a communication feature that you probably use everyday. Read on to find out more about the Internet and all of the things that go along with it like websites, domain names, URLs, and the search engines. Though some might find these questions amusing, we at Appnet like to foster an open environment where clients and potential clients can feel comfortable asking any questions, no matter how insignificant or trivial they may seem to some. If you would like more information on our SEO Hosting Web Design services then contact us for a free quote and more information on how we can benefit your website and further help your company achieve its overall goals.

Who Controls the World Wide Web?
That depends on where you are, but the short, fast answer is really no one controls the World Wide Web and the content that is found on it. There is no large governing body, worldwide, that oversees the functions of the Internet. However, in some countries, Internet Censorship is a real problem. For instance, in China and in other places, users of the Internet are severely restricted and are not allowed to access any site that they would like. Of course, in these types of countries, users are not allowed to access certain sites with political information. Domain Names (the addresses that being with “www.” and ends with “.com,” “.net,” or “.org,” etc.) are controlled by the person or company listed as the registrar for the domain name in question; typically, that information can be found out by doing a search in the WhoIs database. The WhoIs database keeps track of who has ownership of a domain name. The database is currently managed by Network Solutions, Inc. Finally, the Internet Engineering Task Force and the W3C Consortium are organizations that oversee and determine behavior of Web browsers and servers. These two entities are comprised of professionals from various areas of IT and software engineering.

How Big is the Internet?
Since there is really no governing body that oversees the Internet and its functions, that questions is REALLY hard to answer with any sort of precision. However, it can be measured by looking at the amount of Web address space registered by large ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Many of the large ISPs then disseminate their Web address space to smaller ISPs and other types of companies. Hosting companies then host websites, and the pages that are found on sites, in this address space. Google, which is widely recognized as the largest search engine company on the planet, claimed to have indexed over 3 billion Web pages back in late 2003. Obviously, that number has since gone up exponentially. The Internet is by far the farthest reaching and the cheapest communication and advertising tool that is used today, as it can be used to potentially reach more than 300 million users (this number continues to grow everyday) in the United States, Europe and regions of Asia.

How many Search Engines are there?
A search engine is a tool used to research information found on the Internet. Most in our country are familiar with Google and the manner in which it allows users to perform searches for various things; however, Google is not the only search engine that is widely used in our country and it is only one search engine in a massive list of other search engines available for use. For instance, many people worldwide are familiar with not only Google, but also Bing.com (formerly MSN), ASK.com, and Yahoo!, but there are thousands of other search engines out there, many of which are country specific. If you were in Russia, for example, instead of going to the Russian Google, you might be more inclined to visit the Russian search engine, Yandex. There are tons of search engines, though, and because new ones pop up each day and old ones die each year, there is really no way to ever have a proper count. Suffice it to say that there are numerous search engines that you can find and use if you are dissatisfied with Google for whatever reason. One of our favorites is Duck Duck Go, because of its clever name and easy usability.

How Can I identify the Owner of a Website?
Generally the fastest way is to try to find a “Contact” or an “About Us” page that details that information. A second way is to perform a WhoIs search which will then give you the record of the Registrar and Technical Contact for the domain name(s) in question. Sometimes the Registrar is the actual owner of the site, and other times the Domain Name Registrar is an IT contact that takes care of all domain name renewals for the actual owner of the site. The IT contact will probably not want to give out any information to you unless he or she has been directed to do so by the owner of the site.

What is the Maximum Length that a URL/Domain Name can be?
As a general rule, the longer the domain name the harder it is to remember it in its entirety. This should matter to you because, if possible, you want people who are exposed to your domain name (on business cards, billboards, magazine ads, hearing it on the radio, etc) to be able to easily remember it, without having to jot it down! Clever domain names are the best, but business names are also great if people are familiar with the name of your business. To answer the question, though, domain names can be as long as you would like them to be as protocol does not specify a maximum length capacity; however, individual Web browsers such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox have their own maximum lengths for URLs. You can find the info for each browser's specifications easily online by researching it.

What other kinds of things are on the Internet besides the World Wide Web?
The Internet also has other functions and tools that you can use when you are online. Things like email, peer-to-peer file sharing programs, virtual private networks, online games, Internet telephone services such as Vonage, and instant messaging programs are all functions of and things that can be done on the Internet.

Where is the Information on the Internet stored?
Information that you can find on the Internet (such as websites and their content) is stored on the hard drives of Web servers that are located all over the world. Web servers, like those owned and maintained by our SEO Hosting Web Design company, can host domain names and the sites and content found on them. Web servers operate just like an ordinary computer, only Web server "computers" are super computers that run Web server software instead of the types of software platforms that you would normally find on a PC in your home (Windows, for example). This special software allows them to communicate with Web browsers via a special language called HTTP protocol.

Can we ever simply run out of space on the World Wide Web?
Because webmasters and hosting companies pay for Web address space (your hosting fees) on Web servers and are always going to be willing to pay for additional servers and space should they need them, there is really no way to "run out" of space on the Web.

What is the most popular website?
Since, again the Internet is not controlled by a single entity, there really is no way to answer this question. In one country a certain site may be HUGELY popular for certain reasons, but in the U.S. we may never have heard of the site. Alexa.com, which is the leading Web information company, has listed the top sites on the Web for many years, and if you were to click to the top sites today, you will find listed as #1 Google, #2 Facebook, and #3 YouTube. Interestingly, the website Wikipedia—which is essentially a free, user-controlled, worldwide encyclopedia database that includes information on pretty much anything you can think of—is currently listed as #6.

We hope that you find some of this information interesting and helpful. We get tons of questions annually and wanted to take some time out to answer a few general internet and web questions that we have received in the past. The World Wide Web is a great way to advertise your business and further grow your company. We have hundreds of clients throughout the country in various industries and fields and can help you with all of your SEO Web Design needs. Contact us to begin working together today!