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What Parts Make Up A Website

The most common confusion when building a site for the first time is not about writing pages. It is about which layer is responsible for what.

Common Site Building Components​

A complete website usually involves at least these parts:

  • Domain: The URL the user types
  • DNS: Tells the request where to go
  • CDN / Proxy layer: Caching, acceleration, protection, and origin forwarding
  • Origin: Where content is actually served from
  • Object storage or static hosting: Stores static assets
  • Application service: Handles dynamic logic, APIs, login, and databases
  • Certificate: Ensures HTTPS
  • Monitoring and logs: Help you know whether the site is healthy

Typical Structure of a Content Site​

User's browser
  ↓
Domain
  ↓
DNS
  ↓
CDN / Proxy layer
  ↓
Static hosting platform / Object storage / Nginx
  ↓
HTML, CSS, JS, images

This type of site usually does not require maintaining a complex backend yourself.

Typical Structure of a Site With a Backend​

User's browser
  ↓
DNS
  ↓
CDN / WAF / Reverse proxy
  ↓
Web server
  ↓
Application service
  ↓
Database / Cache / Object storage

At this point, the complexity of the site increases significantly.

What Question Does Each Layer Answer​

Domain​

What name does the user remember to reach you.

DNS​

Where should that name ultimately point.

CDN / Proxy layer​

Can this request be handled at the edge, or must it go back to the origin.

Origin​

Where does the actual content come from.

Application service​

Does the user's request need to run logic, authenticate, query a database, or generate results.

Certificate​

Is the connection trusted and encrypted.

Why This Perspective Matters​

Almost every problem you encounter later maps back to a specific layer:

  • Domain config changed but not taking effect: probably DNS
  • Page loads but assets are broken: probably origin paths or build output
  • Page is slow: could be CDN, cache, images, scripts, or origin
  • HTTPS errors: probably certificate or proxy layer configuration

Two Site Patterns Worth Remembering​

Pattern 1: Static Content Site​

Suitable for knowledge bases, blogs, and portfolios. Few components, low maintenance cost. This is the recommended starting point for a first site.

Pattern 2: Content Site + Separate Dynamic Service​

The main site stays as static as possible. Dynamic capabilities like login, APIs, and uploads are split into separate services.

This is usually cleaner than putting everything on a single server.

A Practical Principle​

Staticize as much as you can. Push problems to the edge layer instead of forcing them back to the origin.

Doing so means:

  • Simpler deployment
  • More effective caching
  • More stable speed
  • Smaller attack surface