The host must be constantly connected to the Internet. Every web site has a unique address, in effect a rather more user-friendly telephone number. To access a web site you need to have appropriate World Wide Web software, Netscape is the market leader, and a connection to the Internet. Your Internet connection may be through an online service, like Compuserve, or through an Internet Service Provider, like Demon. The contents of a web site are displayed one document at a time.
Users move from document to document by clicking on buttons.
The basic function of a button is to request the loading of a new document. Facilities can also be provided for viewers to input their own information. Order forms, database searching and bulletin board postings are all common. More sophisticated forms of interaction are also possible, e.g. puzzles and games. One web site may connect you to another - so a museum web site could contain connections to similar museums.