Home page facts for kids
The home page is like the front door or welcome mat of a website. It's the first page you usually see when you visit a website. When you type a domain name (like "example.com") into your web browser without asking for a specific page, the home page is what loads first. It's also sometimes called the main page.
A good home page helps you understand what the website is about. It also shows you how to find other interesting parts of the site. Think of it as a guide to the whole website!
You can see an example of a home page by visiting Kiddle, a search engine for kids, at this link.
Contents
How Websites Show Home Pages
When you visit a website, a special computer called a web server sends the home page to your computer's web browser. This happens automatically when you don't ask for a specific file.
Common Home Page Names
Web servers look for certain file names to know which page is the home page.
For Linux Servers
On servers that use Linux (a type of computer operating system), home pages often have names like `index.html`, `index.php`, or `index.cgi`. These are the default files the server looks for.
For Windows Servers
On servers that use Windows, the home page files are usually named `default.html` or `default.php`.
Sometimes, a website owner might set up a special rule called a redirect. This tells the server to send you to a different page first, even if it's not named `index` or `default`.
Images for kids
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A home page of Wikipedia (in 2014) is displayed in a web browser. The small house-shaped button in the upper left is for the browser's start page.
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A website with a wide hero image.
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Homepage featuring a prominent hero image with logo and description overlaid.
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A biographical website with a full-sized image.
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A homepage used to bring attention to a mobile app.
See also
In Spanish: Página de inicio para niños
