Localhost vs. the live web

Right now your site lives on your computer. When you open index.html, the address bar says something like file:///Users/you/my-first-project/index.html — that is a file on your disk, not a website. Nobody else can see it. Close your laptop and it is gone. Shipping means putting that same site somewhere the whole internet can reach, at a link you can text to a friend.

Your file vs. a real website