Originally there was the World Wide Web (WWW). Along with the Internet (the World Wide Web is a part of the Internet), usage required the term to be capitalised because there is only one. There is a single Internet, just as there is only one planet Earth. Therefore, it is a proper noun. There is also only one World Wide Web, and using the term Web as a nickname indicates it should also be capitalised. Therefore, people thought the term “Web site” was the proper usage.
If you conceptualise Web site as describing a point on the unique World Wide Web, that would be correct. However, we don’t think that way because we deal with many, many websites on a daily basis. There is no particular reason to salute the connection of the website to the World Wide Web each time we mention it. Saying “web site” was such an obviously unnecessary step that many skipped it and went straight to saying website. Most online dictionaries support the one-word version.
As of January 2005, Google will ask you if you meant “website” whenever you type in “Web site”. It does not question it in the other direction.
What is the difference between web page, website and web server?
- A web page is a document which can be displayed in a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Apple’s Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox or Opera. These are also often called just “pages“.
- A website is a collection of web pages which are grouped together and usually connected together in various ways. Often simply called a “site.”
- A web server is a computer that hosts a website on the Internet and servers it to a web browser.