What does it take to go from asking "how does a website work?" to actually owning and running one? For me, the answer was a decade of curiosity, a few dead ends, a lot of patient learning, and eventually — saratoffice.in. This is that story.
Table of Contents
1. The First Spark: How It All Began
In the early 2010s, social media was rapidly growing and platforms like Facebook were becoming a major part of everyday online life. People were sharing photos, writing posts, and communicating with friends in a completely new way.
While using these platforms, one question repeatedly came to my mind:
Whenever I visited websites — especially government portals and informational sites — I became curious about how content appears online and how people publish text, images, and documents for others to see.
This curiosity eventually started a long journey that led to the creation of saratoffice.in.
2. The First Curiosity: Understanding Websites
At that time, many of my friends had studied technical subjects and were working in well-known IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys. Naturally, I assumed they would know about website development.
However, when I asked them about how websites are created or how the backend works, surprisingly most of them could not guide me. Even though they were working in technology companies, web design was not part of their day-to-day work.
Despite this, my curiosity remained strong. I wanted to understand how a website could display information for the entire world to see.
3. Discovering the Concept of Domains (2013)
In 2013, one of my colleagues told me that he owned a blog website. This immediately caught my interest. I asked him if he could show me how the website works from the backend.
He explained that the site was maintained by a web designer, and he had only purchased the domain name. That was the first time I learned that:
The very next day, I searched on Google about how to buy a domain. After comparing options, I purchased my domain from BigRock on 23 August 2013 — for a 10-year term, because long-term plans were more economical.
Without much deliberation, I chose the name:
After completing the purchase, I excitedly typed the address in my browser, expecting to see my website live. Instead, I encountered an error page.
4. Learning About Web Hosting
For many days, I kept trying to open the website, assuming it would become active automatically. Finally, I contacted BigRock's customer support. After confirming the domain purchase was successful, the executive asked a question that changed everything:
I had never heard the term before. She explained that a domain name alone cannot run a website. To store website files and make them accessible on the internet, web hosting is required.
Once again, my research journey began. After months of comparing providers and plans, I purchased shared hosting from BigRock — economical and compatible with my existing domain.
5. The Challenge of Website Design
Even after purchasing hosting, my website still did not appear online. When I contacted technical support again, they explained another important fact:
Without design and content, the domain and hosting would remain empty. The support team suggested hiring a web designer — but I was hesitant about sharing login credentials with someone unfamiliar. So I continued searching for guidance.
6. Advice From Web Developers (2016)
In 2016, a friend and I visited a web development office in Bhubaneswar called Ratna Technology. When I explained my idea for the website, the developer gave surprisingly honest advice.
- Posting photos and text could easily be done on Facebook
- Saving important websites could be done through browser bookmarks
- Sharing PDF files could be handled through Google Drive
His honest suggestion made me pause the project for some time. But the underlying curiosity never faded.
7. Finally Seeing the Website Live
After several attempts with different developers, one designer finally helped activate my domain. The day I typed saratoffice.in and saw it open successfully was a moment of genuine satisfaction. It confirmed that the domain and hosting were functioning correctly.
Although the first version of the website was only a basic static page, it marked an important milestone in the journey — the domain was alive.
8. Discovering WordPress
Later, while helping a friend who needed a website for his business, I learned about WordPress. The developer explained that WordPress allows website owners to:
- Upload photos and videos directly from a browser
- Publish articles and manage pages without any coding
- Update content easily using a login dashboard
- Manage documents and PDFs on your own domain
I began exploring WordPress tutorials on YouTube, and gradually started understanding how websites can be managed independently. That exploration shaped saratoffice.in into the platform it is today — officially rebuilt on 12 October 2016.
9. Conclusion
The story of saratoffice.in is not simply about creating a website. It is a journey driven by:
What began as a simple question about how content appears online gradually evolved into a personal platform for organising knowledge, sharing resources, and learning about web technology — one step at a time.
Sometimes, curiosity alone is enough to start a meaningful journey.
Thank you for being a part of this journey.