How is that just entering a website’s name into your address bar can take you to the site you want to visit? And what does that name mean, anyway? When you visit a website, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. In this short video, we’ll help make sense of it all.
Now that you understand how the World Wide Web works, it’s time to harness that power and take advantage of everything the Internet has to offer. You can start by learning how e-mail works or jump to our surf the web page to start browsing right away.
If you’re interested in learning more about how web addresses or the Internet works, visit our Understanding Web Addresses and Master the Basics pages.
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Frequently Asked Questions
I don’t know the website address. How do I find it?
You don’t always need to know a website’s address, so long as you know something about the site. If you know the company name, type it into a web search. If not, do a search for the type of company you’re looking for. Or, if it’s a personal page, the person’s name. If you’re not looking for a specific site, a general search will find you plenty of pages to get started. To learn more, visit Searching the Web.
Do I have to type the entire web address to go to a website?
Thankfully, no. In the early days of the World Wide Web, it was necessary to type the complete address, including the http://. These days, web browsers assume that part of the address. In fact, for most websites, you can even skip the “www” part and jump straight to the domain name. If you’re going to a site with a different protocol or resource (for instance, some secure sites start with https://), you will have to type the whole thing out. Learn more on our Understanding Web Addresses page.
Why does my browser always start on the same page? Can I change it?
When you open your Internet browser, it takes you directly to a specified starting page, known as the Home Page. In most cases, this is a search page provided by the company that makes the browser. If you would prefer to start your browser on a different website, you can always change your settings. Visit our Home Page article to learn more.
How can I keep track of every site’s address?
Fortunately, you don’t have to. If you find an address you may want to go back to, just bookmark it. Bookmarks (sometimes called Favorites) are links websites you save within your browser. If you forgot to bookmark a site, you can always find it again with a simple web search.