What is a URL?

A URL is the full web address of a page — it tells your browser exactly which server to contact and which page to ask for.

Think of it like this

It's like a postal address with extra detail — the domain is the building, the path is the specific room, and the query string is any special instructions for when you arrive.

What's happening

A URL broken into its four parts: protocol, domain name, path, and query string, with a plain-English explanation of each

Summary

A URL is a precise set of instructions that tells your browser how to connect to a site and exactly which page to retrieve.

A Closer Look

Every URL has up to four parts working together. The protocol (https://) says how to communicate — securely or not. The domain name (www.example.com) identifies which website, and DNS translates it into an IP address your browser can actually use. The path (/blog/article) points to a specific page on that site, like navigating folders. The optional query string (?sort=new) passes extra instructions, often used for search filters or pagination.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator — "uniform" because every address follows the same predictable structure, anywhere in the world.

Common Misconceptions

A URL and a domain name are not the same thing — the domain is just one part of the full URL.
The www is not required — it's a historical convention, and most sites work fine without it.
URLs are not case-sensitive everywhere — the domain part is not case-sensitive, but the path after it can be, depending on the server.

How it connects

A URL ties together several web technologies in a single line of text:

📖 DNS — translates the domain name into an IP address 🌐 The Internet — the network the request travels across 🖥️ Servers — the destination the URL points to 🌍 Websites — what you find at the end of a URL 🔒 HTTPS & Encryption — what the protocol prefix tells you

Try it yourself

Click into your browser's address bar on any page and read the URL carefully — identify the protocol, the domain, the path, and any query string. Try changing a query string value (like a page number) and pressing Enter to see what happens.