Understanding Web Addresses
You enter the URL of a site or web page by typing it into the Address bar of your web browser.
Browsers can store the URLs you want to revisit by adding them to a special list. Firefox calls them Bookmarks; Internet Explorer calls them Favorites. Once you add a URL to your list, you return to that web page by clicking the name on the list, instead of retyping the address--a good thing, as some URLs can be quite long.
Most of the URLs you will use start with http, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, the method by which HTML files are transferred over the Web. Here are few other things to know about URLs:
- A URL usually has no spaces.
- A URL always uses forward slashes (//).
- URLs are not case sensitive. So typing "http://www.learnthenet.com" or "HTTP://WWW.LEARNTHENET.COM" or any variation of upper and lower case letters takes you to the same page.
- If you type a URL incorrectly, your browser will not be able to locate the site or resource you want. Should you get an error message or access the wrong site, check to see if you spelled the address correctly.
- You can find the URL behind any hyperlink by placing your cursor over the link. The pointer turns into a hand and the URL appears in your browser's status bar, usually located at the bottom of your browser window.
To learn more about URLs, read the World Wide Web Consortium's Fact Sheet on URLs.
Last update: Jan 12, 2011
