What is the WWW? | How it works | Browser software | Web Browser Tips: customizing, bookmarks, printing & saving, troubleshooting | Links
To access the millions of Web pages on the Internet, we use a software application called a Web browser. Web browsers are computer applications that let help us browse the Web. Browsers interpret the HTML codes in Web pages so we can view them in a readable form. They also help us navigate through the Web.
Two popular browsers are Netscape's Navigator™ and Microsoft's Internet Explorer™.
What is a URL?
Like sending a package by postal mail, all we need to know in order to visit a Web page is its address. These unique addresses are called Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) because they are a uniform way to locate resources on the Web. For example, the URL for Master Internet VolunteerSM Program starting page is
Although URLs can look a little scary at first, there is a method to all the slashes, squigglys, and dots. For example,
| Part of URL | What it means |
| http:// | Protocol (http stands for Hypertext Transport Protocol. http means the type of file is a Web page) |
| www.extension. umn.edu | Name of computer where the page is located |
| /~miv/ | Location on the computer (not all URLs will have the tilde [~] sign in them) |
| index.html | Name of the actual Web page you see in your browser. (Web pages end with a .html or .htmextension.) |
BACK | BEGINNING OF THIS SECTION |
CONTINUE