URL

What Is a URL?

A URL is a complete web address that identifies a specific resource on the internet. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator—"uniform" because URLs follow a standardized format, "resource" because they point to files, pages, or data, and "locator" because they specify where that resource lives.

Every time you:

• Click a link
• Type an address in your browser
• Share a webpage
• Bookmark a site

...you're using URLs.

URL examples:

• https://www.google.com
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
• https://shop.example.com/products/shoes?color=blue
• ftp://files.example.com/document.pdf

URLs can point to web pages, images, videos, documents, API endpoints, or any other resource accessible via the internet.

What Does URL Stand For?

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator:

• Uniform: Standardized format that works the same way everywhere
• Resource: Any accessible item—webpage, file, image, video, data
• Locator: Specifies the exact location and how to access it

The term was coined by Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, in 1994. URLs were designed as a universal addressing system for web resources.

Related terms you might encounter:

• URI (Uniform Resource Identifier): Broader category that includes URLs. All URLs are URIs, but not all URIs are URLs.
• URN (Uniform Resource Name): Identifies a resource by name rather than location. Less commonly used.

For everyday purposes, URL is the term you need.

URL Structure: Breaking Down the Parts

A complete URL contains several components:

https://www.example.com:443/products/shoes?color=blue&size=10#reviews

Let's examine each:

Protocol (scheme):

https:// or http:// tells the browser which protocol to use. HTTPS is secure (encrypted); HTTP is not. Other protocols include ftp:// for file transfers and mailto: for email links.

Subdomain:

www. is the most common subdomain, but sites use others like blog.example.com, shop.example.com, or app.example.com to organize different sections.

Domain name:

example.com is the human-readable address that maps to the server's IP address via DNS. This is the core identifier you register and own.

Port:

:443 (HTTPS) or :80 (HTTP) specifies which port to connect to. Standard ports are hidden by browsers—you only see them for non-standard configurations.

Path:

/products/shoes indicates the specific page or resource location within the website, like folders on a computer.

Query string:

?color=blue&size=10 passes information to the page. Everything after ? consists of parameter-value pairs separated by &.

Fragment (anchor):

#reviews jumps to a specific section on the page. The browser scrolls to the element with that ID.

URL vs. Domain Name

People often confuse URLs and domain names, but they're distinct:

The relationship:

• A domain name is the foundational address you register
• URLs are built on top of your domain name
• One domain can have unlimited URLs (each page, image, file has its own URL)

Example:

If you own mybusiness.com, you might create URLs like:

• https://mybusiness.com (homepage)
• https://mybusiness.com/about (about page)
• https://mybusiness.com/products/widget (product page)
• https://blog.mybusiness.com/post-title (blog post on subdomain)

All these URLs use the same domain name but point to different resources.

What Is a Website URL?

A website URL is specifically a URL that points to a webpage. Most URLs you encounter daily are website URLs—addresses that load pages in your browser.

Website URL characteristics:

• Uses http:// or https:// protocol
• Contains a domain name
• May include path, query parameters, and fragments
• Returns HTML content your browser renders as a webpage

Non-website URLs:

Not all URLs point to websites:

• ftp://files.example.com/doc.pdf — file transfer
• mailto:contact@example.com — email link
• tel:+15551234567 — phone link
• file:///C:/Users/doc.txt — local file

For most purposes, when people say "URL," they mean website URLs.

What Is a URL Link?

A URL link (or hyperlink) is a clickable element that takes you to a URL when clicked. Links connect web pages to each other, creating the interconnected "web" of the World Wide Web.

How links work:

<a href="https://example.com/page">Click here</a>

The URL (https://example.com/page) is the destination. The visible text ("Click here") is the anchor text. Clicking the anchor text navigates to the URL.

Types of links:

Absolute URLs: Complete addresses including protocol and domain.

• https://example.com/page

Relative URLs: Paths relative to the current page's location.

• /page (same domain, root path)
• ../other-page (parent directory)
• page.html (same directory)

Links can point to:

• Other pages on the same site (internal links)
• Pages on different sites (external links)
• Specific sections of pages (anchor links)
• Files for download
• Email addresses, phone numbers, etc.

What Is a URL Address?

"URL address" is redundant—the "L" in URL already stands for "Locator" (address). But people commonly use this phrase to mean a URL.

When someone asks for your "URL address" or "website URL address," they want the complete web address:

• https://yoursite.com (homepage)
• Or a specific page URL if context requires it

Related terms people use interchangeably:

• URL
• Web address
• Website address
• Link
• Site address

All typically mean the same thing: the URL you type or click to visit a website.

How URLs Work

When you enter a URL, here's what happens:

1. Browser parses the URL

   • Extracts protocol, domain, path, and other components

2. DNS lookup

   • Browser asks DNS servers to translate the domain name to an IP address

3. Connection established

   • Browser connects to the server at that IP address using the specified protocol

4. Request sent

   • Browser requests the specific resource (path) from the server

5. Server responds

   • Server sends back the requested resource (HTML, image, file, etc.)

6. Browser renders

   • For web pages, browser displays the content
   • For files, browser downloads or displays them

This entire process typically takes milliseconds for fast connections and optimized websites.

URL Best Practices

If you're creating URLs for your website, follow these guidelines:

Keep URLs readable:

• Good: /products/running-shoes
• Bad: /p?id=12847&cat=3

Use hyphens, not underscores:

• Good: /blog/my-post-title
• Bad: /blog/my_post_title

Keep URLs lowercase:

• Some servers treat /Page and /page as different URLs
• Stick to lowercase to avoid confusion

Keep URLs short but descriptive:

• Include enough information to indicate content
• Avoid unnecessary words and parameters

Use HTTPS:

• Always use https:// for security
• HTTPS is now expected; HTTP triggers browser warnings

Make URLs permanent:

• Changing URLs breaks existing links and bookmarks
• If you must change, set up redirects from old URLs

Include keywords naturally:

• URLs are a minor SEO factor
• Don't keyword-stuff, but relevant terms help

URL Shorteners

URL shorteners create brief aliases for long URLs:

Original: https://example.com/products/category/subcategory/item-name?ref=campaign&source=email

Shortened: https://bit.ly/3xYz123

Common URL shorteners:

• Bitly (bit.ly)
• TinyURL (tinyurl.com)
• Rebrandly (rebrand.ly)
• Short.io

Why use shorteners:

• Easier to share verbally or in print
• Fit character limits (social media, SMS)
• Track click analytics
• Create branded short links

Cautions:

• Shortened URLs hide the destination (security concern)
• If the shortener service closes, links break
• Some platforms block or flag shortened URLs

URL Encoding

URLs can only contain certain characters. Special characters must be "encoded" using percent-encoding:

Example:

The search query "what is a URL?" becomes:

https://google.com/search?q=what%20is%20a%20URL%3F

Browsers handle encoding automatically—you don't usually need to think about it. But if you're building URLs programmatically, use proper encoding functions.

Finding and Copying URLs

In web browsers:

• URLs appear in the address bar at the top
• Click the address bar to select the full URL
• Right-click a link and select "Copy link address" for link URLs

On mobile:

• Tap the address bar to see and copy the URL
• Long-press links to copy their destination URL

Sharing URLs:

• Copy from address bar
• Use browser's share function
• Right-click and copy link for specific links on a page