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What is Web Browser?

A web browser is a software program that allows a user to locate, access, and display web pages. In common
usage, a web browser is usually shortened to "browser." Browsers are used primarily for displaying and
accessing websites on the internet, as well as other content created using languages such as Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) and Extensible Markup Language (XML).
Browsers translate web pages and websites delivered using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) into human-
readable content. They also can display other protocols and prefixes, such as secure HTTP (HTTPS), File
Transfer Protocol (FTP), email handling (mailto:), and files (file:).
In addition, most browsers also support external plug-ins required to display active content, such as in-page
video, audio and game content.
A variety of web browsers are available with different features and are designed to run on different operating
systems. Common browsers include Internet Explorer from Microsoft, Firefox from Mozilla, Google Chrome,
Safari from Apple, and Opera. All major browsers have mobile versions that are lightweight versions for
accessing the web on mobile devices.
What is URL?
URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator and is a reference (an address) to a resource on the Internet.
A URL has two main components:

 Protocol identifier: For the URL http://example.com, the protocol identifier is http.
 Resource name: For the URL http://example.com, the resource name is example.com.
Note that the protocol identifier and the resource name are separated by a colon and two forward slashes. The
protocol identifier indicates the name of the protocol to be used to fetch the resource. The example uses the
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which is typically used to serve up hypertext documents. HTTP is just one
of many different protocols used to access different types of resources on the net. Other protocols include File
Transfer Protocol (FTP), Gopher, File, and News.
The resource name is the complete address to the resource. The format of the resource name depends entirely
on the protocol used, but for many protocols, including HTTP, the resource name contains one or more of the
following components:
Host Name
The name of the machine on which the resource lives.
Filename
The pathname to the file on the machine.
Port Number
The port number to which to connect (typically optional).
Reference
A reference to a named anchor within a resource that usually identifies a specific location within a file (typically
optional).
For many protocols, the host name and the filename are required, while the port number and reference are
optional. For example, the resource name for an HTTP URL must specify a server on the network (Host Name)
and the path to the document on that machine (Filename); it also can specify a port number and a reference.
What are the parts of a URL?
A URL consists of five parts -- the scheme, subdomain, top-level domain, second-level domain, and subdirectory.

 Scheme
The scheme tells web servers which protocol to use when it accesses a page on your website.
Nowadays, HTTPS, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, is the most common scheme.
It tells your web browser to encrypt any information you enter onto the page, like your passwords or credit
card information, so cybercriminals can’t access it. This security protocol protects your website visitors
and implementing it will help your site rank better on Google.
Other schemes you might see are mailto://, which can open your computer’s default email service
provider to help you draft an email to the email address you entered in the URL, and ftp://, which is a
standard protocol for transferring computer files between a client and server on a computer network.

 Subdomain
If your website is like a house, your subdomains are like specific rooms in that house. A subdomain in a
URL indicates which page of your website the web browser should serve up. For instance, subdomains
like “blog” or “offers” will provide your website’s blog page or offers page.
Subdomains also bucket your website into its main content categories and shows Google and your
visitors that there's more information on your site than just a homepage.

 Second-level Domain
Your second-level domain (SLD) is the name of your website. It helps people know they’re visiting a
certain brand’s site. For instance, people who visit “mlb.com” know they’re on Major League Baseball’s
website, without needing any more information.

 Top-level Domain
The top-level domain (TLD) specifies what type of entity your organization registers as on the internet.
For example, “.com” is intended for commercial entities in the United States, so a lot of American
businesses register with a top-level domain of “.com”. Similarly, “.edu” is intended for academic
institutions in the United States, so a lot of American colleges and universities register with a top-level
domain of “.edu”.

 Subdirectory
A subdirectory helps people understand which section of a webpage they’re on.
For instance, if you own an online store that sells t-shirts, hats, and mugs, one of your website’s URLs
could look like “https://shop.yourstore.com/hats”. With a subdomain of “shop” and a subdirectory of “hats”,
this URL would serve up the “Hats” page, which lives under the “Shop” page.

URL Structure: Subtle Yet Essential

Even though URLs might seem simple and frivolous, they’re important for your website’s UX and SEO.
And now that you understand the anatomy of a URL, check out the blog posts below to learn more about
technical SEO.