Parts of a Web Address

You might have noticed that our example web address, http://www.cnn.com, has a number of different parts. It's important to understand what those parts mean.

• The http:// stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. This helps your web browser locate the web page or web site, and to display it for you to see. Most browsers will automatically add this prefix, so you don't have to worry about typing it every time.
• The www stands for World Wide Web. This means that the page you're looking for is somewhere on the World Wide Web.
• The next section, which is cnn in this example, is the name of the web page or web site. It is flanked by dots, which separate it from other sections of the web address.
• The .com here is the domain name. This tells you where the web page is registered, and often tells you what kind of web site it is. For instance, .com usually means that you're looking at a commercial site, or a site that someone has paid to use. Some other common domain names are .edu (sites for educational institutions), .org (sites belonging to organizations), and .gov (sites sponsored by local, state, or federal governments).
• Sometimes, there will be a slash (/) following the domain name. For instance: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD. The / followed by another word or words lets you know that you are going to a different area or page on that web site. In the example, you will be taken to the World News page on CNN's web site.