Web browsers request pages from web servers by using a URL.
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is used to address a document (or other data) on the web.
syntax:
scheme://prefix.domain:port/path/filename
Explanation:
- scheme – defines the type of Internet service (most common is http or https)
- prefix – defines a domain prefix (default for http is www)
- domain – defines the Internet domain name (like w3schools.com)
- port – defines the port number at the host (default for http is 80)
- path – defines a path at the server (If omitted: the root directory of the site)
- filename – defines the name of a document or resource
Common URL Schemes
The table below lists some common schemes:
Scheme | Short for | Used for |
---|---|---|
http | HyperText Transfer Protocol | Common web pages. Not encrypted |
https | Secure HyperText Transfer Protocol | Secure web pages. Encrypted |
ftp | File Transfer Protocol | Downloading or uploading files |
file | A file on your computer |