Stands for "Uniform Resource Locator." A URL is the address of a specific webpage or file on the Internet. For example, the URL of the TechTerms website is "http://techterms.com." The address of this page is "http://techterms.com/definition/url" and includes the following elements:
- http:// – the URL prefix, which specifies the protocol used to access the location
- techterms.com – the server name or IP address of the server
- /definition/url – the path to the directory or file
While all website URLs begin with "http," several other prefixes exist. Below is a list of various URL prefixes:
- http – a webpage, website directory, or other file available over HTTP
- ftp – a file or directory of files available to download from an FTP server
- news – a discussion located within a specific newsgroup
- telnet – a Unix-based computer system that supports remote client connections
- gopher – a document or menu located on a gopher server
- wais - a document or search results from a WAIS database
- mailto - an email address (often used to redirect browsers to an email client)
- file - a file located on a local storage device (though not technically a URL because it does not refer to an Internet-based location)
You can manually enter a URL by typing it in the address bar of your web browser. For example, you might enter a website URL printed on a business card to visit the company's website. Most URLs, however appear automatically when you click on a link or open a bookmark. If the server name in the URL is not valid, your browser may display a "Server not found" error. If the path in the URL is incorrect, the server may respond with a 404 error.
NOTE: URLs use forward slashes to denote different directories and cannot contain spaces. Therefore, dashes and underscores are often used to separate words within a web address. If your browser produces an error when you visit a specific webpage, you can double-check the URL for typos or other errors. If you find an error, you can manually edit the URL and press Enter to see if it works.
Updated: November 24, 2015