What is a URL?

Image of two fellows trying to parse a URL.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is an Internet web address that connects your computer to an image, file, page, or program on the Internet. The URL contains specific protocol information (a standard procedure for regulating data transmission between computers) needed by the browser to read the item it is seeking. Capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and spacing are all very important. The computer can not guess at your intent like a human postal carrier. Just like dialing a wrong number, a single error in the URL will misdirect your browser and cause a 'File not Found' error.

Why do I need to know the URL?

URLs help your find the same page over and over again. By creating a file of favorite URLs you can quickly return to valuable resources. Browsers make it easy to record bookmarks (Netscape) or favorites (Internet Explorer) so you can easily return to a specific page. (See the IMSA MicroModules on how to make bookmarks, if you are interested in more on saving URLs.)

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Authored by Lora K. Kaisler and Dennis O'Connor 2003 - 2005