- Websites are accessed via a web address, also known as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
- A full web address looks like this: https://www.example.com
For example:
- Google: https://ww.google.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk
Each page on a website also has it's own unique URL which is usually the web address with some further information after a / character:
For example:
- BBC News Home page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news
- YouTube Gannam Style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Page URLs can be either quite simple or quite complicated depending on the system the website uses and how the information on the website is arranged.
A browser has an address bar at the top of the window. When accessing a website using the web address, you enter the address here. Most browsers will allow you to enter an abbreviated version of the full web address (eg google.com, rather than https://www.google.com)
Some browsers have Google, Bing or other search engines embedded within their home screen. This is for a web search and although entering a web address in this box will usually work, it can't be guaranteed.
As an analogy, if a web browser was a telephone, the address bar is the dial pad, the search box is directory enquiries.