ARCHIVED: What is a URL?

This content has been archived, and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. Information here may no longer be accurate, and links may no longer be available or reliable.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator, and is used to specify addresses on the World Wide Web. A URL is the fundamental network identification for any resource connected to the web (e.g., hypertext pages, images, and sound files).

URLs have the following format:

  protocol://hostname/other_information

For example, the URL for Indiana University's home page is:

  http://www.indiana.edu/

The protocol specifies how information from the link is transferred. The protocol used for web resources is HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Other protocols compatible with most web browsers include HTTPS, FTP, telnet, newsgroups, and Gopher. The protocol is followed by a colon, two slashes, and then the domain name. The domain name is the computer on which the resource is located. Links to particular files or subdirectories may be further specified after the domain name. Directory names are separated by single forward slashes.

For more about URLs at Web Naming and Addressing Overview.