- Jun 30
- 6 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The perfect domain is just a click away: find your domain→
A web address is what gets you from a blank search bar to a specific place on the internet in seconds. It’s the line of text you type or click that points your browser to a website, page, image or file.
Behind every web address is a clear structure that tells the internet exactly where to go and how to load what you’re looking for. Once you understand how it works, it becomes much easier to navigate, share and even build a website yourself. And a custom domain is even more important today.
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TL;DR: web address
A web address (also called a URL) is the unique string of text that points a browser to a specific page, file or resource online. Every address is built from the same handful of parts, and understanding how they fit together makes it easier to pick a domain, organize your site and know exactly how visitors reach each page.
You’ll learn:
What a web address is and the problem it was created to solve
The five components of a web address: scheme, domain name, top-level domain, path and subdomain
The two types of URL, absolute and relative, and how they differ
How a web address differs from a domain name
How to register your own domain with Wix
What is a web address?
A web address, also called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator), is the unique address that tells your browser where to find a specific page, file or other resource on the internet. Every webpage has its own web address, allowing you to visit it by typing or clicking the URL. Without web addresses, you’d have to remember long strings of numbers called IP addresses to access websites.
Computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee introduced the concept in the late 1980s while developing the World Wide Web. His goal was to make the internet easier for everyone to use by giving every webpage a unique, human-readable address instead of requiring people to remember complex numerical IP addresses. This simple idea made navigating the web much more intuitive and remains the standard way we access websites today.
Components of a web address
Every web address follows the same format. Let’s use this page’s URL as an example to explore its individual components: https://www.wix.com/blog/web-address
Scheme
The scheme is the protocol your browser uses to establish a connection with a website. According to IBM, the scheme identifies the protocol used to access a resource on the internet. The two most common schemes are http and https. This page uses https, meaning the connection is secured by a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
Example: https://www.wix.com/blog/web-address
Domain name
A domain name is the unique, memorable name people use to find your website, and it’s associated with the site’s internet protocol (IP) address. It tells browsers which server to connect to and gives your website a human-friendly identity instead of a string of numbers.
Example: https://www.wix.com/blog/web-address/
Top-level domain (TLD)
Also called a domain extension, the top-level domain is the extension that follows your domain name, appearing after the final period in a web address. In this example, the extension is .com, the most widely used TLD. It helps identify the type or purpose of a website and is part of how browsers locate the correct destination.
Example: https://www.wix.com/blog/web-address/
Path
The path comes after the domain name and extension, pointing to the specific page or piece of content within a website. It tells the browser exactly which page, article or resource to open instead of taking the user to the homepage.
Example: https://www.wix.com/blog/web-address/
Subdomain
A subdomain appears before the domain name and is a way to organize different sections of a website into separate areas. Businesses often use subdomains for blogs, support centers, help documentation or regional versions of a site. This page doesn’t use a subdomain, but if the blog did, the address could look like https://blog.wix.com/web-address/.
Types of web address
There are two types of URLs:
Absolute URL: An absolute URL contains all web address components, including the scheme, domain name, domain extension and path. It provides the webpage’s location information so when you type it into a search bar, you will arrive at the exact page correlated with the URL.
Relative URL: A relative URL contains only the path of a web address. Closed networks (like a company’s intranet) use relative URLs when the domain name can be assumed. Users only need to convey the path to find their destination. For example, if this page was hosted on Wix’s internal servers, the relative URL might be: /blog/web-address/.
How web addresses work behind the scenes
When you type a web address into your browser and press Enter, your browser first needs to figure out where that website is located. It does this by checking the website’s domain name, such as example.com, and looking for the server that stores the site’s files.
To find the correct server, your browser sends a request to the Domain Name System (DNS). Often described as the internet’s phonebook, DNS translates a human-friendly domain name into an IP address, which is a unique string of numbers that identifies the server hosting the website. Once the browser has the correct IP address, it can connect to that server.
The server then sends the requested files, including the HTML, images, stylesheets and scripts that make up the page. Your browser downloads these resources, assembles them and displays the finished website on your screen. This entire process usually takes only a fraction of a second, allowing websites to load almost instantly.
What’s the difference between a URL and a web address?
There is no difference between a URL and a web address. A domain name and a URL, on the other hand, differ. A domain name is the master web address and the name of your website. For a business, the domain name typically contains the company name (e.g. Wix’s domain name is wix.com). The absolute URL for Wix’s homepage is https://www.wix.com, which is also the web address.
Browsers use URLs to access resources like HTML pages, images and CSS documents. Ideally, each URL corresponds to a unique resource, but there are exceptions, such as when a resource no longer exists or has been relocated.
How to choose a web address
Choose a domain name
Decide on a domain extension
Organize your URL paths
Your website’s URL contributes to your brand’s professional authority. Follow these steps to choose a web address that represents your website accordingly:
01. Choose a domain name
Choosing a domain name strategically distinguishes your web address. It means that you register the specific web address name and can add paths as you see fit. When learning how to create a website, you’ll find that it’s best to include your business name in the domain name. In fact, check that the domain is available when finalizing your business name to ensure that you have the rights to both.
02. Decide on a domain extension
Most websites use .com, .org and .net as domain extensions, but you can choose from many other top-level domain (TLD) options, including generic top-level domains (gTLD) and country code top-level domains (ccTLD). A few gTLDs are .edu (post-secondary educational institutions), .info (informational websites) and .gov (American government website). A ccTLD is any country-specific extension, such as .ca (Canada) or .de (Germany).
Learn more: What makes a good website
03. Organize your URL paths
Your domain name and extension are your website’s primary web address and will lead users to your home page. Additionally, your website will have multiple pages and links that will require web addresses. As the website owner, you can control the path’s layout. Typically, you want your paths to be clear and logical so users can see the journey they’ve taken to arrive on their current page.
Web address best practices
A well-structured web address is easier for people to read, remember and share. It can also help search engines understand what a page is about. In general, keep URLs short, descriptive and consistent, avoiding unnecessary words, numbers or symbols that make them difficult to understand.
Best practices for creating web addresses
Keep it short: Shorter URLs are easier to type, share and remember.
Use descriptive words: Include words that clearly describe the page’s content.
Separate words with hyphens: Hyphens improve readability for both users and search engines.
Avoid unnecessary numbers and special characters: Random numbers, symbols and long strings make URLs harder to understand.
Use lowercase letters: Lowercase URLs prevent confusion and help avoid duplicate versions of the same page on some servers.
Create a logical structure: Organize pages into clear folders, such as /blog/ or /products/, to make navigation more intuitive.
Keep URLs consistent: Follow the same naming style across your website so visitors know what to expect.
Don’t change URLs unnecessarily: If you need to rename a page, set up a 301 redirect so visitors and search engines are automatically sent to the new address.
