URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – A Beginner's Guide

What Is a URL?

Like every house has an address, every resource on the web also has an address to access it. That address is known as the URL of that resource. A basic URL consists of three main parts that are separated by different characters. These parts include Protocol, the host's name or address, and a resource location. A simple URL string usually is in the following form: https://www.example.com/index.html. So, what does "URL" stand for? The acronymn URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Which is an address used by the browsers to access any published resource on the web worldwide.

A URL is one of the main concepts of the web. It is merely an address to every and any web source that is published on the web. Every resource has a unique URL. Through URL, it is easier and faster to find a resource on the web. Every URL leads to a unique resource like an HTML page, an image or a document, etc.

The syntax of a URL is essential because if the syntax is not followed, the URL can be regarded as invalid syntax. A URL is composed of different parts, out of which some are optional, and others are mandatory. The most important aspects of the syntax of a URL are:

  • Protocol: The first part of the URL is known as the Protocol. It is compulsory for any URL as it indicates the browser must use the browser. There are quite a few protocols, but the most common Protocol is used for websites, i.e., HTTP.
  • Domain: Domain is the next part of a URL after the Protocol. It indicates the Web server being requested.
  • Port: Port indicated the technical gate through which the resources on the webserver are accessed.
  • Path to the file: Next thing to specify in the URL is the path to the file, which is the path of the resource on the webserver.
  • Anchor: An anchor is like a bookmark in the resource, which directs the browser to show contents located at that particular spot.

After understanding the different parts of the URL, we can demonstrate the syntax of any URL in the following way: Protocol://domain_name:port/path-to-file#anchor

  • Absolute URLs: The URLs discussed up till now are known as absolute URLs. This URL is also known as the full URL and contains the complete address of the page or resource you are accessing.
  • Relative URLs: The relative URLs do not contain the webpage's complete address but only include the relative URL located after the domain URL. A relative URL does not contain any protocol or machine information that is why relative URLs are shorter than the absolute URLs.

URLs may look technical or computer-readable, but they represent the human-readable address for a web resource or site. For making the memorizing of the URLs easier for any person, the development of Semantic URLs is encouraged.

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Advantagesof Semantic URLs & Security Concerns

In the semantic URLs, words with inherent meaning are used so that anyone can understand even if they do not have any technical knowledge. These URLs are always given priority because they are more comfortable for any person to understand and memorize. Anyone can remember and understand the semantic URLs, and it is a lot easier for them to enter a semantic URL in the browser address bar to get access to a specific source.

Not all the URLs are semantic. The computer does not understand semantics, so any URL is the same for the laptop, whether semantic. Semantic URLs are only for the understanding of humans. Semantic URLs are somewhat irrelevant to the computer, but you can have many advantages with semantic URLs.

There are many advantages of semantic URLs. The most important benefits are listed below.

  • It is a lot easier for anyone to make changes to the semantic URLs.
  • Through the semantic URLs, any user can understand the fundamental purpose of the URL.
  • Semantic URLs clarify the users about what they are interacting with on the web.
  • Semantic URLs can be very helpful in improving the classification of the associated resources or websites.

Security of the URLs is one of the main points to understand. A URL does not pose any security threat itself. The thing to understand is that a URL is just an address to a resource on the web. It does not mean that the page you are opening today using a URL will remain there for eternity. There is a possibility that the site you are opening might be moved and replaced by some new website in the future. This is possible because the objects on the web servers can be moved and altered. So there is no guarantee that a URL will always take you to the same resource.

To conclude the above information, it is clear that a URL is simply an address to any resource or site on the world wide web. A URL is essential to get access to a website or web resource. These URLs can be absolute or relative. Complete URLs are full URLs, while relative URLs do not contain information like protocols and machine information. Relative URLs are shorter than the absolute URLs. The URLs which contain the words having inherent meaning are known as Semantic URLs, and these URLs are more straightforward for any person to understand and memorize. In short, a URL is just only an address to a specific source on the web. There is no guarantee that the resource accessed by a URL will always be the same as it can be taken down or redirected.