The web address contains information about the location of the webpage.
It is also known as the URL (uniform resource locator).
Like the address for your home, a web address organizes information about a webpage's location in a predictable way.
This is how to break down the information using the following URL as an example:
www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-697_d1o2.pdf
Network:
This is a set of connected webpages. The address for the network is typically the same as the homepage of a website. Under that website will be a variety of webpages. The last part of the network address is the top level domain name.
From the example, www.supremecourt.gov is the network section of the URL, and the top level domain is .gov.
Top Level Domain:
This indicates the type of network, and can give you clues about the purpose/owners of a website. Websites based outside of the United States will often include a country code as part of the domain (e.g. .uk, .ca, .ng, etc.)
Common domain names:
- .com (business)
- .org (organization)
- .edu (education)
- .gov (government)
Note: there are few restrictions about what domain name a website must use. A business can choose either .com or .org. Only a government site can use .gov, but you may find some government sites under other domains (e.g. some public schools use .org).
Folders & subfolders:
Just like on your personal computer, a website may have a variety of folders and subfolders to organize all of the content on the website.
The example above has a folder called opinions that contains a subfolder of PDF documents from 2012 called 12pdf.
File name:
The last part of a web address gives the name of the individual file that displays when you go to that address. Web address often end with the file name .htm or .html, which indicates that you are looking at a regular webpage.
The example address above has the file name 11-697_d1o2.pdf. Because the file name ends with .pdf, it will display a PDF document.
