What is the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web, and how does a web page reach your browser?
Distinguish the internet from the World Wide Web, and describe the roles of browsers, web servers, URLs and HTTP in loading a page
A focused answer to the O-Level Computing point on the internet and the Web. The difference between the internet (the network) and the Web (pages on it), and the roles of browsers, web servers, URLs, HTTP and HTTPS in loading a page.
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What this dot point is asking
SEAB wants you to tell the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web, and to describe how a web page is requested and displayed, naming the roles of the browser, web server, URL and HTTP. The central idea is that the internet is the underlying network, the Web is one service running on it, and loading a page is a request-and-response between a browser and a server.
The answer
Internet versus World Wide Web
These are often confused but are not the same:
- The internet is the global network of connected computers, with all the cables, routers and wireless links that let them communicate.
- The World Wide Web is one service that runs on the internet: the collection of web pages and websites, joined by hyperlinks, that you view in a browser.
So the internet is the network; the Web is content carried on it. Email, file transfer and online gaming also use the internet but are not part of the Web.
Web browsers
A web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox) is software that:
- sends requests for web pages to web servers,
- receives the page's files (HTML, images, styles),
- and renders them into the page you see, following hyperlinks when clicked.
Web servers
A web server is a computer that stores websites and waits for requests. When a browser asks for a page, the server finds it and sends it back.
URLs
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the full address of a web resource:
https://www.example.com/about
The domain name (www.example.com) identifies the website; the rest points to the specific page.
HTTP and HTTPS
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules browsers and servers use to request and send web pages. HTTPS is the secure version: the S stands for Secure and adds encryption, so data sent between browser and server is scrambled and safe from eavesdroppers.
How a page loads
- You type a URL; the browser sends an HTTP request to the web server.
- The server finds the requested page.
- The server sends the page's files back.
- The browser renders the files and displays the page.
Examples in context
Example 1. Checking the weather. Opening a weather site, the browser sends a request to the site's web server, which returns the page; the browser displays the forecast. The internet carried the request and reply, while the Web supplied the page itself.
Example 2. Online banking over HTTPS. A bank's site uses HTTPS so the login details and balances travel encrypted between the browser and the server. Even if someone intercepted the data on the network, they could not read it, which is why the padlock and https matter for sensitive sites.
Try this
Q1. State one internet service that is not part of the World Wide Web. [1 mark]
- Cue. Email (online gaming or file transfer are also acceptable).
Q2. State what a web server does when it receives a request for a page. [2 marks]
- Cue. It finds the requested page and sends its files back to the browser.
Q3. Explain what the 'S' in HTTPS provides. [2 marks]
- Cue. Security through encryption, so data between the browser and server is scrambled and cannot be read if intercepted.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SEAB exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Original4 marks(a) Explain the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web. (b) State the role of a web browser.Show worked answer →
(a) The internet is the global network of connected computers and the infrastructure (cables, routers, wireless links) that lets them communicate. The World Wide Web is one service that runs on the internet: the collection of web pages and websites, linked by hyperlinks, that you view in a browser. The internet is the network; the Web is content carried on it. Email and online gaming also use the internet but are not part of the Web.
(b) A web browser is software that requests web pages from web servers, receives the page (HTML and other files), and displays it for the user. It also follows hyperlinks and renders text, images and layout.
Markers reward the internet as the network and the Web as pages/content on it (with a non-Web example such as email), and the browser as software that requests and displays web pages.
Original5 marksA user types a web address into a browser and a page appears. (a) State what a URL is and give the part that identifies the website. (b) Describe, in order, the main steps by which the page is requested and displayed. (c) State what the 'S' in HTTPS adds.Show worked answer →
(a) A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the full web address of a resource, such as https://www.example.com/page. The domain name (www.example.com) identifies the website.
(b) Main steps:
- The browser sends a request for the page to the web server, using HTTP.
- The web server finds the requested page.
- The server sends the page (HTML and other files) back to the browser.
- The browser renders the files and displays the page to the user.
(c) The S in HTTPS stands for Secure: it adds encryption, so data between the browser and the server is scrambled and cannot be read if intercepted.
Markers reward URL as the address with the domain naming the site, the request-find-send-render sequence, and HTTPS adding encryption for security.
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