Skip to main content

Components that make up the Web

Short answer

The Web's components include browsers, web servers, URLs, HTTP/HTTPS, HTML, hyperlinks, DNS, TCP/IP, databases, and server-side programs. They cooperate to locate, transmit, generate, and render web resources.

What are the different components that make up the Web? Describe briefly.

The Web works through several cooperating components.

  1. Web clients (browsers): Software such as Chrome or Firefox that sends HTTP requests, receives responses and renders pages.
  2. Web servers: Programs (Apache, Nginx, IIS) that store web resources and reply to requests. Dynamic requests are passed to server-side programs.
  3. Web pages / documents and websites: Resources written in HTML (with CSS, JavaScript, images, media). A website is a collection of related pages.
  4. URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The unique address of a resource, e.g. https://www.example.com:443/path/page.html?id=5. It has a scheme, host, port, path and query.
  5. HTTP/HTTPS: The application-level protocol that defines the request/response format (methods, headers, status codes).
  6. HTML: The markup language that structures content and defines hyperlinks. CSS and JavaScript add style and behaviour.
  7. Hyperlinks / hypertext: Links that connect one resource to another and make the Web a web of documents.
  8. DNS: Converts domain names into IP addresses.
  9. Underlying Internet (TCP/IP): Transports the data packets between client and server.
  10. Databases and server-side programs: Generate dynamic content (PHP, Servlets, CGI).
  11. Search engines and proxies: Help locate information and improve performance/security.
Browser --URL--> DNS --> Web server --> (script) --> Database
   ^                         |
   +------ HTTP response ----+

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

Related questions

All Web Technology chapter 2 questions →