What Is a URL?

A URL is a standardized string that points to a single resource on the internet. It tells your browser which protocol to use, which server to contact, and which file or endpoint to ask for.

Think of it as the postal address for content on the web — unique, structured, and machine-readable.

When you press Enter on a URL, your browser splits it into parts, resolves the domain to an IP address, opens a connection to that server, and asks for the specific resource named in the path.

The server replies with HTML, an image, a JSON payload, or whatever the URL pointed at. The browser then renders the result.

A URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) is the umbrella term for any identifier of a resource. A URL is a URI that also tells you how to reach the resource (the protocol).

A 'link' is the clickable element on a page; the URL is the destination it points to. In everyday speech the three are used interchangeably, and that's usually fine.

Clean, descriptive URLs are easier to read, easier to remember, and easier for search engines to understand. They also survive sharing on social media without breaking.

Short slugs, lowercase letters, and hyphens between words are the modern convention — and tools like the Links Gorilla URL Parser and Slug Generator help you produce them.