Andromeda
Note

URL Anatomy

Definition

URL Anatomy is the structural breakdown of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), which is the standard address used to identify and locate a specific resource on the web.

Why It Matters

Understanding URL anatomy is critical for designing proper site architectures, configuring links, setting up server redirects, and managing security.

Core Concepts

  • URL Components:
    • Protocol/Scheme: http:// or https:// (secure).
    • Domain/Hostname: www.example.com (points to the hosting server).
    • Path: /2018/page.html (the file or directory path on the server).
  https://www.example.com/blog/article.html?id=123#comments
  └─┬─┘   └──────┬──────┘└───────┬───────┘ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘
  Protocol     Domain          Path         Query   Fragment
  • Default Documents: Servers are configured to serve default files (usually index.html) when a directory path is requested.
  • Paths:
    • Absolute URLs: Complete URL including protocol and domain.
    • Relative URLs: Points to a resource relative to the current file.
    • Site-Root Paths: Paths starting with / reference the root of the domain.

Connected Concepts

Connected notes