IT basics · Lesson 4 of 6 · About 10 minutes
How a browser opens a website
Study the required lesson, then use the four questions to check your understanding.
Required reading
How the web works · MDN · Free reading, no account needed.
Read “Clients and servers” and “The other parts of the toolbox”. Stop before “So what happens, exactly?”.
Open required reading ↗The reading opens in another tab. Return here for the checks.
Optional ITForMe explanation and example
Your browser is a client: it requests web content. A web server receives requests and sends responses. Some displayed content is already cached on your device.
DNS looks up a domain name, such as example.com, to obtain an IP address used to contact a server. The domain name and the server's network address have different jobs.
HTTP defines requests and responses used on the web. HTTPS adds encrypted transport. DNS finding an address is one step; it does not prove the web server is reachable or the requested page exists.
Example: The browser obtains an address for a site's name, then requests a page from its server. The server can return content or an error response; a successful name lookup alone cannot guarantee the page loads.
Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Feedback appears after submission.