Submitted by Jonah Munro-Fenn on Wed, 2022-03-09 08:16

A Uniform Resource Locator, or URL for short, is, basically, an address for your computer to follow to reach a particular resource that is available online.

URLs have definable components to them, as follows:

Click on an image to make it bigger.
screenshot of a test page with a box drawn around the protocol

1. Protocol

The Protocol part of a URL determines how data is transferred between the host and a client (in this case, a web browser). You're probably most familiar with the https:// protocol, which is a secure HyperText Transfer Protocol.
screenshot of a test page with a box drawn around the base URL

2. Base URL

The Base URL is, basically, the front page of your site. This is technically known as the Domain (and possibly Sub-Domain) and also commonly known as: Site Root, Home Page, Landing Page, etc.
screenshot of a test page with a box drawn around the URL path

3. URL Path

The URL Path is the exact location of a page, file, or other resource within a domain.