Website addresses have become so commonplace that most non-techies don’t know what the acronym “URL” represents. (It’s Uniform Resource Locators, by the way.) Whether you work with websites on a daily basis or simply surf for pleasure, it is helpful, and sometimes even necessary, to understand the anatomy of a URL.
Below are a few key parts of a URL that every user should know.
1. Scheme – The scheme points web servers in the right direction when accessing pages on a website. The most common scheme is HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This security protocol directs the web browser to encrypt information like passwords and credit card information, as well as helps the site rank higher on Google. To promote the use of secure websites, Google prefers to rank websites higher with HTTPS compared to HTTP. Another popular scheme is FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, which is used to transfer files over the Internet. Most web builders use FTP to upload and download files for websites, a need most casual website users never have.
2. Subdomain – The most common subdomain is “www,” which indicates that a site is part of the web, as opposed to another part of the Internet like FTP. In the early days, all URLs included “www.” Today, however, many people prefer “naked domains” (ex: PhillipsMarek.com) that look cleaner on promotional material. It’s also important to note that any string of letters can be used as the subdomain, like blog.yourdomain.com, and won’t negatively impact SEO.
3. Second-Level Domain – The second-level domain (SLD) is the official name of the website (ex: the "PhillipsMarek" in PhillipsMarek.com) and is situated to the left of the domain extension (.com, .net, .org, etc.). At a glance, it helps people know what site they’re visiting.
4. Top-Level Domain – The top-level domain (TLD) is the highest level in the Internet’s hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS) because it impacts the SEO strategy and adds credibility to the URL. Most are generic top-level domains (gTDL) that are widely used on the Internet with extensions like “.com,” “.info,” “.net” and “.org.” Sponsored top-level domains (sTDL) require that a sponsor represent the community served by the domain. Examples of this include “.gov,” “.edu,” “.mil” and “.coop.” Finally, country code top-level domains (ccTDL) are reserved for countries, sovereign states or territories with a country identification. Popular ones include “.us” for the United States and “.uk” for the United Kingdom.
5. Subdirectory – Also known as a “subfolder,” the subdirectory helps website users and web crawlers know what section of the webpage they’re on at any time. An online retailer that has many “departments” on the website will likely treat the subdirectory as an important navigation tool for users. For example, a store called Buy Now might represent their shoe section in this way—www.BuyNow.com/shoes.