Method of Data Transfer

• The first part of a web address is how the data is being transferred over the Internet. One of the most common is "http" and it stands for "hypertext transfer protocol." There is also "ftp" which is a way to transfer files over the Internet. Newsgroups use "news" and "file" means that the file is on a local hard drive. This is typically followed by "://"
  
  

World Wide Web

• Websites sometimes have "www" before the name of the site. This indicates that the web address is going to a site that is on the World Wide Web.
  
  

Name of the Site

• The meat of the web address follows the "www" This is the name of the site. It will have a period on either side if it.
  
  

Domain Name

• The two or three letters after the final period indicates the web address domain name. Typically, the domain name will be "com" or "net." A site with a "com" at the end of it is a commercial site. There is also "edu" for an educational institution site like a university or "gov" which is a site for a governmental agency. Organizations will have "org" at the of their websites.
  
  

Directory Page

• At times, a web address will have a "/" followed by a word or a set of letters and or numbers. This web address goes to a page on the site. Much like the file structure on a computer, users should think about the "/" in a web address as file or folder inside another file or folder.