The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is how we visit websites on the internet. It was invented in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee. The web connects billions of pages of information. You use it every time you visit a website or watch a video online.

How the Web Works

Every website has an address called a URL. When you type a URL, your computer asks a server to send the web page. Servers are powerful computers that store websites. The information travels through cables and sometimes even under the ocean. It all happens in less than a second.

The Internet and the Web Are Different

Many people think the internet and the web are the same thing. The internet is the network of cables and connections between computers. The web is just one thing that runs on the internet. Email and video calls also use the internet but are not part of the web.

Fun Facts

• The first website ever made is still online today. It was created in 1991.
• There are nearly 2 billion websites on the World Wide Web.
• Tim Berners-Lee gave the web to the world for free. He did not charge anyone to use his invention.

Did You Know?

The letters "www" in a web address stand for World Wide Web. Tim Berners-Lee almost named it the "Information Mesh" instead!