How to Enter an Address and Access a Website

Locate the address bar. This is usually the white bar at the top of your browser window. You need to type the web address here (following the correct syntax) and then press ↵ Enter to access the website.

Ensure that you are not confusing it with the search bar. The search bar is typically marked with the logo of a search engine (such as Google, Bing, etc.) and the magnifying glass icon. While you can still access websites by entering their addresses in the search bar, this method takes more time.

• If the page that appears after entering the address is a search engine result, you might have mistakenly used the search bar, or your computer could be infected with spyware.

Click on the empty space in the address bar. Use the ← Backspace key to delete text from the address bar. If the address bar is empty, a vertical blinking line will indicate where text will appear when you type.

Type the web address into the address bar. A web address is also known as a URL: which stands for Uniform Resource Locator. In the vast interconnected web of the Internet, a URL serves as the reference for a specific webpage or 'resource'. A URL consists of two main parts: the protocol identifier and the resource name, separated by a colon and two slashes.

• Protocol identifier: this part of the URL indicates the type of protocol being used. For example, in the URL http://example.com, the protocol is http.
• Resource name: this second part of the URL represents the IP address or domain name of the resource. For instance, in the URL http://example.com, the resource name is example.com.

Don't worry too much about entering the protocol unless you want to access an encrypted website. There's no need to type the protocol part (unless you wish to use a protocol other than the default). http:// is the default protocol for most websites, but pages used for login or those with forms will employ the https:// protocol. This ensures that information is encrypted and not intercepted.

• Some browsers will replace the protocol in the URL with a padlock icon, indicating that the page is a secure https:// site. You should be mindful of security warnings your browser gives about a site's certificate.
• In the early days of the Internet, users had to manually input the protocol when visiting any website. Nowadays, this step is unnecessary.

Enter the subdomain www. The 'www' is merely a subdomain for websites and is not technically part of the URL itself. However, some websites use different subdomains, such as video.google.com. Be sure to check that you don't miss any relevant subdomains when entering the full URL.

Enter the domain name. In this example, example.com is the domain name, followed by the second-level domain .com. This is the essential information you need to reach a website. Ensure that every character is typed correctly and the second-level domain is accurate.

• Some second-level domains are specific to a location or field. For instance: .ca is a second-level domain for websites in Canada, .gov is reserved for government websites, and so forth.
• If you're entering the domain but the website doesn't appear, it could be due to an incorrect domain. Double-check your spelling and ensure the domain is entered properly. If the website still doesn't load, the content might no longer exist.

Enter the file path to reach a specific page on the website. To go directly to a particular page within a website, you need to enter the file path. The file path follows the "/" symbol, which represents a subdirectory of the website. Each additional "/" shows that you are navigating deeper into the site. The path ends with the filename, which may also include an extension (for example: "example.com/subdirectory/filename.html").

• Most URLs don’t require a file extension as it is often added automatically. However, it's still important to verify the file path for accuracy. For example, /page.php and /page.html are completely different files.

Use the computer's Copy feature if possible. To reduce the risk of errors when manually entering long strings of characters into the address bar, you can use the copy and paste function.

Hiểu ý nghĩa các tham số và ký tự neo. Những ký tự lạ có thể xuất hiện trong thanh địa chỉ như: ?, # và dãy số. Bạn không cần bận tâm về điều này, trừ trường hợp cần phải sao chép chuỗi ký tự đó để đi đến trang web cụ thể.

• Dấu "?" cùng với chữ cái/số phía sau URL được gọi là tham số. Tham số được khởi tạo một cách tự động, bạn không cần phải nhập.
• Dấu "#" cùng với chữ cái/số là ký tự neo. Đôi khi website có các điểm cụ thểm trên trang và ký tự neo sẽ giúp bạn truy cập trực tiếp đến vị trí này. Trang web sẽ tự cộng cuộn xuống đến vị trí neo.

• Nếu không biết nhập đường dẫn, bạn có thể truy cập www.google.com và tìm theo danh mục của website, chẳng hạn như "web thời trang" hoặc "Mytour". Lướt qua các kết quả, bạn sẽ khám phá được nhiều website thú vị!
• Không phải tên miền nào cũng sẽ hiện ra nếu bạn chỉ nhập "tên miền.com". Có thể bạn sẽ cần thêm www vào phía trước tên miền, chẳng hạn như: www.Mytour.com.

• Nếu thêm nhầm dấu cách vào giữa các ký tự khi nhập địa chỉ web, bạn sẽ bị chuyển hướng đến công cụ tìm kiếm.