Scanning the Page:
Reading the URL & Page

Before you even look at the content of a web page, looking at the web page itself can give you hints about the source and the quality of the page.

Every web page has a unique web address, or URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Below is a short URL broken into three main parts – the server name, the directory name, and the file name.

Look at the server name. This is usually divided into three parts. The www. indicates the page is on the World Wide Web. The middle part is often the name of the company or organization hosting the web page. The third part is the domain, usually a three-letter code – like .com or .edu. After the server name comes a /, followed by the directory name indicating where the page file is stored, and the file name for that individual web page.

Knowing who hosts a web site can give you an idea about who created the web site and the intent of the web site. Look at the last three letters in the server name. There are six common domains – .com, .edu, .org, .gov, .net, or .mil. These letters can give you an idea about who hosts the web site, and for what purpose the site was created.

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This page was last updated on August 31, 2004.

© 2004 University Library System, University of Pittsburgh