Web

What Is the Web?

The Web is the common name for the World Wide Web, a subset of the Internet that consists of interlinked web pages and online resources that can be accessed by a web browser. Technically, the Web is considered to be a network service because it relies on the Internet’s infrastructure and protocols to function.

The Web provides a structured and standardized way for users to access and interact with a vast array of resources and functionalities over the Internet. It’s important to understand, however, that the Web is just one of the ways that information is shared over the Internet.

Other network services used to communicate and share information over the Internet include email, text messaging (SMS), file transfer (FTP), and voice over the Internet protocol (VoIP).

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. What Is the Web?
2. Key Takeaways
3. Web History
4. How Does the Web Work?
5. Key Components of Web Technology
6. Web Features
7. Web vs. Internet
8. Dark Web vs. Deep Web & Semantic Web
9. The Future of the World Wide Web
10. The Bottom Line
11. FAQs
12. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. What Is the Web?
2. Key Takeaways
3. Web History
Show Full Guide
4. How Does the Web Work?
5. Key Components of Web Technology
6. Web Features
7. Web vs. Internet
8. Dark Web vs. Deep Web & Semantic Web
9. The Future of the World Wide Web
10. The Bottom Line
11. FAQs
12. References

Web History

In 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), proposed a system for sharing information using hypertext which laid the foundation for the World Wide Web.

The early Web, which is now commonly referred to as Web 1.0, was characterized by static webpages and text-based content interconnected by hyperlinks. While digital images existed, their use was often limited due to bandwidth constraints.

Web 2.0 introduced dynamic content, user-generated content (UGC), and social media platforms. The transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 represents a significant shift in how users interacted with the web.

The development of new technologies and standards enabled more sophisticated website designs that moved beyond the text-heavy pages of Web 1.0 and facilitated the development of interactive mobile apps and services.

Web 3.0, with its focus on the semantic Web, and its blockchain-based counterpart, Web3, are both building upon the foundations laid by the first two iterations of the World Wide Web. Their incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), semantic understanding, and decentralization is expected to make the Web more automated, personalized, and secure in the future.

How Does the Web Work?

When a user enters a URL or clicks a hyperlink in a web browser, the browser sends an HTTP or HTTPS request to the appropriate web server. The server processes the request and sends the corresponding web page or resource back to the browser. The browser then renders the content and displays it to the user.

Key Components of Web Technology

The key components of Web technology include hyperlinks, markup languages, URLs, browsers, server-side technologies, Internet protocols, and application programming interfaces (APIs):

Web Features

Web features are specific functionalities or capabilities provided by web technologies and standards that enhance the user experience (UX), and performance, or add specific interactive elements to websites and applications.

Examples of popular Web features include:

Web vs. Internet

While the terms Web and Internet are often used as synonyms in everyday conversations, technically, the two terms do not describe the same thing. The Internet is a global network of interconnected computing and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The Web is a network service that operates over the Internet and provides users with access to interlinked resources through a browser.

Dark Web vs. Deep Web & Semantic Web

The dark Web, deep Web, and semantic Web are three distinct concepts within the broader context of the World Wide Web.

The dark Web is the part of the deep Web that has been intentionally hidden. It is not accessible through standard web browsers.

The deep web is the part of the Internet that is not indexed by search engines. It includes content that is behind paywalls and corporate login screens.

The semantic Web is a vision for the next evolution of the World Wide Web. If the promise of the semantic web and its use of intelligent agents continues to pan out, all data will be interconnected in a way that is understandable by both humans and machines.

The Future of the World Wide Web

The future of the World Wide Web is expected to be shaped by an increasing emphasis on security, privacy, and decentralization.

The continued integration of AI and machine learning (ML) is expected to significantly transform how we interact with web content, because it will allow machines to create, understand, and connect information even better than humans do today. This capability is expected to improve data discovery and integration across platforms and lead to a more connected and intelligent Internet where structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data from disparate sources can be accessed and used seamlessly in real-time applications.

While it’s likely that web browsers will remain important for accessing web resources in the near term, it’s likely those resources will be accessed and navigated with voice user interfaces (VUIs) and personal AI assistants instead of browsers in the future.

The Bottom Line

The definition of the Web has evolved over the years to reflect technological advancements and changes in usage patterns. In the 1990s, the Web was primarily understood to be a collection of hyperlinked text documents accessed over the Internet through a browser.

Today, the Web is just one of many network services that can be used to communicate information, and with the availability of mobile apps for ChatGPT and Gemini, it can be argued that access to Web content is no longer confined exclusively to browsers.

FAQs