World Wide Web

History

Main article: History of the World Wide Web

The Web was invented by English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee while working at CERN.

The model was later popularised by Apple's HyperCard system. Unlike Hypercard, Berners-Lee's new system from the outset was meant to support links between multiple databases on independent computers, and to allow simultaneous access by many users from any computer on the Internet. He also specified that the system should eventually handle other media besides text, such as graphics, speech, and video. Links could refer to mutable data files, or even fire up programs on their server computer. He also conceived "gateways" that would allow access through the new system to documents organised in other ways (such as traditional computer file systems or the Usenet). Moreover, he insisted that the system should be decentralised, without any central control or coordination over the creation of links.

Berners-Lee submitted a proposal to CERN in May 1989, without giving the system a name. He got a working system implemented by the end of 1990, including a browser called WorldWideWeb (which became the name of the project and of the network) and an HTTP server running at CERN. As part of that development, he defined the first version of the HTTP protocol, the basic URL syntax, and implicitly made HTML the primary document format. The technology was released outside CERN to other research institutions starting in January 1991, and then to the whole Internet on 23 August 1991. The Web was a success at CERN and began to spread to other scientific and academic institutions. Within the next two years, there were 50 websites created.

CERN made the Web protocol and code available royalty free on 30 April 1993, enabling its widespread use. After the NCSA released the Mosaic web browser later that year, the Web's popularity grew rapidly as thousands of websites sprang up in less than a year. Mosaic was a graphical browser that could display inline images and submit forms that were processed by the HTTPd server. Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark founded Netscape the following year and released the Navigator browser, which introduced Java and JavaScript to the Web. It quickly became the dominant browser. Netscape became a public company in 1995, which triggered a frenzy for the Web and started the dot-com bubble. Microsoft responded by developing its own browser, Internet Explorer, starting the browser wars. By bundling it with Windows, it became the dominant browser for 14 years.

Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) which created XML in 1996 and recommended replacing HTML with stricter XHTML. In the meantime, developers began exploiting an IE feature called XMLHttpRequest to make Ajax applications and launched the Web 2.0 revolution. Mozilla, Opera, and Apple rejected XHTML and created the WHATWG which developed HTML5. In 2009, the W3C conceded and abandoned XHTML. In 2019, it ceded control of the HTML specification to the WHATWG.

The World Wide Web has been central to the development of the Information Age and is the primary tool billions of people use to interact on the Internet.

Competition with Gopher

Gopher was run by the University of Minnesota and the alternative to the World Wide Web.

• In February 1993, the University of Minnesota announced that it would charge licensing fees for the use of its implementation of the Gopher server. Users became concerned that fees might also be charged for independent implementations. Gopher expansion stagnated, to the advantage of the World Wide Web which released the WWW into the public domain in April 1993, to which CERN maintained. In September 2000, the University of Minnesota re-licensed its Gopher software under the GNU General Public License.
• Gopher client functionality was quickly duplicated by the early Mosaic web browser, which subsumed its protocol.
• Gopher has a more rigid structure than the free-form HyperText Markup Language (HTML) of the Web. Every Gopher document has a defined format and type, and the typical user navigates through a single server-defined menu system to get to a particular document. This can be quite different from the way a user finds documents on the Web.
• Failure to follow the open systems model and bad publicity in comparison to the World Wide Web.

Nomenclature

Tim Berners-Lee states that World Wide Web is officially spelled as three separate words, each capitalised, with no intervening hyphens. Use of the www prefix has been declining, especially when web applications sought to brand their domain names and make them easily pronounceable. As the mobile web grew in popularity, services like Gmail.com, Outlook.com, Myspace.com, Facebook.com and Twitter.com are most often mentioned without adding "www." (or, indeed, ".com") to the domain.

In English, www is usually read as double-u double-u double-u. Some users pronounce it dub-dub-dub, particularly in New Zealand. Stephen Fry, in his "Podgrams" series of podcasts, pronounces it wuh wuh wuh. The English writer Douglas Adams once quipped in The Independent on Sunday (1999): "The World Wide Web is the only thing I know of whose shortened form takes three times longer to say than what it's short for".

Function

Main article: HTTP, HTML

The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used without much distinction. However, the two terms do not mean the same thing. The Internet is a global system of computer networks interconnected through telecommunications and optical networking. In contrast, the World Wide Web is a global collection of documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URIs. Web resources are accessed using HTTP or HTTPS, which are application-level Internet protocols that use the Internet transport protocols.

Viewing a web page on the World Wide Web normally begins either by typing the URL of the page into a web browser or by following a hyperlink to that page or resource. The web browser then initiates a series of background communication messages to fetch and display the requested page. In the 1990s, using a browser to view web pages—and to move from one web page to another through hyperlinks—came to be known as 'browsing,' 'web surfing' (after channel surfing), or 'navigating the Web'. Early studies of this new behaviour investigated user patterns in using web browsers. One study, for example, found five user patterns: exploratory surfing, window surfing, evolved surfing, bounded navigation, and targeted navigation.

The following example demonstrates the functioning of a web browser when accessing a page at the URL . The browser resolves the server name of the URL () into an Internet Protocol address using the globally distributed Domain Name System (DNS). This lookup returns an IP address such as 203.0.113.4 or 2001:db8:2e::7334. The browser then requests the resource by sending an HTTP request across the Internet to the computer at that address. It requests service from a specific TCP port number that is well known for the HTTP service, so that the receiving host can distinguish an HTTP request from other network protocols it may be servicing. HTTP normally uses port number 80 and, for HTTPS, it normally uses port number 443. The content of the HTTP request can be as simple as two lines of text:

GET /home.html HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org

The computer receiving the HTTP request delivers it to the web server software listening for requests on port 80. If the web server can fulfil the request, it sends an HTTP response back to the browser indicating success:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8

Followed by the content of the requested page. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for a basic web page might look like this:

<html>
  <head>
    <title>Example.org – The World Wide Web</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <p>The World Wide Web, abbreviated as WWW and commonly known ...</p>
  </body>
</html>

The web browser parses the HTML and interprets the markup (, for paragraph, and such) that surrounds the words to format the text on the screen. Many web pages use HTML to reference the URLs of other resources such as images, other embedded media, scripts that affect page behaviour, and Cascading Style Sheets that affect page layout. The browser makes additional HTTP requests to the web server for these other Internet media types. As it receives its content from the web server, the browser progressively renders the page onto the screen as specified by its HTML and these additional resources.

HTML

Main article: HTML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for creating web pages and web applications. With Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript, it forms a triad of cornerstone technologies for the World Wide Web.

Web browsers receive HTML documents from a web server or from local storage and render the documents into multimedia web pages. HTML describes the structure of a web page semantically and originally included cues for the appearance of the document.

HTML elements are the building blocks of HTML pages. With HTML constructs, images and other objects such as interactive forms may be embedded into the rendered page. HTML provides a means to create structured documents by denoting structural semantics for text such as headings, paragraphs, lists, links, quotes, and other items. HTML elements are delineated by tags, written using angle brackets. Tags such as and directly introduce content into the page. Other tags, such as , surround and provide information about document text and may include other tags as sub-elements. Browsers do not display the HTML tags, but use them to interpret the content of the page.

HTML can embed programs written in a scripting language such as JavaScript, which affects the behaviour and content of web pages. Inclusion of CSS defines the look and layout of content. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), maintainer of both the HTML and the CSS standards, has encouraged the use of CSS over explicit presentational HTML

Linking

Most web pages contain hyperlinks to other related pages and perhaps to downloadable files, source documents, definitions, and other web resources. In the underlying HTML, a hyperlink looks like this:

<a href="http://example.org/home.html">Example.org Homepage</a>.</syntaxhighlight>
Such a collection of useful, related resources interconnected via hypertext links is dubbed a ''web'' of information. Publication on the Internet created what Tim Berners-Lee first called the ''WorldWideWeb'' (in its original [[CamelCase]], which was subsequently discarded) in November 1990.<ref name="W90">{{cite web |url=http://w3.org/Proposal.html |title=WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project |first1=Tim |last1=Berners-Lee |author-link1=Tim Berners-Lee |first2=Robert |last2=Cailliau |author-link2=Robert Cailliau |date=12 November 1990 |access-date=12 May 2015 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502080527/http://www.w3.org/Proposal.html |archive-date=2 May 2015}}</ref>

The hyperlink structure of the web is described by the [[webgraph]]: the nodes of the web graph correspond to the web pages (or URLs), the directed edges between them to the hyperlinks. Over time, many web resources pointed to by hyperlinks disappear, relocate, or are replaced with different content. This makes hyperlinks obsolete, a phenomenon referred to in some circles as link rot, and the hyperlinks affected by it are often called [[link rot|"dead" links]].<!-- Note: if "dead" isn't in quotes, this page will throw a false positive on template maintenance script runs. --> The ephemeral nature of the Web has prompted many efforts to archive websites. The [[Internet Archive]], active since 1996, is the best known of such efforts.

=== www prefix ===
<!-- WWW prefix redirects here -->
Many hostnames used for the World Wide Web begin with ''www'' because of the long-standing practice of naming [[Internet]] hosts according to the services they provide. The [[hostname]] of a [[web server]] is often ''www'', in the same way that it may be ''ftp'' for an [[FTP server]], and ''news'' or ''nntp'' for a [[Usenet]] [[news server]]. These hostnames appear as Domain Name System (DNS) or [[subdomain]] names, as in ''www.example.com''. The use of ''www'' is not required by any technical or policy standard and many websites do not use it; the first web server was ''nxoc01.cern.ch''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html |title=Frequently asked questions by the Press |first=Tim |last=Berners-Lee |publisher=W3C |access-date=27 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802051415/http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/FAQ.html |archive-date=2 August 2009}}</ref> According to Paolo Palazzi, who worked at CERN along with Tim Berners-Lee, the popular use of ''www'' as subdomain was accidental; the World Wide Web project page was intended to be published at www.cern.ch while info.cern.ch was intended to be the CERN home page; however the DNS records were never switched, and the practice of prepending ''www'' to an institution's website domain name was subsequently copied.<ref>{{cite web |last=Palazzi |first=P |date=2011 |url=http://soft-shake.ch/2011/en/conference/sessions.html?key=earlydays |title=The Early Days of the WWW at CERN |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120723105704/http://soft-shake.ch/2011/en/conference/sessions.html?key=earlydays |archive-date=23 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=August 2022}} Many established websites still use the prefix, or they employ other subdomain names such as ''www2'', ''secure'' or ''en'' for special purposes. Many such web servers are set up so that both the main domain name (e.g., example.com) and the ''www'' subdomain (e.g., www.example.com) refer to the same site; others require one form or the other, or they may map to different websites. The use of a subdomain name is useful for [[load balancing (computing)|load balancing]] incoming web traffic by creating a [[CNAME record]] that points to a cluster of web servers. Since, currently{{As of?|date=September 2023}}, only a subdomain can be used in a CNAME, the same result cannot be achieved by using the bare domain root.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://medium.freecodecamp.org/why-cant-a-domain-s-root-be-a-cname-8cbab38e5f5c |title=Why a domain's root can't be a CNAME – and other tidbits about the DNS |first=Dominic |last=Fraser |date=13 May 2018 |work=FreeCodeCamp |access-date=12 March 2019 |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421053219/https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/why-cant-a-domain-s-root-be-a-cname-8cbab38e5f5c |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Dubious |reason=While CNAMEs are more flexible than the bare domain requiring an A Record, load balancing is certainly possible even for sites that skip www and use the bare domain — see, for example, Twitter.|date=July 2019}}

When a user submits an incomplete domain name to a web browser in its address bar input field, some web browsers automatically try adding the prefix "www" to the beginning of it and possibly ".com", ".org" and ".net" at the end, depending on what might be missing. For example, entering "{{not a typo|microsoft}}" may be transformed to ''<nowiki>http://www.microsoft.com/</nowiki>'' and "openoffice" to ''<nowiki>http://www.openoffice.org</nowiki>''. This feature started appearing in early versions of [[Firefox]], when it still had the working title 'Firebird' in early 2003, from an earlier practice in browsers such as [[Lynx (web browser)|Lynx]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10980 |title=automatically adding www.___.com |publisher=mozillaZine |date=16 May 2003 |access-date=27 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627225046/http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10980 |archive-date=27 June 2009}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=November 2016}} It is reported that Microsoft was granted a US patent for the same idea in 2008, but only for mobile devices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://techdirt.com/articles/20080626/0203581527.shtml |title=Microsoft Patents Adding 'www.' And '.com' To Text |publisher=Techdirt |last=Masnick |first=Mike |date=7 July 2008 |access-date=27 May 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627212151/http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080626/0203581527.shtml |archive-date=27 June 2009}}</ref>

=== Scheme specifiers ===
The scheme specifiers ''<code><nowiki>http://</nowiki></code>'' and ''<code><nowiki>https://</nowiki></code>'' at the start of a web [[Uniform Resource Identifier|URI]] refer to [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] or [[HTTP Secure]], respectively. They specify the communication protocol to use for the request and response. The HTTP protocol is fundamental to the operation of the World Wide Web, and the added encryption layer in HTTPS is essential when browsers send or retrieve confidential data, such as passwords or banking information. Web browsers usually automatically prepend <nowiki>http://</nowiki> to user-entered URIs, if omitted.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

===Pages===

A ''web page'' (also written as ''webpage'') is a document that is suitable for the World Wide Web and [[web browser]]s. A web browser displays a web page on a [[computer display|monitor]] or [[mobile device]].

The term ''web page'' usually refers to what is visible, but may also refer to the contents of the [[computer file]] itself, which is usually a [[text file]] containing [[hypertext]] written in [[HTML]] or a comparable [[markup language]]. Typical web pages provide [[hypertext]] for browsing to other web pages via [[hyperlink]]s, often referred to as ''links''. Web browsers will frequently have to access multiple [[web resource]] elements, such as reading [[Cascading Style Sheets|style sheets]], [[client-side scripting|scripts]], and images, while presenting each web page.

On a network, a web browser can retrieve a web page from a remote [[web server]]. The web server may restrict access to a private network, such as a corporate intranet. The web browser uses the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP) to make such requests to the [[web server]].

A [[static web page|''static'' web page]] is delivered exactly as stored, as [[web content]] in the web server's [[file system]]. In contrast, a [[dynamic web page|''dynamic'' web page]] is generated by a [[web application]], usually driven by [[server-side scripting|server-side software]]. Dynamic web pages are used when each user may require completely different information, for example, bank websites, web email, etc.

==== Static page ====

A ''static web page'' (sometimes called a ''flat page/stationary page'') is a [[web page]] that is delivered to the user exactly as stored, in contrast to [[dynamic web page]]s which are generated by a [[web application]].

Consequently, a static web page displays the same information for all users, from all contexts, subject to modern capabilities of a [[web server]] to [[content negotiation|negotiate]] [[MIME type|content-type]] or language of the document where such versions are available and the server is configured to do so.

==== Dynamic pages ====

A ''server-side dynamic web page'' is a [[web page]] whose construction is controlled by an [[application server]] processing server-side scripts. In server-side scripting, [[Parameter (computer programming)|parameters]] determine how the assembly of every new web page proceeds, including the setting up of more client-side processing.

A ''client-side dynamic web page'' processes the web page using JavaScript running in the browser. JavaScript programs can interact with the document via [[Document Object Model]], or DOM, to query page state and alter it. The same client-side techniques can then dynamically update or change the DOM in the same way.

A dynamic web page is then reloaded by the user or by a [[computer program]] to change some variable content. The updated information could come from the server, or from changes made to that page's DOM. This may or may not truncate the browsing history or create a saved version to go back to, but a ''dynamic web page update'' using [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]] technologies will neither create a page to go back to nor truncate the [[web browsing history]] forward of the displayed page. Using Ajax technologies, the end [[User (computing)|user]] gets ''one dynamic page'' managed as a single page in the [[web browser]] while the actual [[web content]] rendered on that page can vary. The Ajax engine sits only on the browser requesting parts of its DOM, ''the'' DOM, for its client, from an application server.

Dynamic HTML, or DHTML, is the umbrella term for technologies and methods used to create web pages that are not [[static web page]]s, though it has fallen out of common use since the popularisation of [[Ajax (programming)|AJAX]], a term which is now itself rarely used. Client-side scripting, server-side scripting, or a combination of these make for the dynamic web experience in a browser.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

[[JavaScript]] is a [[scripting programming language|scripting language]] that was initially developed in 1995 by [[Brendan Eich]], then of [[Netscape]], for use within web pages.<ref name=Hamilton>{{cite web|author=Hamilton, Naomi|title=The A-Z of Programming Languages: JavaScript|url=http://computerworld.com.au/article/255293/-z_programming_languages_javascript|date=31 July 2008|work=Computerworld|publisher=IDG|access-date=12 May 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524025720/http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/255293/-z_programming_languages_javascript|archive-date=24 May 2009}}</ref> The standardised version is [[ECMAScript]].<ref name=Hamilton /> To make web pages more interactive, some web applications also use JavaScript techniques such as [[Ajax (programming)|Ajax]] ([[Asynchronous I/O|asynchronous]] JavaScript and [[XML]]). [[Client-side scripting|Client-side script]] is delivered with the page that can make additional HTTP requests to the server, either in response to user actions such as mouse movements or clicks, or based on elapsed time. The server's responses are used to modify the current page rather than creating a new page with each response, so the server needs only to provide limited, incremental information. Multiple Ajax requests can be handled at the same time, and users can interact with the page while data is retrieved. Web pages may also regularly [[polling (computer science)|poll]] the server to check whether new information is available.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://buntin.org/2008/sep/23/jquery-polling-plugin/|title=jQuery Polling plugin|date=23 September 2008|last=Buntin|first=Seth|access-date=22 August 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813184848/http://buntin.org/2008/sep/23/jquery-polling-plugin/|archive-date=13 August 2009}}</ref>

===Website===

A ''website''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Website|title=website|website=[[TheFreeDictionary.com]]|access-date=2 July 2011|archive-date=7 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507204408/https://www.thefreedictionary.com/website|url-status=live}}</ref> is a collection of related web resources including [[web page]]s, [[multimedia]] content, typically identified with a common [[domain name]], and published on at least one [[web server]]. Notable examples are [[wikipedia]].org, [[google]].com, and [[Amazon (company)|amazon.com]].

A website may be accessible via a public [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) network, such as the [[Internet]], or a private [[local area network]] (LAN), by referencing a [[URL|uniform resource locator]] (URL) that identifies the site.

Websites can have many functions and can be used in various fashions; a website can be a [[personal website]], a corporate website for a company, a government website, an organisation website, etc. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, ranging from entertainment and [[social networking]] to providing news and education. All publicly accessible websites collectively constitute the World Wide Web, while private websites, such as a company's website for its employees, are typically a part of an [[intranet]].

Web pages, which are the building blocks of websites, are [[document]]s, typically composed in [[plain text]] interspersed with [[Formatted text|formatting instructions]] of Hypertext Markup Language ([[HTML]], [[XHTML]]). They may incorporate elements from other websites with suitable [[HTML anchor|markup anchors]]. Web pages are accessed and transported with the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol]] (HTTP), which may optionally employ encryption ([[HTTP Secure]], HTTPS) to provide security and privacy for the user. The user's application, often a [[web browser]], renders the page content according to its HTML markup instructions onto a [[Computer monitor|display terminal]].

[[Hyperlink]]ing between web pages conveys to the reader the [[site map|site structure]] and guides the navigation of the site, which often starts with a [[home page]] containing a directory of the site [[web content]]. Some websites require user registration or [[subscription]] to access content. Examples of [[paywall|subscription websites]] include many business sites, news websites, [[academic journal]] websites, gaming websites, file-sharing websites, [[Internet forum|message boards]], web-based [[email]], [[social networking]] websites, websites providing real-time price quotations for different types of markets, as well as sites providing various other services. [[End user]]s can access websites on a range of devices, including [[desktop computer|desktop]] and [[laptop|laptop computers]], [[tablet computer]]s, [[smartphone]]s, and [[smart TV]]s.

===Browser===

A ''web browser'' (commonly referred to as a ''browser'') is a [[software application|software]] [[user agent]] for accessing information on the World Wide Web. To connect to a website's [[web server|server]] and display its pages, a user needs to have a web browser program. This is the program that the user runs to download, format, and display a web page on the user's computer.

In addition to allowing users to find, display, and move between web pages, a web browser will usually have features like keeping bookmarks, recording history, managing cookies (see below), and home pages and may have facilities for recording passwords for logging into websites.

The most popular browsers are [[Google Chrome|Chrome]], [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]], [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]], [[Samsung Internet]] and [[Firefox]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Browsers Market Share |url=https://www.similarweb.com/browsers/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=www.similarweb.com |archive-date=17 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250217112440/https://www.similarweb.com/browsers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Server===

A ''Web server'' is [[server software]], or hardware dedicated to running said software, that can satisfy World Wide Web client requests. A web server can, in general, contain one or more websites. A web server processes incoming network requests over [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]] and several other related protocols.

The primary function of a web server is to store, process and deliver [[web page]]s to [[Client (computing)|clients]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Web performance tuning|last=Patrick|first=Killelea|date=2002|publisher=O'Reilly|isbn=978-0596001728|edition= 2nd|location=Beijing|pages=264|oclc=49502686}}</ref> The communication between client and server takes place using the [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)]]. Pages delivered are most frequently [[HTML|HTML documents]], which may include [[image]]s, [[Style sheet (web development)|style sheets]] and [[JavaScript|scripts]] in addition to the text content.

A [[user agent]], commonly a [[web browser]] or [[web crawler]], initiates communication by making a [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol#Request message|request]] for a specific resource using HTTP and the server responds with the content of that resource or an [[List of HTTP status codes#4xx client errors|error message]] if unable to do so. The resource is typically a real file on the server's [[secondary memory|secondary storage]], but this is not necessarily the case and depends on how the web server is [[Implementation|implemented]].

While the primary function is to serve content, full implementation of HTTP also includes ways of receiving content from clients. This feature is used for submitting [[Form (web)|web forms]], including [[upload]]ing of files.

Many generic web servers also support  [[server-side scripting|scripting]] using [[Active Server Pages]] (ASP), [[PHP]] (Hypertext Preprocessor), or other [[scripting language]]s. This means that the behaviour of the web server can be scripted in separate files, while the actual server software remains unchanged. Usually, this function is used to generate HTML documents [[Dynamic web page|dynamically]] ("on-the-fly") as opposed to returning [[Static web page|static documents]]. The former is primarily used for retrieving or modifying information from [[database]]s. The latter is typically much faster and more easily [[web cache|cached]] but cannot deliver [[dynamic content]].

Web servers can also frequently be found [[embedded system|embedded]] in devices such as [[printer (computing)|printers]], [[Router (computing)|routers]], [[webcam]]s and serving only a [[Local area network|local network]]. The web server may then be used as a part of a system for monitoring or administering the device in question. This usually means that no additional software has to be installed on the client computer since only a web browser is required (which now is included with most [[operating system]]s).

===Optical Networking===
[[Optical networking]] is a sophisticated infrastructure that utilises optical fibre to transmit data over long distances, connecting countries, cities, and even private residences. The technology uses optical microsystems like [[tunable laser]]s, filters, [[Attenuator (electronics)|attenuators]], switches, and wavelength-selective switches to manage and operate these networks.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Liu |first=Xiang |date=2019-12-20 |title=Evolution of Fiber-Optic Transmission and Networking toward the 5G Era |journal=iScience |language=English |volume=22 |pages=489–506 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2019.11.026 |issn=2589-0042 |pmc=6920305 |pmid=31838439|bibcode=2019iSci...22..489L }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Marom |first=Dan M. |title=3.07 - Optical Communications |date=2008-01-01 |work=Comprehensive Microsystems |pages=219–265 |editor-last=Gianchandani |editor-first=Yogesh B. |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444521903000355 |access-date=2025-01-17 |place=Oxford |publisher=Elsevier |doi=10.1016/b978-044452190-3.00035-5 |isbn=978-0-444-52190-3 |editor2-last=Tabata |editor2-first=Osamu |editor3-last=Zappe |editor3-first=Hans |archive-date=23 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123163122/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B9780444521903000355 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The large quantity of optical fibre installed throughout the world at the end of the twentieth century set the foundation of the Internet as it is used today. The information highway relies heavily on optical networking, a method of sending messages encoded in light to relay information in various telecommunication networks.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chadha |first=Devi |title=Optical WDM networks: from static to elastic networks |date=2019 |publisher=Wiley-IEEE Press |isbn=978-1-119-39326-9 |location=Hoboken, NJ}}</ref>

The [[ARPANET|Advanced Research Projects Agency Network]] (ARPANET) was one of the first iterations of the Internet, created in collaboration with universities and researchers in 1969.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-29 |title=The Computer History Museum, SRI International, and BBN Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of First ARPANET Transmission, Precursor to Today's Internet {{!}} SRI International |url=https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary |access-date=2025-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329134941/https://www.sri.com/newsroom/press-releases/computer-history-museum-sri-international-and-bbn-celebrate-40th-anniversary |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=1993-01-24 |title=Building the Electronic Superhighway |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/24/business/building-the-electronic-superhighway.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Abbate |first=Janet |title=Inventing the Internet |date=2000 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-51115-5 |edition=3rd printing |series=Inside technology |location=Cambridge, Mass.}}</ref><ref name="www.merit.edu">{{Cite web |title=NSFNET: A Partnership for High-Speed Networking |url=http://www.merit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NSFNET_final-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241106150721/https://www.merit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NSFNET_final-1.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2024 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=www.merit.edu |url-status=live }}</ref> However, access to the ARPANET was limited to researchers, and in 1985, the [[National Science Foundation]] founded the [[National Science Foundation Network]] (NSFNET), a program that provided supercomputer access to researchers.<ref name="www.merit.edu" />

Limited public access to the Internet led to pressure from consumers and corporations to privatise the network. In 1993, the US passed the [[National Information Infrastructure|National Information Infrastructure Act]], which dictated that the National Science Foundation must hand over control of the optical capabilities to commercial operators.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boucher |first=Rick |date=1993-09-14 |title=H.R.1757 - 103rd Congress (1993-1994): National Information Infrastructure Act of 1993 |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/1757 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=www.congress.gov |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110001120/https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/1757 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-07-25 |title=NSF Shapes the Internet's Evolution {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://new.nsf.gov/news/nsf-shapes-internets-evolution |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=new.nsf.gov |language=en}}</ref>

The privatisation of the Internet and the release of the World Wide Web to the public in 1993 led to an increased demand for Internet capabilities. This spurred developers to seek solutions to reduce the time and cost of laying new fibre and increase the amount of information that can be sent on a single fibre, to meet the growing needs of the public.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198833079.003.0004 |chapter=Privatization and Globalization of the Internet |title=Negotiating Internet Governance |date=2019 |last1=Radu |first1=Roxana |pages=75–112 |isbn=978-0-19-883307-9 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Birth of the Commercial Internet - NSF Impacts {{!}} NSF - National Science Foundation |url=https://new.nsf.gov/impacts/internet#:~:text=Going%20public,dedicated%20infrastructure%20backbone%20in%201995 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=new.nsf.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Markoff |first=John |date=1997-03-03 |title=Fiber-Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/fiber-optic-technology-draws-record-stock-value.html |access-date=2025-01-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=9 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009170252/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/03/business/fiber-optic-technology-draws-record-stock-value.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|226891627}} |last1=Korzeniowski |first1=Paul |title=Record growth spurs demand for dense WDM -- Infrastructure bandwidth gears up for next wave |magazine=CommunicationsWeek |issue=666 |date=2 June 1997 |page=T.40 }}</ref>

In 1994, Pirelli S.p.A.'s optical components division introduced a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system to meet growing demand for increased data transmission. This four-channel WDM technology allowed more information to be sent simultaneously over a single optical fibre, effectively boosting network capacity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |title=City of light: the story of fiber optics |date=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-510818-7 |series=The Sloan technology series |location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cisco to Acquire Pirelli DWDM Unit for $2.15 Billion |url=https://www.fiberopticsonline.com/doc/cisco-to-acquire-pirelli-dwdm-unit-for-215-bi-0001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250411015346/https://www.fiberopticsonline.com/doc/cisco-to-acquire-pirelli-dwdm-unit-for-215-bi-0001 |archive-date=2025-04-11 |access-date=2025-01-31 |website=www.fiberopticsonline.com}}</ref>

Pirelli wasn't the only company that developed a WDM system; another company, the [[Ciena|Ciena Corporation]] (Ciena), created its own technology to transmit data more efficiently. [[David R. Huber|David Huber]], an optical networking engineer and entrepreneur [[Kevin Kimberlin]] founded Ciena in 1992.<ref>Hirsch, Stacey (February 2, 2006). "Huber steps down as CEO of Broadwing". The Baltimore Sun.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. David Huber |url=https://internethistory.org/bio/dr-david-huber/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=History of the Internet |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Internet Commercialization History |url=https://internethistory.org/commercialization/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=History of the Internet |language=en-US}}</ref> Drawing on laser technology from [[Gordon Gould]] and William Culver of [[Optelecom|Optelecom, Inc.]], the company focused on utilising optical amplifiers to transmit data via light.<ref>{{Cite web |title=May 17, 1993, page 76 - The Baltimore Sun at Baltimore Sun |url=https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/article/the-baltimore-sun-the-sun-business/170638608/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Newspapers.com |date=17 May 1993 |page=76 |language=en |archive-date=21 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221021809/https://baltimoresun.newspapers.com/image/170916535/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Hall, Carla. [http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-12-17-vw-29544-story.html "Inventor Beams over Laser Patents : After 30 Years, Gordon Gould Gets Credit He Deserves."] Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 1987.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=2005-09-20 |title=Gordon Gould, 85, Figure in Invention of the Laser, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/gordon-gould-85-figure-in-invention-of-the-laser-dies.html |access-date=2025-02-03 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=19 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919230151/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/science/gordon-gould-85-figure-in-invention-of-the-laser-dies.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Under chief executive officer Pat Nettles, Ciena developed a dual-stage optical amplifier for dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM), patented in 1997 and deployed on the Sprint network in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Jim |date=2024-12-12 |title=Patrick Nettles Steps Down as Executive Chair of Ciena |url=https://convergedigest.com/patrick-nettles-steps-down-as-executive-chair-of-ciena/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Converge Digest |language=en-US |archive-date=14 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214112552/https://convergedigest.com/patrick-nettles-steps-down-as-executive-chair-of-ciena/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite patent|number=US5696615A|title=Wavelength division multiplexed optical communication systems employing uniform gain optical amplifiers|gdate=1997-12-09|invent1=Alexander|inventor1-first=Stephen B.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US5696615A/en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hecht |first=Jeff |title=City of light: the story of fiber optics |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-510818-7 |edition=Rev. and expanded ed., 1. paperback [ed.] |series=The Sloan technology series |location=Oxford}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Optica Publishing Group |url=https://opg.optica.org/oe/viewmedia.cfm?uri=oe-26-18-24190&html=true |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=opg.optica.org |archive-date=26 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126182827/https://opg.optica.org/oe/viewmedia.cfm?uri=oe-26-18-24190&html=true |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |id={{ProQuest|215944575}} |last1=Wexler |first1=Joanie |title=Sprint boots some users off 'Net |magazine=Network World |volume=13 |issue=13 |date=25 March 1996 |pages=25 }}</ref>

=== Cookie ===

An ''HTTP cookie'' (also called ''web cookie'', ''Internet cookie'', ''browser cookie'', or simply ''cookie'') is a small piece of data sent from a website and stored on the user's computer by the user's [[web browser]] while the user is browsing. Cookies were designed to be a reliable mechanism for websites to remember [[program state|stateful]] information (such as items added in the shopping cart in an online store) or to record the user's browsing activity (including clicking particular buttons, [[access control|logging in]], or recording which pages were visited in the past). They can also be used to remember arbitrary pieces of information that the user previously entered into form fields, such as names, addresses, passwords, and credit card numbers.

Cookies perform essential functions in the modern web. Perhaps most importantly, ''authentication cookies'' are the most common method used by web servers to know whether the user is logged in or not, and which account they are logged in with. Without such a mechanism, the site would not know whether to send a page containing sensitive information or require the user to authenticate themselves by logging in. The security of an authentication cookie generally depends on the security of the issuing website and the user's [[comparison of web browsers#Vulnerabilities|web browser]], and on whether the cookie data is encrypted. Security vulnerabilities may allow a cookie's data to be read by a [[hacker (computer security)|hacker]], used to gain access to user data, or used to gain access (with the user's credentials) to the website to which the cookie belongs (see [[cross-site scripting]] and [[cross-site request forgery]] for examples).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9918582-57.html |first=Robert |last=Vamosi |title=Gmail cookie stolen via Google Spreadsheets |website=News.cnet.com |date=14 April 2008 |access-date=19 October 2017 |archive-date=9 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209210402/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9918582-57.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Tracking cookies, and especially third-party tracking cookies, are commonly used as ways to compile long-term records of individuals' browsing histories {{En dash}} a potential [[Internet privacy#HTTP cookies|privacy concern]] that prompted European<ref>{{cite web |title=What about the "EU Cookie Directive"? |url=http://webcookies.org/faq/#Directive |year=2013 |publisher=WebCookies.org |access-date=19 October 2017 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011095259/https://webcookies.org/faq/#Directive |url-status=dead }}</ref> and U.S. lawmakers to take action in 2011.<ref name="eulaw">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12668552 |work=BBC |title=New net rules set to make cookies crumble |date=8 March 2011 |access-date=18 February 2019 |archive-date=10 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810220427/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12668552 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://adage.com/article/digital/sen-rockefeller-ready-a-real-track-bill/227426/ |work=Adage.com |title=Sen. Rockefeller: Get Ready for a Real Do-Not-Track Bill for Online Advertising |date=6 May 2011 |access-date=18 February 2019 |archive-date=24 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824225528/http://adage.com/article/digital/sen-rockefeller-ready-a-real-track-bill/227426/ |url-status=live }}</ref> European law requires that all websites targeting [[European Union]] member states gain "informed consent" from users before storing non-essential cookies on their device.

Google [[Project Zero (Google)|Project Zero]] researcher Jann Horn describes ways cookies can be read by [[Man-in-the-middle attack|intermediaries]], like [[Wi-Fi]] hotspot providers. When in such circumstances, he recommends using the browser in [[private browsing]] mode (widely known as [[Incognito mode]] in Google Chrome).<ref>[https://thejh.net/written-stuff/want-to-use-my-wifi? Want to use my wifi?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104070103/https://thejh.net/written-stuff/want-to-use-my-wifi |date=4 January 2018 }}, Jann Horn accessed 5 January 2018.</ref>

===Search engine===

A ''web search engine'' or ''Internet search engine'' is a [[software system]] that is designed to carry out ''web search'' (''Internet search''), which means to search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a [[web search query]]. The search results are generally presented in a line of results, often referred to as [[search engine results page]]s (SERPs). The information may be a mix of [[web page]]s, images, videos, infographics, articles, research papers, and other types of files. Some search engines also [[data mining|mine data]] available in [[database]]s or [[web directory|open directories]]. Unlike [[web directories]], which are maintained only by human editors, search engines also maintain [[real-time computing|real-time]] information by running an [[algorithm]] on a [[web crawler]]. Internet content that is not capable of being searched by a web search engine is generally described as the [[deep web]].

In 1990, [[Archie (search engine)|Archie]], the world's first search engine, was released. The technology was originally an index of [[File Transfer Protocol]] (FTP) sites, which was a method for moving files between a client and a server network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Jennimai |date=2020-09-10 |title=Archie, the very first search engine, was released 30 years ago today |url=https://mashable.com/article/first-search-engine-archie?test_uuid=01iI2GpryXngy77uIpA3Y4B&test_variant=b |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is File Transfer Protocol (FTP) meaning |url=https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/file-transfer-protocol-ftp-meaning |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=Fortinet |language=en |archive-date=26 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250126193905/https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/file-transfer-protocol-ftp-meaning |url-status=live }}</ref> This early search tool was superseded by more advanced engines like [[Yahoo!]] in 1995 and [[Google Search|Google]] in 1998.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-04 |title=Britannica Money |url=https://money.britannica.com/money/Google-Inc |access-date=2025-02-04 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=27 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727122207/https://money.britannica.com/money/Google-Inc |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Andrew |date=2008-02-01 |title=How Jerry's guide to the world wide web became Yahoo |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/feb/01/microsoft.technology |access-date=2025-02-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=5 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005052548/http://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/feb/01/microsoft.technology |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Deep web===

The deep web,<ref name="nhamilton">{{cite journal|url=https://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/the-mechanics-of-a-deep-net-metasearch-engine|journal=IADIS Digital Library|title=The Mechanics of a Deep Net Metasearch Engine|last=Hamilton|first=Nigel|date=13 May 2024|pages=1034–1036|isbn=978-972-98947-0-1|archive-date=31 May 2023|access-date=6 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531071443/https://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/the-mechanics-of-a-deep-net-metasearch-engine|url-status=live}}</ref> ''invisible web'',<ref name="jal">{{cite journal|title=Beyond google: the invisible web in the academic library |volume=30|issue=4|date=July 2004|pages=265–269|last1=Devine|first1=Jane|last2=Egger-Sider|first2=Francine|journal=The Journal of Academic Librarianship |doi=10.1016/j.acalib.2004.04.010 }}</ref> or ''hidden web''<ref name="cthw">{{cite journal|title=Crawling the Hidden Web|journal=27th International Conference on Very Large Data Bases|date=11–14 September 2001|first1=Sriram|last1=Raghavan|first2=Hector|last2=Garcia-Molina|url=http://ilpubs.stanford.edu:8090/725/|access-date=18 February 2019|archive-date=17 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817174115/http://ilpubs.stanford.edu:8090/725/|url-status=live}}</ref> are parts of the World Wide Web whose contents are not [[Search engine indexing|indexed]] by standard [[web search engine]]s. The opposite term to the deep web is the [[surface web]], which is accessible to anyone using the Internet.<ref>{{cite web |title=Surface Web |url=https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/surface-web.htm |publisher=Computer Hope |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-date=5 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200505062819/https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/surface-web.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Computer scientist]] Michael K. Bergman is credited with coining the term ''deep web'' in 2001 as a search indexing term.<ref name="wright2009"/>

The content of the deep web is hidden behind [[HTTP]] forms,<ref>Madhavan, J., Ko, D., Kot, Ł., Ganapathy, V., Rasmussen, A., & Halevy, A. (2008). Google's deep web crawl. Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment, 1(2), 1241–52.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.questia.com/article/1G1-370513892/how-do-you-want-me-to-do-it-does-it-have-to-look|title=How Do You Want Me to Do It? Does It Have to Look like an Accident? – an Assassin Selling a Hit on the Net; Revealed Inside the Deep Web|url-access=subscription|via=|newspaper=[[Sunday Mail (Scotland)|Sunday Mail]]|date=8 June 2014|first=Sam|last=Shedden|access-date=5 May 2017|archive-date=1 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301174912/https://www.questia.com/article/1G1-370513892/how-do-you-want-me-to-do-it-does-it-have-to-look|url-status=dead}}</ref> and includes many very common uses such as [[web mail]], [[online banking]], and services that users must pay for, and which is protected by a [[paywall]], such as [[video on demand]], some online magazines and newspapers, among others.

The content of the deep web can be located and accessed by a direct [[URL]] or [[IP address]] and may require a password or other security access past the public website page.

=== Caching ===
A [[web cache]] is a server computer located either on the public Internet or within an enterprise that stores recently accessed web pages to improve response time for users when the same content is requested within a certain time after the original request. Most web browsers also implement a [[browser cache]] by writing recently obtained data to a local data storage device. HTTP requests by a browser may ask only for data that has changed since the last access. Web pages and resources may contain expiration information to control caching to secure sensitive data, such as in [[online banking]], or to facilitate frequently updated sites, such as news media. Even sites with highly dynamic content may permit basic resources to be refreshed only occasionally. Website designers find it worthwhile to collate resources such as CSS data and JavaScript into a few site-wide files so that they can be cached efficiently. Enterprise [[Firewall (networking)|firewalls]] often cache Web resources requested by one user for the benefit of many users. Some [[search engines]] store cached content of frequently accessed websites.

== Security ==
For [[criminal]]s, the Web has become a venue to spread [[malware]] and engage in a range of [[cybercrime]], including (but not limited to) [[identity theft]], [[fraud]], [[espionage]], and [[intelligence gathering]].<ref name=Ben-Itzhak /> Web-based [[vulnerability (computing)|vulnerabilities]] now outnumber traditional computer security concerns,<ref>{{cite web|author1=Christey, Steve|author2=Martin, Robert A.|name-list-style=amp|title=Vulnerability Type Distributions in CVE (version 1.1)|url=http://cwe.mitre.org/documents/vuln-trends/index.html|date=22 May 2007|publisher=[[MITRE Corporation]]|access-date=7 June 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317191715/http://cwe.mitre.org/documents/vuln-trends/index.html|archive-date=17 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Symantec Internet Security Threat Report: Trends for July–December 2007 (Executive Summary)|publisher=Symantec Corp.|journal=Symantec Internet Security Threat Report|volume=XIII|pages=1–2|date=April 2008|url=http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-whitepaper_exec_summary_internet_security_threat_report_xiii_04-2008.en-us.pdf|access-date=11 May 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625065121/http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-whitepaper_exec_summary_internet_security_threat_report_xiii_04-2008.en-us.pdf|archive-date=25 June 2008}}</ref> and as measured by [[Google]], about one in ten web pages may contain malicious code.<ref>{{cite news|title=Google searches web's dark side|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6645895.stm|date=11 May 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=26 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307211615/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6645895.stm|archive-date=7 March 2008}}</ref> Most web-based [[attack (computing)|attacks]] take place on legitimate websites, and most, as measured by [[Sophos]], are hosted in the United States, China and Russia.<ref name=Sophos-Q1-2008>{{cite web|title=Security Threat Report (Q1 2008)|url=http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/marketing_material/sophos-threat-report-Q108.pdf|publisher=Sophos|access-date=24 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231084932/http://www.sophos.com/en-us/support/documentation.aspx?requested=eng%2Fmarketing_material%2Fsophos-threat-report-Q108.pdf|archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> The most common of all malware [[Threat (computer)|threats]] is [[SQL injection]] attacks against websites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Security threat report|url=http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/papers/sophos-security-report-jul08-srna.pdf|date=July 2008|publisher=Sophos|access-date=24 August 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231084007/http://www.sophos.com/en-us/medialibrary/gated%20assets/white%20papers/sophossecurityreportjul08srna.pdf|archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> Through HTML and URIs, the Web was vulnerable to attacks like [[cross-site scripting]] (XSS) that came with the introduction of JavaScript<ref name=FGHR>{{Cite book|author1=Jeremiah Grossman|author2=Robert "RSnake" Hansen|author3=Petko "pdp" D. Petkov|author4=Anton Rager|author5=Seth Fogie|title=Cross Site Scripting Attacks: XSS Exploits and Defense|pages=68–69, 127|publisher=Syngress, Elsevier Science & Technology|url=https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Gentoomen%20Library/Security/Cross%20Site%20Scripting%20Attacks%20Xss%20Exploits%20and%20Defense.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115013526/https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Gentoomen%20Library/Security/Cross%20Site%20Scripting%20Attacks%20Xss%20Exploits%20and%20Defense.pdf|archive-date=15 November 2024|year=2007|isbn=978-1-59749-154-9|access-date=23 January 2025|url-status=live}}</ref> and were exacerbated to some degree by [[Web 2.0]] and Ajax [[web design]] that favours the use of scripts.<ref>{{cite web |author=O'Reilly, Tim |date=30 September 2005 |title=What Is Web 2.0 |url=http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120628212146/http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html |archive-date=2012-06-28 |access-date=4 June 2008 |publisher=O'Reilly Media |pages=4–5}} and AJAX web applications can introduce security vulnerabilities like "client-side security controls, increased attack surfaces, and new possibilities for Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)", in {{Cite journal |author=Ritchie, Paul |date=March 2007 |title=The security risks of AJAX/web 2.0 applications |url=http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/research/Sep07_Ajax.pdf |journal=Infosecurity |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080625065122/http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/research/Sep07_Ajax.pdf |archive-date=25 June 2008 |access-date=6 June 2008}} which cites {{Cite news |author1=Hayre, Jaswinder S. |author2=Kelath, Jayasankar |name-list-style=amp |date=22 June 2006 |title=Ajax Security Basics |publisher=SecurityFocus |url=http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1868 |url-status=live |access-date=6 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515114747/http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1868 |archive-date=15 May 2008}}</ref> In one 2007 estimate, 70% of all websites are open to XSS attacks on their users.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Berinato, Scott|title=Software Vulnerability Disclosure: The Chilling Effect|url=http://www.csoonline.com/article/221113|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418072230/http://www.csoonline.com/article/221113|archive-date=18 April 2008|work=CSO|page=7|publisher=[[CXO Media]]|date=1 January 2007|access-date=7 June 2008}}</ref> [[Phishing]] is another common threat to the Web. In February 2013, RSA (the security division of EMC) estimated the global losses from phishing at $1.5&nbsp;billion in 2012.<ref name="First_Post">{{cite web|url=http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/biztech/2012-global-losses-from-phishing-estimated-at-1-5-bn-16850.html|title=2012 Global Losses From phishing Estimated At $1.5 Bn|publisher=FirstPost|date=20 February 2013|access-date=25 January 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221122958/http://firstbiz.firstpost.com/biztech/2012-global-losses-from-phishing-estimated-at-1-5-bn-16850.html|archive-date=21 December 2014}}</ref> Two of the well-known phishing methods are Covert Redirect and Open Redirect.

Proposed solutions vary. Large security companies like [[McAfee]] already design governance and compliance suites to meet post-9/11 regulations,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Prince, Brian|title=McAfee Governance, Risk and Compliance Business Unit|url=http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/McAfee-Governance-Risk-and-Compliance-Business-Unit/|work=eWEEK|publisher=Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings|date=9 April 2008|access-date=25 April 2008|archive-date=21 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421053243/https://www.eweek.com/security/mcafee-governance-risk-and-compliance-business-unit/|url-status=live}}</ref> and some, like [[Finjan Holdings]] have recommended active real-time inspection of programming code and all content regardless of its source.<ref name="Ben-Itzhak">{{Cite news|author=Ben-Itzhak, Yuval|title=Infosecurity 2008 – New defence strategy in battle against e-crime|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/04/18/230345/infosecurity-2008-new-defence-strategy-in-battle-against.htm|work=ComputerWeekly|publisher=Reed Business Information|date=18 April 2008|access-date=20 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080604061926/http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/04/18/230345/infosecurity-2008-new-defence-strategy-in-battle-against.htm|archive-date=4 June 2008}}</ref> Some have argued that for enterprises to see Web security as a business opportunity rather than a [[cost centre (business)|cost centre]],<ref>{{Cite news|author=Preston, Rob|title=Down To Business: It's Past Time To Elevate The Infosec Conversation|url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/client/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207100989|work=InformationWeek|publisher=United Business Media|date=12 April 2008|access-date=25 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414031843/http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/client/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207100989|archive-date=14 April 2008}}</ref> while others call for "ubiquitous, always-on [[digital rights management]]" enforced in the infrastructure to replace the hundreds of companies that secure data and networks.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Claburn, Thomas|title=RSA's Coviello Predicts Security Consolidation|url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197003826|work=InformationWeek|publisher=United Business Media|date=6 February 2007|access-date=25 April 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207091418/http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197003826|archive-date=7 February 2009}}</ref> [[Jonathan Zittrain]] has said users sharing responsibility for computing safety is far preferable to locking down the Internet.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Carolyn|last=Duffy Marsan|title=How the iPhone is killing the 'Net|url=http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040908-zittrain.html|work=Network World|publisher=IDG|date=9 April 2008|access-date=17 April 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414043829/http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/040908-zittrain.html|archive-date=14 April 2008}}</ref>

== Privacy ==

Every time a client requests a web page, the server can identify the request's [[IP address]]. Web servers usually log IP addresses in a [[log file]]. Also, unless set not to do so, most web browsers record requested web pages in a viewable ''history'' feature, and usually [[Web cache|cache]] much of the content locally. Unless the server-browser communication uses HTTPS encryption, web requests and responses travel in plain text across the Internet and can be viewed, recorded, and cached by intermediate systems. Another way to hide [[personally identifiable information]] is by using a [[virtual private network]]. A VPN [[encryption|encrypts]] traffic between the client and VPN server, and masks the original IP address, lowering the chance of user identification.

When a web page asks for, and the user supplies, personally identifiable information—such as their real name, address, e-mail address, etc. web-based entities can associate current web traffic with that individual. If the website uses [[HTTP cookie]]s, username, and password authentication, or other tracking techniques, it can relate other web visits, before and after, to the identifiable information provided. In this way, a web-based organisation can develop and build a profile of the individual people who use its site or sites. It may be able to build a record for an individual that includes information about their leisure activities, their shopping interests, their profession, and other aspects of their [[demographic profile]]. These profiles are of potential interest to marketers, advertisers, and others. Depending on the website's [[terms and conditions]] and the local laws that apply, information from these profiles may be sold, shared, or passed to other organisations without the user being informed. For many ordinary people, this means little more than some unexpected emails in their inbox or some uncannily relevant advertising on a future web page. For others, it can mean that time spent indulging an unusual interest can result in a deluge of further targeted marketing that may be unwelcome. Law enforcement, counterterrorism, and espionage agencies can also identify, target, and track individuals based on their interests or proclivities on the Web.

[[Social networking]] sites usually try to get users to use their real names, interests, and locations, rather than pseudonyms, as their executives believe that this makes the social networking experience more engaging for users. On the other hand, uploaded photographs or unguarded statements can be identified with an individual, who may regret this exposure. Employers, schools, parents, and other relatives may be influenced by aspects of social networking profiles, such as text posts or digital photos, that the posting individual did not intend for these audiences. [[Cyberbullying|Online bullies]] may make use of personal information to harass or [[cyberstalking|stalk]] users. Modern social networking websites allow fine-grained control of the privacy settings for each posting, but these can be complex and not easy to find or use, especially for beginners.<ref>{{cite journal|last=boyd|first=danah|author2=Hargittai, Eszter|title=Facebook privacy settings: Who cares?|journal=First Monday|date=July 2010|volume=15|issue=8|doi=10.5210/fm.v15i8.3086 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Photographs and videos posted onto websites have caused particular problems, as they can add a person's face to an online profile. With modern and potential [[Facial recognition system|facial recognition technology]], it may then be possible to relate that face with other, previously anonymous, images, events, and scenarios that have been imaged elsewhere. Due to image caching, mirroring, and copying, it is difficult to remove an image from the World Wide Web.

== Standards ==

Web standards include many interdependent standards and specifications, some of which govern aspects of the [[Internet]], not just the World Wide Web. Even when not web-focused, such standards directly or indirectly affect the development and administration of websites and [[web service]]s. Considerations include the [[interoperability]], [[accessibility]] and [[usability]] of web pages and websites.

Web standards, in the broader sense, consist of the following:
* ''Recommendations'' published by the [[World Wide Web Consortium]] (W3C)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.w3.org/TR/#Recommendations | title=W3C Technical Reports and Publications | publisher=W3C | access-date=19 January 2009 | archive-date=15 July 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715045533/http://www.w3.org/TR/#Recommendations | url-status=live }}</ref>
* "Living Standard" made by the [[Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group]] (WHATWG)
* ''[[Request for Comments]]'' (RFC) documents published by the [[Internet Engineering Task Force]] (IETF)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html | title=IETF RFC page | publisher=IETF | access-date=19 January 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090202124230/http://www.ietf.org/rfc.html | archive-date=2 February 2009 | url-status=dead }}</ref>
* ''Standards'' published by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO)<ref>{{cite web |title=Search for World Wide Web in ISO standards |url=https://www.iso.org/search.html?PROD_isoorg_en%5Bquery%5D=world%20wide%20web |access-date=24 June 2025 |publisher=ISO}}</ref>
* ''Standards'' published by [[Ecma International]] (formerly ECMA)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/index.html | title=Ecma formal publications | publisher=Ecma | access-date=19 January 2009 | archive-date=27 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227133707/http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''The [[Unicode]] Standard'' and various ''Unicode Technical Reports'' (UTRs) published by the [[Unicode Consortium]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/reports/index.html | title=Unicode Technical Reports | publisher=Unicode Consortium | access-date=19 January 2009 | archive-date=2 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102053035/https://www.unicode.org/reports/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
* Name and number registries maintained by the [[Internet Assigned Numbers Authority]] (IANA)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iana.org/ | title=IANA home page | publisher=IANA | access-date=19 January 2009 | archive-date=24 February 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224160727/http://www.iana.org/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Web standards are not fixed sets of rules but are constantly evolving sets of finalised technical specifications of web technologies.<ref>{{cite book | first= Leslie | last= Sikos | title= Web standards – Mastering HTML5, CSS3, and XML | publisher= [[Apress]] | year= 2011 | isbn= 978-1-4302-4041-9 | url= http://www.masteringhtml5css3.com/ | access-date= 12 March 2019 | archive-date= 2 April 2015 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152305/http://www.masteringhtml5css3.com/ | url-status= dead }}</ref> Web standards are developed by [[standards organization|standards organisations]]—groups of interested and often competing parties chartered with the task of standardisation—not technologies developed and declared to be a standard by a single individual or company. It is crucial to distinguish those specifications that are under development from the ones that already reached the final development status (in the case of [[W3C]] specifications, the highest maturity level).

== Accessibility ==

There are methods for accessing the Web in alternative mediums and formats to facilitate use by individuals with [[disability|disabilities]]. These disabilities may be visual, auditory, physical, speech-related, cognitive, neurological, or some combination. Accessibility features also help people with temporary disabilities, like a broken arm, or ageing users as their abilities change.<ref name=WAI>{{cite web|title=Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)|url=http://www.w3.org/WAI|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=7 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402001730/http://www.w3.org/WAI/|archive-date=2 April 2009}}</ref> The Web is receiving information as well as providing information and interacting with society. The World Wide Web Consortium claims that it is essential that the Web be accessible, so it can provide equal access and [[equal opportunity]] to people with disabilities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization: Overview|url=http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=7 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414173026/http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/Overview|archive-date=14 April 2009}}</ref> Tim Berners-Lee once noted, "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect."<ref name=WAI /> Many countries regulate web accessibility as a requirement for websites.<ref>{{cite web|title=Legal and Policy Factors in Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization|url=http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/pol|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=7 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405142512/http://www.w3.org/WAI/bcase/pol|archive-date=5 April 2009}}</ref> International co-operation in the W3C [[Web Accessibility Initiative]] led to simple guidelines that web content authors as well as software developers can use to make the Web accessible to persons who may or may not be using [[assistive technology]].<ref name=WAI /><ref>{{cite web|title=Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview|url=http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=7 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401074742/http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag.php|archive-date=1 April 2009}}</ref>

== Internationalisation ==
The W3C [[Internationalization and localization|Internationalisation]] Activity assures that web technology works in all languages, scripts, and cultures.<ref>{{cite web|title=Internationalization (I18n) Activity|url=http://www.w3.org/International/|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=10 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416052903/http://www.w3.org/International/|archive-date=16 April 2009}}</ref> Beginning in 2004 or 2005, [[Unicode]] gained ground and eventually in December 2007 surpassed both [[ASCII]] and Western European as the Web's most frequently used [[Character encoding#Code pages|character map]].<ref>{{Cite news|author=Davis, Mark|title=Moving to Unicode 5.1|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/moving-to-unicode-51.html|date=5 April 2008|access-date=10 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521191341/http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/moving-to-unicode-51.html|archive-date=21 May 2009}}</ref> Originally {{IETF RFC|3986}} allowed resources to be identified by [[URI]] in a subset of US-ASCII. {{IETF RFC|3987}} allows more characters—any character in the [[Universal Character Set]]—and now a resource can be identified by [[Internationalized Resource Identifier|IRI]] in any language.<ref>{{cite press release|title=World Wide Web Consortium Supports the IETF URI Standard and IRI Proposed Standard|url=http://www.w3.org/2004/11/uri-iri-pressrelease.html|date=26 January 2005|publisher=World Wide Web Consortium|access-date=10 April 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207070535/http://www.w3.org/2004/11/uri-iri-pressrelease.html|archive-date=7 February 2009}}</ref>
<!--== Statistics ==
Between 2005 and 2010, the number of Web users doubled, and was expected to surpass two billion in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/19/us-telecoms-internet-idUSTRE69I24720101019|title=Internet users to exceed 2&nbsp;billion ...|work=Reuters|date=19 October 2010|access-date=9 February 2011|first=Jonathan|last=Lynn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224041600/http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/10/19/us-telecoms-internet-idUSTRE69I24720101019|archive-date=24 February 2011}}</ref> Early studies in 1998 and 1999 estimating the size of the Web using capture/recapture methods showed that much of the Web was not indexed by search engines and the Web was much larger than expected.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=S.|last2=Giles|first2=C.L.|year=1998|title=Searching the World Wide Web|url=http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/106/12/1556.full.pdf|journal=Science|volume=280|issue=5360|pages=98–100|doi=10.1126/science.280.5360.98|pmid=9525866|bibcode=1998Sci...280...98L|citeseerx=10.1.1.33.3985}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=S.|last2=Giles|first2=C.L.|year=1999|title=Accessibility of Information on the Web|journal=Nature|volume=400|issue=6740|pages=107–109|doi=10.1038/21987|pmid=10428673|bibcode=1999Natur.400..107L}}</ref> According to a 2001 study, there was a massive number, over 550&nbsp;billion, of documents on the Web, mostly in the invisible Web, or [[Deep Web (search indexing)|Deep Web]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brightplanet.com/resources/details/deepweb.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404044203/http://www.brightplanet.com/resources/details/deepweb.html|archive-date=4 April 2008|title=The 'Deep' Web: Surfacing Hidden Value|publisher=Brightplanet.com|access-date=27 July 2009}}</ref> A 2002 survey of 2,024 million web pages<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html|title=Distribution of languages on the Internet|publisher=Netz-tipp.de|access-date=27 July 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827044617/http://www.netz-tipp.de/languages.html|archive-date=27 August 2013}}</ref> determined that by far the most web content was in the English language: 56.4%; next were pages in German (7.7%), French (5.6%), and Japanese (4.9%). A more recent study, which used web searches in 75 different languages to sample the Web, determined that there were over 11.5 billion web pages in the [[Surface Web|publicly indexable web]] as of the end of January 2005.<ref>{{cite web|first=Alessio|last=Signorini|url=http://wifiscan.fr/research/The_Indexable_Web_is_More_than_11_Billion_Pages.pdf|title=The Indexable Web is More than 11.5 Billion Pages|publisher=citeseerx.ist.psu.edu|access-date=4 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204182728/http://wifiscan.fr/research/The_Indexable_Web_is_More_than_11_Billion_Pages.pdf|archive-date=4 February 2015}}</ref> {{As of|2009|3}}, the indexable web contains at least 25.21&nbsp;billion pages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwidewebsize.com/|title=The size of the World Wide Web|publisher=Worldwidewebsize.com|access-date=27 July 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430051601/http://worldwidewebsize.com/|archive-date=30 April 2013}}</ref> On 25 July 2008, Google software engineers Jesse Alpert and Nissan Hajaj announced that [[Google Search]] had discovered one trillion unique URLs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/we-knew-web-was-big.html|title=We knew the web was big...|last=Alpert|first=Jesse|author2=Hajaj, Nissan|date=25 July 2008|work=The Official Google Blog|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520100904/http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/we-knew-web-was-big.html|archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref> {{As of|2009|5}}, over 109.5&nbsp;million domains operated.<ref name=NI>{{cite web|title=Domain Counts & Internet Statistics|url=http://www.domaintools.com/internet-statistics/|publisher=Name Intelligence|access-date=17 May 2009}}</ref> {{failed verification|date=November 2011}} Of these, 74% were commercial or other domains operating in the [[generic top-level domain]] ''com''.<ref name=NI /> Statistics measuring a website's popularity, such as the [[Alexa Internet]] rankings, are usually based either on the number of [[page view]]s or on associated server "[[hit (internet)|hits]]" (file requests) that it receives.-->

== See also ==
* [[Decentralized web]]
* [[Electronic publishing]]
* [[Electronic literature]]
* [[Gopher (protocol)]], an early alternative to the WWW
* [[Internet metaphors]]
* [[Internet security]]
* [[List of public domain projects]]
* [[Lists of websites]]
* [[Minitel]], a predecessor of the WWW
* [[Streaming media]]
* [[Web 1.0]]
* [[Web 2.0]]
* [[Semantic Web|Web 3.0]]
* [[Web3]]
* [[Web3D]]
* [[Web development tools]]
* [[Web literacy]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="wright2009">{{cite news
 | access-date = 23 February 2009
 | archive-date = 1 March 2020
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200301174914/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/technology/internet/23search.html?th&emc=th
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>
}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite journal|author1=Berners-Lee, Tim|author2=Bray, Tim|author3=Connolly, Dan|author4=Cotton, Paul|author5=Fielding, Roy|author6=Jeckle, Mario|author7=Lilley, Chris|author8=Mendelsohn, Noah|author9=Orchard, David |author10=Walsh, Norman|author11=Williams, Stuart|title=Architecture of the World Wide Web, Volume One|date=15 December 2004|version=Version 20041215|url=http://www.w3.org/TR/webarch/ |website=W3C}}
* {{cite journal|title=The World Wide Web: Past, Present and Future|url=http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/1996/ppf.html|date=August 1996|last=Berners-Lee|first=Tim |website=W3C}}
* Niels Brügger, ed. ''Web History'' (2010), 362 pages; Historical perspective on the World Wide Web, including issues of culture, content, and preservation.
* Brügger, Niels, ed, ''Web25: Histories from the first 25 years of the World Wide Web'' (Peter Lang, 2017).
* {{Cite news |author1=Fielding, R.|author2=Gettys, J.|author3=Mogul, J.|author4=Frystyk, H.|author5=Masinter, L.|author6=Leach, P.|author7=Berners-Lee, T.|title=Hypertext Transfer Protocol&nbsp;– HTTP/1.1|publisher=Information Sciences Institute|date=June 1999|version=Request For Comments 2616}}
* [[James Gleick]], "How the Web Was Lost" (review of [[Tim Berners-Lee]] with [[Stephen Witt]], ''This Is for Everyone: The Unfinished Story of the World Wide Web'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2025, 389 pp.; [[Joanna Walsh]], ''Amateurs! How ''We'' Built Internet Culture, and Why It Matters'', Verso, 2025, 262 pp.; and [[Cory Doctorow]], ''Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It'', MCD, 338 pp.), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXXII, no. 19 (4 December 2025), pp. 6, 8, 10.
* {{cite web|author=Polo, Luciano|title=World Wide Web Technology Architecture: A Conceptual Analysis|year=2003|work=New Devices|url=http://www.newdevices.com/publicaciones/www/index.html}}
* Skau, H.O. (March 1990). "The World Wide Web and Health Information". ''New Devices''.

== External links ==
* [https://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html The first website]
* [https://www.w3.org/History/19921103-hypertext/hypertext/WWW/ Early archive of the first website]
* [https://www.mit.edu/people/mkgray/net/ Internet Statistics: Growth and Usage of the Web and the Internet]
* [https://www.livinginternet.com/w/w.htm Living Internet] A comprehensive history of the Internet, including the World Wide Web
* [https://www.w3.org/ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)]
* [https://www.w3.org/Protocols/NL-PerfNote.html W3C Recommendations Reduce "World Wide Wait"]
* [https://www.worldwidewebsize.com/ World Wide Web Size] Daily estimated size of the World Wide Web
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110501162838/http://cle.ens-lyon.fr/40528325/0/fiche___pagelibre/ Antonio A. Casilli, Some Elements for a Sociology of Online Interactions]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20210301013100/http://web-graph.org/ The Erdős Webgraph Server]}} offers a weekly updated graph representation of a constantly increasing fraction of the WWW
* [https://www.techchange.org/work/u-s-global-development-lab-25th-anniversary-of-the-world-wide-web/ The 25th Anniversary of the World Wide Web] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711202508/https://www.techchange.org/work/u-s-global-development-lab-25th-anniversary-of-the-world-wide-web/ |date=11 July 2021 }} is an animated video produced by [[USAID]] and [[TechChange]] which explores the role of the WWW in addressing extreme [[poverty]]


[[Category:20th-century inventions]]
[[Category:British inventions]]
[[Category:CERN]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1989]]
[[Category:English inventions]]
[[Category:Human–computer interaction]]
[[Category:Information Age]]
[[Category:Search engine optimization]]
[[Category:Search engine software]]
[[Category:Tim Berners-Lee]]
[[Category:Web technology]]
[[Category:World Wide Web| ]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 1991]]

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