Think together · Start with a story
A girl types her school's web address and presses Enter. The page does not appear directly from the address bar. The robot breaks the wait into several stops.
Break down the process
- Resolve the addressIdentify the destination
- Find and connectUse mechanisms such as DNS
- Request and respondGet page resources
- Browser renderingSee the page
Visiting a web page usually involves resolving an address, finding a destination, making a suitable connection, sending a request, and rendering resources.
With HTTPS, a secure connection also needs to be established. After HTML arrives, the browser may request styles, scripts, and images too.
Caching and reusing connections can reduce the number of steps. This is an overview, not a schedule that is exactly the same every time.
Your turn to try
If text appears first and an image shows up later, does that mean the web page is broken?
Ready? Open to see the explanation
Not necessarily. Resources are fetched separately, and the browser can display them gradually. That is one normal possibility.
One idea to remember
Visiting a web page usually involves resolving an address, finding a destination, making a suitable connection, sending a request, and rendering resources.
Try covering the picture above and explaining each step to your family. If one step is hard to explain, revisit that card.