Web Browser

The role of a web browser

A web browser is a software program which allows the user to request and retrieve web pages (and other resources) from a webserver on the world wide web.

Web browsers interpret (convert) the HTML code from the retrieved webpage and display it to the user in a format they can understand.

The browser has to manage a range of protocols to do this.

Typical features of a web browser

• Bookmarks – to save the address of your favourite websites
• Back button – to go back to the previous page you viewed
• History – to access a list of pages you historically visited
• Multiple tabs/windows – the ability to view multiple pages at once in different tabs
• Page refresh – make the page refresh by reloading it
• Home page – the ability to choose the initial website that loads when you open the browser
• Address bar – a place to directly type in the URL, if you know it

Examples of web browser software

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera
• Safari
• Internet Explorer

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