What Actually Happens When You Press Enter on a Web Address

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You type an address, press Enter and a page appears. Behind that blink, a small relay race runs across the world.

1. Finding the address

Computers use numbers, not names. Your browser asks DNS, the internet’s phone book, to turn the name into an IP address.

2. The handshake

Your computer and the server agree to talk (TCP), then agree on a secret way to talk (TLS), which is the padlock in your address bar.

3. The request

The browser asks for the page. The server sends back HTML, and the browser discovers it also needs:

• Stylesheets for the look
• Scripts for behavior
• Images and fonts

4. Drawing the page

The browser builds the page, lays it out and paints it on your screen, often in less time than a blink.