You are signed in. Close

You are signed out. Close

Thank you. Your subscription has started. Close

Thank you. You will get an email when a new comic comes out. Close

We could not confirm your payment. If you paid, use the link "Sign in" at the bottom of the page. Close

Something went wrong on our side. Please try again in a moment. Close

Previous episode HTTPS certificates: how your browser knows it talks to the real website

What happens when you type a web address and press Enter

HTTP: what your browser really asks a website, and the status code that answers first

Every web page starts with a short message from your browser. The website sends an answer back. You are not meant to see either one. Yet you have seen one part of that answer, on a page that was missing.

  1. 1 Your locked request reaches the server. Only two machines hold the key that opens it, your phone and this server, so here at last the lock opens.the serverk%7#x!Qz&2@p9to:198511007from:203011325example numbersSame key.It opens!

    Your locked request reaches the server. Only two machines hold the key that opens it, your phone and this server, so here at last the lock opens.

  2. 2 Inside is what your browser wrote the moment you pressed Enter. You typed one address and nothing more, so what did it say to a machine far away?en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonwhat you typed?what your browser wrote

    Inside is what your browser wrote the moment you pressed Enter. You typed one address and nothing more, so what did it say to a machine far away?

The rest of this episode is for subscribers

Subscribe to read every premium episode. You can cancel when you want.

Paid yearly: $99 instead of $119.88

Next episode HTML, CSS and JavaScript: why one web page needs many requests

Share this comic

More comics