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The home page of NASA from 2008

A web page (or webpage) is a Web document that is accessed in a web browser.[1] A website typically consists of many web pages linked together under a common domain name. The term "web page" is therefore a metaphor of paper pages bound together into a book.

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Main article: Web navigation
Each article on the Wikipedia website is a distinct web page. The URL is visible in the browser's address bar at the top.

Each web page is identified by a distinct Uniform Resource Locator (URL). When the user inputs a URL into their web browser, the browser retrieves the necessary content from a web server and then transforms it into an interactive visual representation on the user's screen.[2]

If the user clicks or taps a link, the browser repeats this process to load the new URL, which could be part of the current website or a different one. The browser has features, such as the address bar, that indicate which page is displayed.

Elements

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A web page is a structured document. The core element is a text file written in the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). This specifies the content of the page,[3] including images and video.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) specify the presentation of the page.[3] CSS rules can be in separate text files or embedded within the HTML file.

The vast majority[4] of pages have JavaScript programs, enabling a wide range of behavior.[3] The newer WebAssembly language can also be used as a supplement.[5]

The most sophisticated web pages, known as web apps, combine these elements in a complex manner.

Deployment

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From the perspective of server-side website deployment, there are two types of web pages: static and dynamic. Static pages are retrieved from the web server's file system without any modification,[6] while dynamic pages must be created by the server on the fly, typically reading from a database to fill out a template, before being sent to the user's browser.[7] An example of a dynamic page is a search engine results page.

Security

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The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the way a web browser retrieves webpage content from a website. HTTP has two optional security features: encrypted mode (HTTPS) greatly reduces the possibility of eavesdropping by a third party,[8] while Content Security Policy protects against cross-site scripting attacks.[9] Both features are supported by mainstream web browsers, and many websites use them.

See also

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References

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Web page

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
A web page is a collection of , consisting of one or more web resources, intended to be rendered simultaneously as a single unit by a web client such as a browser, and identified by a single URI. These resources may include text, images, and embedded elements, with components potentially distributed across different network locations, though their rendering depends on the client's capabilities. Web pages serve as the basic building blocks of the , enabling the display and interaction with hypertext content over the . The concept of web pages originated with the invention of the World Wide Web by British scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 while working at CERN, initially to facilitate information sharing among physicists. Berners-Lee's proposal outlined a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessible via a network, with the first web page created in 1990 on a NeXT computer. By 1991, the technology was released to the public, marking the start of widespread adoption, and in 1993, CERN placed the web software in the public domain to promote open development. Structurally, web pages are primarily authored using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the core markup language of the web that defines their semantic content and organization. Styling is applied via CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), a stylesheet language that controls layout, colors, fonts, and visual presentation to enhance across devices. Interactivity and dynamic functionality are added through , a programming language standardized as , allowing scripts to manipulate page content in response to user actions. Web pages are transferred and accessed using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), a stateless application-level protocol designed for distributed hypermedia systems, which enables browsers to request and receive page data from servers. Modern web pages often incorporate , responsive design for mobile compatibility, and features to ensure usability for diverse audiences, evolving continuously through web standards maintained by organizations like the W3C and .

Definition and Fundamentals

Definition

A web page is a collection of , consisting of one or more web resources, intended to be rendered simultaneously as a single unit by a web client such as a browser, and identified by a single URI. It is typically formatted using as the base markup language and accessed via the HTTP or protocol through a unique . Unlike a , which comprises a collection of interconnected web pages hosted under a single , a web page represents a single, discrete resource identifiable by its specific . Rendering a web page requires a to parse and interpret its content, embedding elements such as styles, scripts, and media without assuming any server-side processing for the basic display.

Role in the Web Ecosystem

Web pages serve as the primary medium for content delivery in the client-server architecture of the , where a user's browser (the client) sends an HTTP request to a , which responds by transmitting the page's markup and resources. This exchange, governed by the (HTTP), enables the stateless transfer of hypertext documents, forming the foundational interaction model that underpins the web's distributed nature. As outlined in HTTP specifications, the server assembles and delivers the page in response to the client's GET request, typically including for structure, allowing seamless access to information across the . In user interactions, web browsers parse the received HTML, CSS, and associated assets to render the page visually and functionally, creating an navigable experience through hyperlinks that interconnect disparate pages into a cohesive web. These links, embedded as anchors in the markup, facilitate traversal by resolving relative or absolute URLs, enabling users to move between pages without restarting the browser session. This rendering process relies on the browser's engine to interpret the Document Object Model (DOM), transforming static code into interactive displays that respond to user inputs like clicks and scrolls. Web pages depend on several core technologies within the ecosystem for accessibility and functionality, including the (DNS) for address resolution, browsers for interpretation, and search engines for discovery. DNS translates human-readable domain names (e.g., ) into IP addresses that route requests to the correct server, ensuring pages can be located efficiently across the global network. Browsers, such as Chrome or , handle the parsing and execution, while search engines like crawl and index pages to make them discoverable via queries, driving the majority of through ranked results. Without these interdependencies, web pages would remain isolated, as DNS provides the routing foundation, browsers the , and search engines the entry points for user navigation. Over time, the role of web pages has evolved from delivering static information to supporting dynamic, application-like experiences through integration with APIs, exemplified by single-page applications (SPAs) that load once and update content via asynchronous requests. In this model, frameworks fetch data from backend APIs without full page reloads, enabling real-time updates and richer interactions, as seen in platforms like or . This shift, facilitated by protocols like for efficient resource handling, has transformed web pages into versatile components of full-stack applications, blending client-side rendering with server-side .

History and Evolution

Origins and Early Development

The origins of the web page trace back to Tim Berners-Lee's proposal in March , while working as a software engineer at , where he outlined a system for managing scientific information through interconnected hypertext documents to facilitate sharing among researchers facing high staff turnover. This initial document, titled "Information Management: A Proposal," envisioned a distributed hypertext network using "nodes" for entities like documents or people and "links" to represent relationships, allowing information to evolve dynamically without rigid hierarchies. Berners-Lee revised the proposal in May 1990, renaming the concept the "World Wide Web" and emphasizing its potential for universal access to a "web of notes" via simple navigation tools like mouse-clickable references. The system was designed specifically to address 's need for remote, heterogeneous access to data across platforms, integrating with existing tools while avoiding centralization. Implementation began in late 1990, culminating in the creation of the first web page in late 1990 on a NeXT computer at , which went online for public access in August 1991 at the address http://info.cern.ch.[](https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web) This inaugural page, authored by Berners-Lee, served as an explanatory for the project itself, featuring hypermedia elements that provided universal access to a growing universe of documents through hyperlinks. Its content included sections on the project's executive summary, technical details, software components like the , and invitations for contributions, demonstrating the core idea of linked for collaborative scientific work. Accessible initially within , the page marked the practical debut of web pages as hypertext-based interfaces for information dissemination. Early web pages relied on rudimentary technologies, with the initial specification of emerging from Berners-Lee's work in through a called "HTML Tags," which defined basic markup for structuring hypertext. By 1993, early had evolved through informal drafts, supporting only basic text formatting, headings, paragraphs, and hyperlinks, without capabilities for images, styling, or complex layouts. These drafts laid the groundwork for the first formal standard, HTML 2.0, in 1995. These early pages functioned as plain, navigable hosted on basic servers, prioritizing content linking over visual design to enable efficient knowledge sharing among scientists. The development of web pages drew from established hypertext paradigms and markup standards, notably influenced by Apple's HyperCard system from 1987, which popularized clickable, non-linear navigation in personal computing and inspired the web's linking mechanisms. Additionally, HTML was built as an application of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), an ISO-standardized framework for defining document structures through tags, providing the foundational syntax for separating content from presentation in web documents. These influences ensured that early web pages were extensible yet simple, aligning with Berners-Lee's goal of broad adoption for global information exchange.

Key Milestones and Modern Advancements

The mid-1990s marked a pivotal shift toward graphical and interactive web pages, building on the foundational work at in the early 1990s. In April 1993, the release of version 1.0 for UNIX workstations introduced support for inline images, nested lists, and fill-out forms, popularizing visually rich and dramatically increasing web adoption. By November 1993, 2.0 extended these capabilities, solidifying browser support for forms that enabled user input on web pages. 2.0, published as RFC 1866 in November 1995, standardized core elements like hyperlinks, lists, and basic image embedding (via the IMG tag), providing a platform-independent foundation for hypertext documents. 3.2, developed through 1996 and formally recommended by the W3C in January 1997, incorporated widespread browser practices including forms, tables, and text flow around images, enhancing and . The 1990s "" between and accelerated innovation in web page features, often prioritizing proprietary extensions over standards. 1.0, released in December 1994, built on Mosaic's graphical foundation and introduced in 1995 for client-side scripting, alongside in September 1995 to divide pages into independent sections for and content. launched 1.0 in August 1995, quickly iterating to version 3.0 in 1996, which added support for , ActiveX controls, and enhanced integration for embedding interactive applications within pages. These competitions drove rapid feature proliferation, including —small Java programs launched in 1995 for dynamic content like animations—but also led to compatibility issues across browsers. In the 2000s, standards efforts and new paradigms enabled more dynamic and user-centric web pages, transitioning from static sites to interactive experiences. , recommended by the W3C in January 2000, reformulated as an XML application, enforcing stricter syntax for better interoperability and paving the way for modular content. CSS Level 2 (CSS2), first specified in 1998 and revised in subsequent years, advanced page styling with features like absolute positioning, multi-column layouts, and media-specific styles, allowing separation of content from presentation. The term AJAX, coined in February 2005 by Jesse James Garrett, described asynchronous and XML techniques for updating page content without full reloads, powering responsive interfaces in applications like . , articulated by in October 2005 following a 2004 conference, emphasized user-generated content and participatory platforms, exemplified by sites like and that leveraged AJAX and for collaborative web pages. The 2010s and 2020s brought maturity to web pages through semantic standards, mobile adaptation, and high-performance capabilities, alongside robust security enhancements. HTML5, recommended by the W3C in October 2014, introduced native support for multimedia (video and audio elements), canvas for graphics, and semantic tags like
and

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