WHAT IS THE WORLD WIDE WEB AND THE INTERNET?

Before the days of telephones, fax machines and computers, people relied on physical sending things; letters, parcel, memos etc. Holiday companies would send out brochures, shops would send out mail-order catalogues, news companies distribute newspapers. These would all have to be physically transported to and from one place to another via different modes of transport.

What is the World Wide Web?

The information being exchanged, such as letters and parcels are much like the information online. But instead of physically sending it you access it via your computer. The World Wide Web is a system of linked documents, web pages, images, video etc. The online holiday brochure, the online shop or the news website. This page you are reading is part of the World Wide Web.

The key to what makes the World Wide Web work is that these documents are interlinked with each other, referred to as hyperlinks, or more commonly, links. These websites are found via a system of addresses, much like physical addresses, called domain names (http://www.website.com). It's this interlinking of documents that makes up the World Wide Web.

What is the Internet?

The Internet can be described at the road and rail networks that the information travels on. The Internet is a physical thing, the wires, computers and servers that all link together globally. The World Wide Web would not be able to function without the Internet. Other applications such as email, file sharing networks and online chat work via the Internet.