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From URL to Webpage: DNS, HTTPS, and What Happens Behind the Scenes

1. What Is a URL?

When you type a web address like https://funifytools.com into your browser, you’re not just entering text — you’re giving your computer directions to find a specific house on the internet.

A URL, short for Uniform Resource Locator, is like a digital home address that tells your browser where to go and what to retrieve. Just as a postal address identifies a specific location in the real world, a URL tells your browser the exact location of a resource (like a webpage, image, or file) stored somewhere on the internet.

However, computers don’t understand words or names the way humans do. They communicate using numbers, specifically IP addresses (Internet Protocol addresses), which are strings like 192.168.0.1 or in modern IPv6 form, 2400:cb00:2048:1::c629:d7a2.

So when you type in https://funifytools.com, your browser must translate that human-readable name into the numerical IP address of the server hosting the website.

2. DNS: The Internet’s Phonebook

This translation process is handled by the Domain Name System (DNS), often described as the internet’s phonebook.

When you visit a website:

Your browser first checks if it already knows the IP address (from a cache).
If not, it sends a request to a DNS resolver, often managed by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or a public DNS provider like Google (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1).
The DNS resolver asks other DNS servers until it finds the authoritative name server for that domain.
That server replies with the numerical IP address of the website.

For example, when you enter funifytools.com, the DNS server might respond: “✅ The IP address for this domain is 192.168.45.32.”

Once your browser has this IP, it knows exactly which server on the global internet to contact. Without DNS, we’d have to remember long sequences of numbers — just like remembering every friend’s phone number before smartphones existed.

3. Connecting to the Server

After resolving the IP address, your browser now sends a request across the internet to that specific server.

This request is like knocking on the door of a digital house, saying:

“Hi, I’m looking for the homepage of funifytools.com. Can you show it to me?”

This communication follows a set of rules known as protocols. The most common ones for web browsing are:

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) – the standard for transferring web data.
HTTPS (HTTP Secure) – a safer version of HTTP that uses SSL/TLS encryption to protect your data.

If you see the small lock icon 🔒 next to a website’s address, it means the site uses HTTPS — ensuring your passwords, messages, and personal information are encrypted before traveling across the internet.

4. Request and Response: The Internet’s Conversation

Once the request reaches the correct server, the server processes it. It looks up the page or file you asked for — such as /index.html, /about, or /images/logo.png — and prepares a response.

The server’s response includes:

A status code (e.g., 200 OK, 404 Not Found, 500 Internal Error)
The content you requested (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, etc.)

Your browser then interprets this content:

It reads the HTML to understand the structure of the page.
It downloads linked CSS files to apply colors, layouts, and fonts.
It runs JavaScript to make the page interactive.
Finally, it renders everything into the page you see on your screen.

This entire round trip — from typing a URL to seeing a webpage — usually takes less than a second.

5. Step-by-Step Breakdown

Let’s summarize the full journey from start to finish:

You type https://funifytools.com in your browser.
DNS lookup: The browser asks a DNS server, “What is the IP address of funifytools.com?”
DNS reply: The DNS server responds, e.g., “192.168.45.32.”
Connection: The browser contacts that IP using HTTP/HTTPS and sends a Request for the webpage.
Server Response: The server finds the requested content and sends it back with a status code.
Rendering: The browser reads the response, builds the layout, applies design files, executes scripts, and displays the final webpage.

So the visible page is the final product of a multi-step digital conversation involving DNS resolution, IP communication, and data transfer.

6. HTTP vs HTTPS: Why Security Matters

While HTTP works fine for sharing public information, it’s not safe for passwords, credit card details, or private data. This is because HTTP sends all data in plain text, meaning a hacker on the same Wi-Fi network could intercept your traffic.

HTTPS solves this by adding encryption (SSL/TLS). Even if someone captures your internet traffic, they’ll see only random, unreadable data. Most modern browsers will even block access to sites without HTTPS, labeling them “Not Secure.”

For example:

http://funifytools.com → Not encrypted.
https://funifytools.com → Encrypted and safe ✅

In short, HTTPS ensures trust, privacy, and data integrity between your browser and the website.

7. The Invisible Magic Behind Every Click

Every time you visit a website, you’re witnessing a complex global network working in harmony:

DNS servers translate names into numbers.
Routers and switches guide packets through countless hops.
Servers respond to your requests in milliseconds.
Browsers assemble text, code, and images into the seamless pages we scroll through daily.

Even though this process involves hundreds of hidden steps, the user experience feels instant — thanks to decades of networking innovation.

8. In Summary

Typing a web address triggers a chain of events:

DNS → IP Resolution → HTTP/HTTPS Request → Server Response → Page Rendering

It’s the digital equivalent of sending a letter, receiving a reply, and watching it instantly appear as a colorful web page.

So the next time you type an address like https://funifytools.com, remember that behind that simple URL lies a worldwide system of servers, protocols, and translations — all working together to deliver the internet right to your screen.

You can view the original blog post in Korean at the links below:

View in Korean