What is a Web Browser?

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The Browser is Your Window

A web browser is simply a program that lets you view websites. You’re probably using one of these:

Browser	Icon	Who Makes It
Google Chrome	🔴🟡🟢🔵 colorful circle	Google
Microsoft Edge	Blue/green wave	Microsoft (comes with Windows)
Safari	Blue compass	Apple (comes with Mac)
Firefox	Orange fox	Mozilla (non-profit)

🎯 Fun Fact: The first web browser was called “WorldWideWeb” and was created in 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee. He also invented HTML and the whole concept of websites. He gave it all away for free - no patents!

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Opening Your Browser

Windows

1. Click the Edge icon in the taskbar, OR
2. Press the Windows key, type “Edge” (or “Chrome”), and press Enter

Mac

1. Click Safari in the Dock, OR
2. Press Cmd + Space, type “Safari”, press Enter

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The Anatomy of a Browser

Every browser looks slightly different, but they all have the same key parts:

[←] [→] [🔄] [🏠] |  https://www.google.com                    | [⭐] [⋮]
 ↑   ↑    ↑    ↑                ↑                                  ↑    ↑
Back For- Re-  Home        Address Bar                          Book- More
     ward load                                                   mark  Options

The Main Buttons

Button	What It Does
← Back	Go to the previous page
→ Forward	Go forward (after going back)
🔄 Reload	Refresh the current page
🏠 Home	Go to your homepage

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The Address Bar

This is the most important part of the browser. It’s where you type web addresses.

Website Addresses Explained

Let’s break down a web address: https://www.example.com/page

Part	What It Means
https://	The secure connection type (more on this in the safety lesson!)
www.	Stands for “World Wide Web” - often optional now
example.com	The main website address (domain)
/page	A specific page on that website

🎯 Fun Fact: The most expensive domain name ever sold was cars.com for $872 million! The internet is serious business.

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Try This Now: Browser Tour

1. Open your browser (whatever you normally use)
2. Find the address bar - click in it and type “google.com” then press Enter
3. Look at the back button - it should be grayed out (you can’t go back when you’ve just started)
4. Click any link on the Google homepage
5. Now click the back button - you should return to Google!

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Searching vs. Typing an Address

Here’s something that confuses many people:

The address bar does two things:

1. If you type a web address (like google.com), it takes you there
2. If you type anything else (like “weather today”), it searches for it

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Your Homepage

The homepage is what appears when you open a new browser window.

Changing Your Homepage

Chrome:

1. Click the three dots (⋮) in the top-right
2. Click Settings → On startup
3. Choose what you want to open

Edge:

1. Click the three dots (⋯) in the top-right
2. Click Settings → Start, home, and new tabs

Safari:

1. Safari menu → Preferences
2. General tab → Homepage

💡 Tip: Many people set their homepage to Google, their email, or a news site they check every day.

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Scrolling Through Pages

Web pages are often longer than your screen. Here’s how to see more:

Method	How To
Mouse wheel	Roll up or down
Trackpad	Two-finger swipe up or down
Keyboard	Press Space to scroll down, Shift+Space to scroll up
Arrow keys	Up/down arrows move in small steps

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Clicking Links

Links are the colored (usually blue) or underlined text that takes you to other pages.

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Try This Now: Link Detective

1. Go to wikipedia.org
2. Notice all the blue text - those are links
3. Hover your mouse over one (don’t click) - see the hand cursor?
4. Look at the bottom-left corner of your browser - it shows where the link will take you
5. Now click the link and use Back to return

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Key Takeaways

• A browser is the app you use to view the internet (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox)
• The address bar is where you type websites OR search terms
• The Back button is your friend - use it to return to previous pages
• Hover over links to see where they go before clicking
• You can type searches directly into the address bar

Next up: How to search the internet like a pro and actually find what you’re looking for!