Domain Names and URLs: Understanding Website Addresses Before Launch

When you prepare a website for the first time, two terms appear almost immediately: domain name and URL. They are related but answer different questions, and confusing them can make planning harder than it needs to be. This article walks through one hypothetical address to show what each part means and how to keep a simple record of it.

A Hypothetical Address to Read

Suppose you are planning a small personal project and you sketch out a sample address for one of its pages: https://example.org/notes/first-page?view=compact#intro. This address does not point to a real page; it exists only as a string we can take apart and label. Reading it carefully before launch helps you understand what each piece does and why the pieces matter when you eventually build your own site.

Domain names are a key part of the Internet infrastructure because they provide a human-readable address for any web server available on the Internet. Computers reach each other through IP addresses, which are hard for people to remember and may change over time, so domain names solve that problem by giving a stable, readable label to a server. In our example, the domain name portion is example.org.¹

A URL is the address of a unique resource on the internet. While the domain name identifies the server, the full URL identifies a specific resource on that server, such as an HTML page, an image, or a stylesheet. The example above is a complete URL because it includes everything needed to locate one particular resource, not just the server that hosts it.²

Labeling Each Part of the Example

Write out the example address on paper or in a plain text file: https://example.org/notes/first-page?view=compact#intro. Now mark each segment separately. The first segment, https, is the scheme; it tells the browser which protocol to use when requesting the resource. The second segment, example.org, is the domain name and also serves as the host portion of the URL. Together, the scheme and the host form the base that every page on this server shares.²¹

The next segment, /notes/first-page, is the path. A URL is composed of different parts, some mandatory and others optional, and the path tells the server which resource is being requested. After the path comes a question mark followed by view=compact; the question mark signals the start of the query string, which provides extra parameters to the server. Finally, the hash symbol introduces the fragment identifier, which in this case is intro. The fragment acts as a bookmark inside the resource itself and is never sent to the server with the request.²

To summarize the separators: the question mark always introduces the query portion, and the hash symbol always introduces the fragment. Knowing these two delimiters lets you read any URL and identify where one section ends and the next begins. The scheme, domain, path, query, and fragment each carry a distinct role, and recognizing them is the first step toward managing your own site addresses with confidence.²

Same Host, Different Paths and Queries

Keep the host portion of the example exactly as it is: https://example.org. Now imagine two other pages on the same project. One might be https://example.org/gallery/photos?sort=date and another might be https://example.org/notes/first-page?view=full#summary. In every case the domain name stays the same, but the path, query, and fragment all differ. This shows that one domain can host many distinct resources, each identified by its own combination of path and optional parameters.

Notice what changes and what stays fixed. The scheme and the domain form a shared prefix for every address on the project. The path is the part that varies most from page to page, naming the specific resource being requested. The query string may or may not be present; when it is, it adds extra information after the question mark. The fragment, if present, always comes last and points to a spot within the resource rather than to a different resource entirely.

It is important not to infer how a server will actually handle these strings based on their appearance alone. Two URLs with different paths might return the same content, or a query parameter might be ignored by the server. The string structure tells you what the browser sends, but the server decides what to do with it. For planning purposes, what matters is that you can distinguish each part of the string and describe its role clearly.

Building an Address Description Card

Record a short description card for the hypothetical project. The card should include four items: the purpose of the page, the full address, and a labeled breakdown of each part. For our example, the purpose might be a reading-friendly view of the first note in a personal collection. The full address is https://example.org/notes/first-page?view=compact#intro. The breakdown lists the scheme as https, the domain as example.org, the path as /notes/first-page, the query as view=compact, and the fragment as intro.

This card serves two practical functions. First, it gives you a single reference you can check whenever you write about the page in documentation, share it with a collaborator, or troubleshoot a link. Second, the act of filling in each field forces you to notice whether any part is missing or unclear. If you cannot name the purpose of the query string, for instance, that is a signal worth investigating before launch.

Choose a format that suits your workflow. A plain text file works well because it is easy to copy from and search through later. A table in a spreadsheet also works if you are tracking multiple pages. The key is consistency: use the same field names every time so that future you or a teammate can scan the card quickly without re-learning your notation.

Verifying the Card by Hand

Before you rely on the description card, verify it against the actual string. This is a simple manual check that catches typos, missing separators, and mislabeled parts. The steps below are author suggestions for building a reliable habit, not requirements from any external source.

If any mismatch appears, correct the card first and then re-run the labeling from scratch. Small errors like a missing slash or a misplaced question mark are easy to overlook when you are reading quickly, so the second pass often catches what the first one missed.

Check whether the fragment label matches the purpose you wrote on the card. If the card says the fragment points to an introduction section, confirm that the fragment value actually reads intro. This final comparison closes the loop between what the address contains and what you intend it to do.

Step 1

Copy the full address from your card into a new, empty text line. Do not type it from memory; use copy and paste so that the string you verify is exactly the one you recorded.

Step 2

Label each segment in place. Write the word scheme above https, domain above example.org, path above /notes/first-page, query above view=compact, and fragment above intro. Use a different color or bracket style for each label if that helps you see the boundaries.

Step 3

Compare your labels with the card fields one by one. If the card says the query is view=compact but the string shows view=full, you have found a discrepancy that needs correcting before you move on.

Keeping the Description for Later Use

Once the card is verified, store it somewhere you will actually look again. A folder in your project directory, a note in your preferred writing tool, or a dedicated page in a wiki all work. The point is not the tool but the habit of returning to the card when you write documentation, share links, or plan new pages for the same project.

As your project grows, you may accumulate several cards. Keep them in a consistent order, perhaps alphabetically by path or grouped by section of the site. When you add a new page, copy the format of an existing card and fill in the new values. This keeps the set uniform and makes it faster to spot anomalies when you review the collection later.

You may also find it useful to note your own recording choices alongside the card. For example, you might write that you chose view=compact as the query because you want a condensed layout for reading, or that the fragment intro marks the first heading of the page. These brief annotations are personal decisions, not technical requirements, but they give future you a reason for each choice and make updates less confusing.

Frequently asked questions

Is the fragment part of the address sent to the server?

No. The fragment identifier, which appears after the hash symbol, is never sent to the server with the request. It is used by the browser to scroll to a specific spot within the resource after it has been loaded.²

Can one domain name have many different URLs?

Yes. The domain name identifies the server, and each unique combination of path, query, and fragment on that server forms a different URL. In our example, changing the path from /notes/first-page to /gallery/photos creates a different URL while the domain stays the same.

Do I need to include the scheme when sharing an address?

For a complete URL that someone can paste into a browser, including the scheme such as https is the safest choice. Browsers can often fill in a missing scheme, but writing it out removes ambiguity and matches the format described in the address card.