How the Web Works

You type a URL. Chaos happens. Here is the slow-motion version.

▶ the lesson · ~35s · narrated · tap for sound

the intro

Every website runs on the same loop: your browser asks a server for files, the server sends them, and the browser turns them into a page. HTML is the bones, CSS is the paint, JavaScript is the muscles. Understand this loop and everything else in frontend has a home.

the sample

the whole journey in one exchange

GET /index.html

→ 200 OK (text/html)

browser: parse → paint → interact

fun fact ✦

The first website went live in 1991 — and it is still online at info.cern.ch.

the docs

MDN: How the web works ↗web.dev: How browsers work ↗

quick hits about How the Web Works

15-second answers · interviews, tips, trivia & hidden gems

🎤 interview

What happens when you type a URL?

🎤 interview

Frontend or backend — where is the line?

📚 tutorial

How does a request actually look?

🔧 useful

Want to see the web in slow motion?

🧠 trivia

The first website ever built…

💎 deep

Want to see how ANY site is built?