Meaning of URL: What does URL Stand For

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It specifies the global address of web documents and web resource. The first part of the address is the protocol identifier. HTTP and FTP are some examples of protocol identifiers, which indicate the protocol in use. The second part of a URL is the resource name comprised of the IP address or the domain name of the web resource. The basic reason behind locating or identifying a resource on the web is Internet communication. Interaction between web users and Internet resources is possible, only if each resource on the Internet is identified in a standardized manner.

A uniform resource locator is synonymous to uniform resource identifier that is abbreviated as URI. By definition, a URI is a string of characters that is used to identify resources on the Internet.

Following is an example of a website URL.
http://www.buzzle.com directs you to the Buzzle home page. The first part, HTTP, as you must have rightly guessed, is the protocol identifier. It is followed by a colon and two forward slashes after which comes the domain name of the resource to be located.

I think this explains the meaning of URL. However, if you are interested in knowing more about various such terms related to computers and Internet, you can go through the following glossaries.

• Computer Glossary
• Basic Internet Terms and Terminology