A web browser is the application that is used to access the internet. Common web browsers include Safari, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
There are many other browsers that offer different functionality and levels of privacy protection, but these are the main ones.
All computers, phones and tablets come with a browser already installed. There are different reasons why you might want to install a new browser but for now I will talk about what a browser is and how to use the most common functionality.
How do browsers work?
In technical terms, a browser lets your computer, phone or tablet talk to another computer. This other computer has an application on it called a web server which allows it to send information to your computer.
The browser converts that information into a webpage and displays all the text and images that you see.
To connect your computer to the web server, you can type the url into the address bar, or you can click on a link. With today’s browsers, you can simply type a topic that you wish to see about in the address bar and the browser will automatically perform a search of all the webpages on the internet and show you a list of links, with a description of what each link is about.
When you click on a link, your web browser automatically contacts the server and requests the webpage that is associated with the link that you just clicked on.
One way to think about this is it’s like making a phone call. You dial a phone number (clicking on a link), your phone then connects to the other person (the web server) and you hear the other person’s voice through the phone (the webpage). It’s not necessary to know how your phone connects to your friend’s phone or how their voice is sent to the speaker on your phone, you just benefit from the sparkling conversation!
How can a browser help me?
Web browsers have many built in features to help you. They can store a record of all the websites that you visited so you can visit them again. This is called your history.
You can also store links to your favourite websites as bookmarks. Most browsers allow you to add some of these bookmarks directly onto your work area for easy access in an area known as the bookmarks bar.
You can also navigate through the browsers history using the back and forward buttons.
It is also possible to open several webpages at the one time using tabs.
Making your browser even better
The great thing about software is that you can add extra functionality to it very easily.
Most browsers also let you add extra tools to the browser called ‘Extensions’ or ‘Add ons’. These are usually free tools that add extra functionality to the browser. For example I use an extension to take screenshot of web pages. Another extension I have tells me when I receive an email. I have another extension that stores all my passwords for me.
The World Wide Web is a wonderful place and with a browser you can access most of it.
Now that you can use a browser you will be able to do a huge number of common tasks; like do your shopping online, pay your tv licence, pay taxes etc.
Browsers are a really powerful tool. You can even get a laptop called a Chromebook, that is built entirely around a web browser.