Difference Between URL and Domain Name


Both URL and Domain Name are two very common terms related to the Internet or web address. Sometimes, these are used interchangeably, but they are entirely different from each other. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the complete address of a web resource such as a webpage, whereas the Domain Name is the part of a URL that represents an IP address in a human friendly form.

Read this article to find out more about URL and Domain Name and how they are different from each other.

What is URL?

A URL is a complete Internet address of a web resource or a web page. It contains several parts such as protocols, methods, domain name (host name), ports, and paths. Hence, the domain name is a part of a URL.

When we search for some query on a search engine like Google, it will show the various URLs of different web resources that are all associated with our search query. The URLs are used as the hyperlinks to create links between the web pages. A URL is typed in the address bar or search bar of the browser window.

URL Examplehttps://www.tutorialspoint.com/ Here, "https" is the protocol, "www" is the subdomain, "tutorialspoint" is the domain name, and ".com" is the domain code.

What is Domain Name?

A domain name is a name assigned to an IP address to improve the human readability. Thus, domain is the human friendly representation of the IP address. As with an IP address, the element of a domain name is removed by periods. The text in the domain name up to the first duration identifies the type of web server.

A domain name is basically a name of a web resource that is universally pretended by web servers and online organizations and provides all pertinent destination records. Users should understand the precise domain name to access an organization’s Internetbased services, website.

Difference between URL and Domain Name

The following table highlights all the major differences between a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and a Domain Name −

S.No. Domain Name Uniform Resource Locator
1. The main objective of having a domain name is to make it easy to access a website. If you want to find a particular website URL is best for it because a URL is a complete web address to find a particular website.
2. They are generally used to refer to a brand name, to easily identify and remember it. It is a string which represents the complete web address of a web page.
3. It is in textual form, and is human−friendly. It is the string which represents the complete web address, and it also contains the domain name.
4. It can be understood as a human readable form of an IP address. It is the address of a web resource.
5. It consists of three parts− Top level domain, Intermediate level, and Low level. It contains the following parts− method, protocol, host name, port, and file path.
6. Example of a domain name is "tutorialspoint.com" Example of a URL is "https://www.tutorialspoint.com/"

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is clear that the URL is a complete address of a web resource, while a domain name is a part of an URL that is used to represent the IP address of a system in a more human-friendly way. The domain name is the core part of the URL, and it is used to identify the website and its corresponding IP address.

Updated on: 21-Dec-2022

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