The Internet
Web Browsers
A web browser is client software that requests web pages from a web server, receives the files that make up a page and displays it on screen. It runs on your own device, such as a laptop, tablet or phone, and it acts as the client whenever a page is loaded.
What the browser does when you open a page
You type a web address or click a link. The browser sends a request for that page to the web server that holds it, which means it first uses DNS to turn the domain name in the address into the server's IP address. The server replies by sending back the files that make up the page, and the browser is the program that turns those files into the page you see: headings, paragraphs, pictures and colours laid out on screen. Without a browser, the same files would arrive as raw data that you could not read.
For example, if you open the fixture list for a village badminton club, your browser sends a request to the club's web server, receives the files that build the page and draws the table of dates and times so that you can scroll through it.
Browser or server?
A browser is client software, not a server. It does not store websites and it does not send pages out to other computers; it only asks for pages and shows the ones it receives. The web server is the computer that stores the site and hands the files out, so the two roles are always separate.
| Feature | Web browser | Web server |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Client software | A computer that provides a service |
| Where it is | On the user's own device | Connected to the Internet and kept running |
| Job when a page loads | Sends the request, receives the files and displays the page | Stores the site and sends the files back |
| Stores websites | No | Yes |
Common browsers include Brave, Opera and Vivaldi, and each of them can act as the client for the same web server.