Protocol-The first part of a URL. Most web addressses start as Http:// which stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. It may begin with gopher://, Telnet:// or ftp://

Host Name-The second part of the URL. Describes the web server address. This is the company, organization, etc. that has the server with the files on it.

Host Name Extension- ie. .gov, .edu, .net, .com, .org, etc.- These help define the type of site further; whether the site is an educational, governement, commercial etc. ICAN decides the hostname extensions.

Directory and File Name-Tells your browser where to look on the server for the file.