URL Anatomy 101

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is more than just an address. It's a set of instructions that tells a browser exactly where to go and how to ask for what it wants.

Why this matters

Security

The browser uses the Origin (Scheme + Host + Port) to decide if a script can access data. Understanding this prevents CORS errors.

Cookies

Cookies are scoped to the Site (eTLD+1). Confusing this with Origin causes login bugs.

Performance

Understanding what parts (like Fragments) are never sent to the server can save bandwidth and processing.

SEO

Clean paths and query parameters help search engines understand your content hierarchy.

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