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No, it doesn't mean anything - a site is "on" the world wide web if your browser can connect to it using one of the methods ("protocols") that it knows, the most famous of which is that "http" you see in front of the address.
You want a quick history lesson? Before the web took over, computers (servers) would open themselves up publicly to the world only in very specific ways. A machine dedicated to transferring files, for instance, might be ftp.mahalo.com - ftp is the "file transfer protocol". Similarly the machine dedicated to mail is "mail.mahalo.com" or possibly "smtp.mahalo.com" (for "send mail transfer protocol"). In the early days, the web was just one of many ways a machine could make itself available, and thus you would say "www" to specify that this was the machine to connect to for web things.
However, this was always just a rule of thumb, not any kind of mandate. So these days you'll see various "third level domains" like maybe "login.mahalo.com" or "blog.shakespearegeek.com" or others, but really they mean the same general thing -- the person who maintains the domain wants to subdivide that area in a way that makes it easier for the user to get around.
(Behind the scenes, the "web servers" are programmed to recognize the incoming requests and behave accordingly - so for instance my server might see "www.shakespearegeek.com" and send the person to a regular homepage, but if they came in on "blog.shakespearegeek.com", even though it might hit the same physical machine, would go straight to the blog).
Source(s):
Been there since the beginning :), when if you wanted to access a machine you had to know its IP address :). Remember gopher? Ah, the good old days.
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Web browsers assume the HTTP protocol and automatically connects to the HTTP server on port 80.
Servers require their websites to communicate through the www subdomain
which is redundant and time consuming to communicate.
In another words...
It is the same as if mail servers required emails to be sent to recipient@mail.domain.com rather than recipient@domain.com
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You can have host entries for any name and domain. ex. host.nonstopnetworks.net, hosta.nonstopnetworks.net or www.nonstopnetworks.net.
As cyberangel noted, you can also have subdomains. division.companyx.com and have a "A Record" for www.division.companyx.com and division.companyx.com.
NonStop Networks, LLC
http://www.nonstopnetworks.net
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It is obvious that all websites are on the WWW. www is a default 'sub domain' that is usually the beggining of most domains. BUT the web admin has the ability to make this whatever he wants or even all together leave it out.
Most websites will allow access from both www and by leaving it out. E.g. google.com and www.google.com will both take you to the Google Homepage.
Usually when a website uses a subdomain then you cant add www. For example: mail.google.com cannot be accessed from www.mail.google.com.
But this does not mean that it is not possible.
Remember that the admin has full control over thge subdomain name and can even if he/she wishes disable www altogether.
WWW does not signify belonging of the world wide web but is rather the default subdomain name of most websites for their main website.
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Answered Question
M$1
January 25, 2009 12:38 AM
What does it mean if a website address doesn't start with "www"?
I've noticed this on some websites, where the web address from the address bar is something like "http://________.com" without including the "www". Does this mean that it's actually not a part of the World Wide Web, and if that's true, then how can I visit it if it's not part of the World Wide Web?
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| January 25, 2009 12:47 AM |
You want a quick history lesson? Before the web took over, computers (servers) would open themselves up publicly to the world only in very specific ways. A machine dedicated to transferring files, for instance, might be ftp.mahalo.com - ftp is the "file transfer protocol". Similarly the machine dedicated to mail is "mail.mahalo.com" or possibly "smtp.mahalo.com" (for "send mail transfer protocol"). In the early days, the web was just one of many ways a machine could make itself available, and thus you would say "www" to specify that this was the machine to connect to for web things.
However, this was always just a rule of thumb, not any kind of mandate. So these days you'll see various "third level domains" like maybe "login.mahalo.com" or "blog.shakespearegeek.com" or others, but really they mean the same general thing -- the person who maintains the domain wants to subdivide that area in a way that makes it easier for the user to get around.
(Behind the scenes, the "web servers" are programmed to recognize the incoming requests and behave accordingly - so for instance my server might see "www.shakespearegeek.com" and send the person to a regular homepage, but if they came in on "blog.shakespearegeek.com", even though it might hit the same physical machine, would go straight to the blog).
Source(s):
Been there since the beginning :), when if you wanted to access a machine you had to know its IP address :). Remember gopher? Ah, the good old days.
| Asker's Rating: |
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Other Answers (4)
January 25, 2009 01:42 AM
It means nothing. Prefacing a web site with "www" is at the discretion of the the owner of the web site. If you're viewing the web address in your browser, you're on the World Wide Web. In the past, it was common for sites to preface their URLs with "www", "ftp", "gopher", etc depending on the services and/or protocol used.
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January 25, 2009 08:43 AM
No, it means that the site is not being accessed through a sub-domain. Web browsers assume the HTTP protocol and automatically connects to the HTTP server on port 80.
Servers require their websites to communicate through the www subdomain
which is redundant and time consuming to communicate.
In another words...
It is the same as if mail servers required emails to be sent to recipient@mail.domain.com rather than recipient@domain.com
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January 26, 2009 01:42 PM
The www before a domain name is called a host or "A Record". Most companies choose to add a A Record for www and the domain name so if the www is left off, it gets to the same web page. You can have host entries for any name and domain. ex. host.nonstopnetworks.net, hosta.nonstopnetworks.net or www.nonstopnetworks.net.
As cyberangel noted, you can also have subdomains. division.companyx.com and have a "A Record" for www.division.companyx.com and division.companyx.com.
NonStop Networks, LLC
http://www.nonstopnetworks.net
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January 27, 2009 06:48 PM
www Does not signify if the website is on the World Wide Web or not.It is obvious that all websites are on the WWW. www is a default 'sub domain' that is usually the beggining of most domains. BUT the web admin has the ability to make this whatever he wants or even all together leave it out.
Most websites will allow access from both www and by leaving it out. E.g. google.com and www.google.com will both take you to the Google Homepage.
Usually when a website uses a subdomain then you cant add www. For example: mail.google.com cannot be accessed from www.mail.google.com.
But this does not mean that it is not possible.
Remember that the admin has full control over thge subdomain name and can even if he/she wishes disable www altogether.
WWW does not signify belonging of the world wide web but is rather the default subdomain name of most websites for their main website.
- (A Sub domain is a sub of a normal domain Example: mahalo.com is the normal (Top Level Domain) and www.mahalo.com is the SUB Domain)
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