Website Basics
Website URL Examples
30+ real website URL examples — homepage, product, search, subdomain, country and file addresses — plus every URL part explained, good vs bad URL structure, and a copyable checklist.
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a page or other resource on the internet — what you type into the address bar or click as a link. Most people call it a website address or web address. This page collects 30+ real website URL examples grouped by what they do, shows every URL part with an annotated diagram, and compares good vs bad URL structure so you can build clean addresses for your own site. It is part of the website basics library.
What is a website URL?
A URL tells the browser how to reach a resource and where that resource lives. Take this one:
https://www.northwindcoffee.com/shop/pour-over-kettles?sort=price#reviews
It says: use the HTTPS protocol, connect to the northwindcoffee.com server, fetch the page at /shop/pour-over-kettles, pass a sort parameter, and scroll to the reviews section.
Three words are easy to mix up, so here is the difference in one line:
- Website name — the brand that identifies the site (Northwind Coffee).
- Domain name — the registered address you own (
northwindcoffee.com). - URL — the full address, including protocol and path (
https://www.northwindcoffee.com/shop/pour-over-kettles).
For the name side of that distinction, see website name examples. The label that appears in your browser tab is the page title — see website title examples.
The parts of a URL
Every URL is built from the same parts. Here is one complete address with each part highlighted in a mockup of a browser address bar:
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<style>
body { margin: 0; font-family: ui-monospace, "SF Mono", Menlo, Consolas, monospace; background: #f3f4f6; padding: 24px; }
.window { max-width: 780px; margin: 0 auto; background: #fff; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.12); overflow: hidden; }
.titlebar { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 6px; padding: 10px 12px; background: #e5e7eb; }
.dot { width: 10px; height: 10px; border-radius: 50%; }
.r { background: #fca5a5; } .y { background: #fcd34d; } .g { background: #86efac; }
.bar { padding: 14px 16px; font-size: 15px; word-break: break-all; }
.scheme { color: #2563eb; } .sub { color: #7c3aed; } .domain { color: #15803d; }
.path { color: #c2410c; } .query { color: #be185d; } .frag { color: #0f766e; }
.legend { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 8px; padding: 0 16px 16px; font-size: 12px; }
.chip { display: inline-flex; align-items: center; gap: 6px; background: #f9fafb; border: 1px solid #e5e7eb; border-radius: 999px; padding: 3px 10px; }
.swatch { width: 9px; height: 9px; border-radius: 3px; display: inline-block; }
</style>
</head>
<body>
<div class="window">
<div class="titlebar"><span class="dot r"></span><span class="dot y"></span><span class="dot g"></span></div>
<div class="bar">
<span class="scheme">https://</span><span class="sub">www.</span><span class="domain">northwindcoffee.com</span><span class="path">/shop/pour-over-kettles</span><span class="query">?sort=price</span><span class="frag">#reviews</span>
</div>
<div class="legend">
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#2563eb"></span>protocol</span>
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#7c3aed"></span>subdomain</span>
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#15803d"></span>domain + TLD</span>
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#c2410c"></span>path</span>
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#be185d"></span>query string</span>
<span class="chip"><span class="swatch" style="background:#0f766e"></span>fragment</span>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>
Reading left to right: https:// is the protocol, www. is the subdomain, northwindcoffee.com is the domain name (which ends in the .com top-level domain), /shop/pour-over-kettles is the path, ?sort=price is the query string, and #reviews is the fragment.
URL parts at a glance
| Part | Also called | Example | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol | scheme | https:// | Tells the browser how to retrieve the resource (HTTPS, HTTP, mailto) |
| Subdomain | host prefix | www. | Points to a specific server or section of a site (www, blog, shop, app) |
| Domain name | second-level domain | northwindcoffee | The registered, memorable name of the site |
| Top-level domain | TLD | .com | The final suffix that groups domains (.com, .org, .io, country codes) |
| Path | resource path | /shop/pour-over-kettles | Which page or file on the server to fetch |
| Query string | parameters | ?sort=price&color=blue | Extra key/value data sent to the server |
| Fragment | anchor | #reviews | Points to a spot inside the page; never sent to the server |
Protocol (scheme)
The protocol is the first part, ending in a colon (and usually ://). It says how the browser should talk to the server.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
https:// | Secure HTTP — encrypted; what almost every site uses today |
http:// | Unencrypted HTTP — still works, but HTTPS is the standard |
mailto: | Opens the visitor's mail app instead of a website |
ftp:// | Older file-transfer protocol, no longer supported by modern browsers |
Subdomain
The subdomain is the label before the domain name. www. is a convention, and sites also use subdomains to split up services.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
https://www.example.com/ | The main site (the www label is not required) |
https://blog.example.com/ | A blog hosted on its own subdomain |
https://shop.example.com/ | A store on its own subdomain |
https://app.example.com/ | A web app (many SaaS products do this) |
Domain name and top-level domain
The domain name is the memorable name you register, and the TLD is the suffix at the end. Together they form the address people know by heart.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
wikipedia.org | The domain wikipedia with the .org TLD |
google.com | The domain google with the .com TLD |
github.io | The .io TLD, popular with developers |
example.co.uk | The country-code TLD .co.uk, used in the United Kingdom |
example.com.br | The country-code TLD .com.br, used in Brazil |
Path
The path points at a specific page or file on the server. It is the part that usually reflects your site's structure.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL | A single article at a readable path |
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTML | A nested documentation path |
https://www.nytimes.com/cooking/ | A section of a large site |
Query string
The query string starts with ? and carries key/value pairs separated by &. It is how search pages, filters and tracking work.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+url | A search query with one parameter |
https://example.com/shop?sort=price&color=blue | Two parameters: sort and filter |
https://example.com/products?id=45213&ref=newsletter | A product ID plus a referral tag |
Fragment
The fragment starts with # and jumps to a specific spot on the page. It is never sent to the server.
| Example | What it is |
|---|---|
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL#Syntax | Opens the article and jumps to its Syntax section |
https://example.com/blog/coffee-guide#summary | Jumps to a heading inside the post |
30+ website URL examples by use
Real addresses fall into a few repeating shapes. The examples below are representative of each shape, so you can recognize the pattern in the sites you visit every day.
Homepage and brand addresses
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://www.google.com/ | The www subdomain plus the standard home page |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page | A branded path on the site's own domain |
https://www.amazon.com/ | A large storefront root address |
https://github.com/ | A clean root with no trailing path |
Inner pages
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://www.nytimes.com/cooking/ | A section page with a readable path |
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL | A single article path |
https://www.gov.uk/visa-check | A service page on a public-sector site |
https://example.com/about | A typical About page (no trailing slash needed) |
Product and store addresses
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ | A category path with products listed beneath it |
https://example.com/shop/pour-over-kettles | A product-category path |
https://example.com/products/kettle-450ml | A single product page |
https://example.com/shop?brand=acme&sort=price | A store listing with filters |
For more on how real stores build these addresses, see ecommerce website examples.
Search, filters and parameters
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://www.google.com/search?q=clean+url | Search results driven by a query parameter |
https://example.com/results?q=coffee+maker | On-site search |
https://example.com/blog?tag=brewing | A tag filter |
https://example.com/events?month=2026-08 | A date filter |
Subdomain examples
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://mail.google.com/ | Google Mail on a subdomain |
https://app.slack.com/ | A SaaS app on its own subdomain |
https://news.ycombinator.com/ | A section on its own subdomain |
https://blog.example.com/post/1 | A blog on a subdomain |
Country and language addresses
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://example.de/ | A country-code TLD for Germany |
https://example.co.uk/ | A country-code TLD for the UK |
https://de.example.com/ | A language subdirectory on a generic TLD |
https://example.com/fr/ | A language path |
Files and media
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://example.com/media/header.jpg | An image file |
https://example.com/downloads/report.pdf | A PDF download |
https://example.com/videos/intro.mp4 | A video file |
https://example.com/uploads/2026/08/photo.png | A file with a dated path |
Protocol and fragment examples
| Example URL | What it shows |
|---|---|
https://example.com/page#section-2 | A fragment jump |
http://192.168.1.1/ | A router's admin page, reached by IP address |
mailto:hello@example.com | A URL that opens an email app |
http://localhost:3000/ | A site running on your own machine |
That is 30+ distinct examples — each one a URL shape you will meet in the wild.
Website address examples
A website address is the everyday name for a URL. When someone asks for your "website address", they mean the full address they can type into a browser. Here is how an address is usually given versus what the browser actually loads:
| What people type | Full URL the browser loads | Why |
|---|---|---|
northwindcoffee.com | https://www.northwindcoffee.com/ | Browsers add the protocol for you |
basicwebsiteexample.com/website-url-examples | https://www.basicwebsiteexample.com/website-url-examples/ | A typed address can skip the protocol |
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL | Same, with a path included |
The only part you never need to type is the protocol — every browser fills in https:// for you. The address worth writing down, sharing and printing on a business card is the domain plus path, for example basicwebsiteexample.com/website-url-examples.
Good vs bad URL structure
The difference between a good and a bad address is easy to see side by side. The pairs below follow Google's URL structure best practices.
| Instead of this (weak) | Try this (stronger) | Why |
|---|---|---|
example.com/index.php?topic=42&area=3a5ebc944f | example.com/wiki/Aviation | Descriptive words beat long ID numbers — readable at a glance |
example.com/greendress | example.com/green-dress | Hyphens separate words; jammed-together words are hard to scan |
example.com/summer_clothing | example.com/summer-clothing | Google recommends hyphens over underscores |
example.com/results?search_type=video&search_sort=relevance&cat=25 | example.com/results?q=coffee | Use as few parameters as possible |
example.com/search/noheaders?sessionid=6EE2BF1AF6A3 | example.com/search?q=url | Session IDs and tracking junk bloat the address |
example.com/calendar.php?d=13&m=8&y=2011 | example.com/events/august-2011 | A memorable path beats a dynamic calendar link |
example.com/#/potatoes | example.com/potatoes | Don't use fragments to change page content |
Example.com/Shop/Pourover | example.com/shop/pour-over-kettles | URLs are case-sensitive; pick one case and stay consistent |
Absolute vs relative URLs
Not every URL on a page is the full address. Links inside a page are often relative.
| Kind | Example | Where it points |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute URL | https://example.com/about | The full address, used in the address bar and for external links |
| Root-relative URL | /about | The same domain, from the site root — used in menus |
| Relative URL | about.html | A file in the current folder — used for same-page navigation |
In the address bar you always type an absolute URL; the browser resolves relative links automatically against the current page. The HTML website example page shows both kinds in real markup.
How to build a clean URL
These rules come from Google's URL structure guidance and MDN's What is a URL guide:
- Use descriptive, readable words — a path like
/shop/pour-over-kettlesbeats/p.php?id=45213. - Separate words with hyphens —
green-dress, notgreen_dressorgreendress. - Keep parameters minimal — drop any parameter that does not change the page's content.
- Use a consistent parameter format —
key=valuepairs joined with&. - Keep it lowercase — URLs are case-sensitive;
example.com/Aboutandexample.com/aboutare different URLs. - Never use fragments for content — a
#fragment points to a spot on the page; it should not change the page. - Keep the address short — a short, flat path is easier to type, share and remember.
- Match the address to the page — a clean URL should describe the page the way a good page title does.
URL checklist (copy and fill in)
Use this worksheet when you create an address for a new page:
# Clean URL checklist
New page title: ___
Proposed address: ___
## Build the address
1. Words that describe the page (not numbers): ___
2. Separate the words with hyphens: ___
3. Drop any parameter that is not needed: ___
4. Keep it lowercase: ___
## Final checks
- [ ] Reads like a sentence a human can say
- [ ] Describes what the page is about
- [ ] Uses hyphens, not underscores or jammed words
- [ ] One or two parameters at most
- [ ] Lowercase throughout
- [ ] No session IDs, dates, or random ID numbers
- [ ] Short enough to type from memory
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a website URL example?
What are the parts of a URL?
What is a website address example?
Is a website address the same as a URL?
What is a good URL structure for SEO?
Does the URL affect where a page ranks?
What to do next
A clean URL works with the rest of the page basics: the website name examples page covers naming the site, website title examples covers the text in the tab, and website structure examples shows how pages and paths fit into a hierarchy.