16 min read

The Internet vs the World Wide Web

The web is one service that runs on the internet: pages, links, browsers and web servers.

Two Things People Mix Up

Internet vs web

$The internet$	$The World Wide Web$
$The network : cables, routers, devices and the TCP/IP rules$	$A service that runs on the internet$
$Started in the late 1960s (ARPANET) and grew through the 1980s$	$Invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989; public in 1991$
$Carries email, video calls, games, file transfers and the web$	$Web pages, linked by hyperlinks, viewed in a browser$
$Like the road network$	$Like one type of vehicle using the roads (for example buses)$

The web is not the only thing on the internet: Email — messages between mail servers (SMTP, IMAP). Voice and video calls — WhatsApp, Zoom and Teams calls (VoIP). File transfer — FTP and cloud sync services. Online games and streaming — often using their own protocols. Internet of Things — smart meters, cameras and sensors sending data.

Practice

Who invented the World Wide Web?

Two Things People Mix Up

Internet vs web

$The internet$	$The World Wide Web$
$The network : cables, routers, devices and the TCP/IP rules$	$A service that runs on the internet$
$Started in the late 1960s (ARPANET) and grew through the 1980s$	$Invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989; public in 1991$
$Carries email, video calls, games, file transfers and the web$	$Web pages, linked by hyperlinks, viewed in a browser$
$Like the road network$	$Like one type of vehicle using the roads (for example buses)$

Parts of the Web

Other Internet Services

The web is not the only thing on the internet: Email — messages between mail servers (SMTP, IMAP). Voice and video calls — WhatsApp, Zoom and Teams calls (VoIP). File transfer — FTP and cloud sync services. Online games and streaming — often using their own protocols. Internet of Things — smart meters, cameras and sensors sending data.

Practice

Who invented the World Wide Web?