How to Search the Web

What Is the Difference Between the World Wide Web and the Internet?

Many people think of the World Wide Web and the Internet as the same thing. But the Web is actually only part of the Internet. What distinguishes information on the Web from other information on the Internet is the way it is formatted. Web pages can be read on virtually any kind of computer that can access the Internet. Bold text or tables, for instance, can be displayed as easily on a Macintosh as on a Windows computer or a UNIX workstation. Similarly, computers can read and follow the links between documents on the Web, making it possible for documents to be linked to each other—the characteristic that gives the Web its name. You could be using a computer in Dallas, for instance, to read a document stored on a computer in Toronto. By clicking on a link, you could read a document or view a graphic stored on a computer in Zurich or Tel Aviv or Hong Kong.