What is a Browser and How does it Work?
Last Updated :
04 Apr, 2025
When we need any kind of information, most of the time we get help from the Internet, and we get information. The Internet provides us with useful information easily. We use mobile phones, computers, and tablets. We search for a lot of things in our daily lives, so we get information from all over the world, but we can not get information by just only getting connected to the Internet. We need a platform where we can search for our questions. The platform that provides such kinds of services is called a web browser; without a web browser internet will not be able to provide information.
What is a Web Browser?
The web browser is an application software to explore www (World Wide Web). It provides an interface between the server and the client, and it requests the server for web documents and services. It works as a compiler to render HTML, which is used to design a webpage. Whenever we search for anything on the internet, the browser loads a web page written in HTML, including text, links, images, and other items such as style sheets and JavaScript functions. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari are examples of web browsers.
History of the Web Browsers
The first web browser World Wide Web, was invented in the year of 1990 by Tim Berners-Lee. Later, it becomes Nexus. In the year of 1993, a new browser, Mosaic, was invented by Mark Andreessen and their team. It was the first browser to display text and images at a time on the device screen. He also invented another browser, Netscape, in 1994. The next year, Microsoft launched a web browser, Internet Explorer, which was already installed in the Windows operating system. After this, many browsers were invented with various features like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc. For more details, refer to this article: History of Web Browsers
The choice of a web browser depends on the user’s preference and requirements. To know more about individual browsers please go through our Web Browser – A Complete Overview
How Does a Web Browser Work?
A web browser helps us find information anywhere on the internet. It is installed on the client’s computer and requests information from the web server; such a type of working model is called a client-server model.
Client-server model
The browser receives information through HTTP protocol. In which transmission of data is defined. When the browser received data from the server, it is rendered in HTML to user-readable form and, information is displayed on the device screen.
Website Cookies
When we visited any website over the internet our web browser stores information about us in small files called cookies. Cookies are designed to remember stateful information about our browsing history. Some more cookies are used to remember about us like our interests, our browsing patterns, etc. Websites show us ads based on our interests using cookies.
Some Popular Web Browsers
Here is a list of 7 popular web browsers:
Developed by Google, Chrome is one of the most widely-used web browsers in the world, known for its speed and simplicity.
Developed by the Mozilla Foundation, Firefox is an open-source browser that is known for its privacy features and customization options.
Developed by Apple, Safari is the default browser on Mac and iOS devices and is known for its speed and integration with other Apple products.
Developed by Microsoft, Edge is the default browser on Windows 10 and is known for its integration with other Microsoft products and services.
Developed by The Tor Project, Tor Browser is a web browser that is designed for anonymous web browsing and is based on Mozilla Firefox.
6. Opera:
Developed by Opera Software, Opera is a web browser that is known for its speed and built-in VPN feature.
7. Brave:
Developed by Brave Software, Brave is a web browser that is focused on privacy and security and blocks third-party ads and trackers by default.
These are some of the most popular web browsers, there are other browsers available such as Vivaldi, Waterfox, and so on. The choice of a web browser depends on the user’s preference and requirements.
Similar Reads
What Is Caret Browsing and How Does It Work
If you heard about the Caret Browsing but don't know what it is and how to use it, then in this article, we’ll explore caret browsing: what it is, how it functions, and why it’s a valuable tool for web browsing. Basically, Caret browsing enhances accessibility by allowing users to interact with web
7 min read
What Is a Recommendation Engine and How Does It Work?
A recommendation engine is a system designed to suggest items or content to users based on their preferences, behaviours, or past interactions. These engines are used across a variety of platforms and industries, including e-commerce, media streaming, social networks, and more. The core goal of a re
6 min read
Tor Browser Plugins or Add-ons
Tor Browser is used to access the dark web while preserving user privacy and anonymity. By default, it blocks all the plugins like Flash, java, Silver Light, etc. Browser plugins are small software components that one can install to a web browser in order to improve its capabilities and offer supple
2 min read
How do web browser handle tab and multiple windows?
Web browsers are sophisticated software applications designed to enable users to access and interact with information on the internet. One of the key features that enhance user experience is the ability to handle multiple tabs and windows. This functionality allows users to navigate between differen
4 min read
How to access an HTML document in a browser ?
HTML represents Hypertext Markup Language and is web - based scripting language. Its primary object is to make and design website pages. Records with the HTML (or HTM) augmentation just hold back text and references to different documents, similar to pictures or video. How to access an HTML file in
3 min read
Python Script to Open a Web Browser
In this article we will be discussing some of the methods that can be used to open a web browser (of our choice) and visit the URL we specified, using python scripts. In the Python package, we have a module named webbrowser, which includes a lot of methods that we can use to open the required URL in
4 min read
What is LT Browser 2.0?
The success of a website demands that the device experience is flawless across different products in a “mobile-first†world like today. LT Browser version 2.0 is a powerful instrument built specifically to help web developers and testers experiment with responsive web design (RWD). To discuss how th
3 min read
How to detect the version of a browser ?
This article includes the basic theory and technique of browser detection in JavaScript-enabled web browsers. Description: Even though most of the scripts work on JavaScript-enabled web browser, there are certain things that is not going to work on some browsers i.e. they are browser dependent and i
4 min read
How to Browse in Microsoft Edge Browser
Microsoft Edge has evolved significantly over the years and is now a powerful web browser that offers not just a fast browsing experience but a suite of advanced features for security, privacy, and productivity. With its modern Chromium-based engine, Edge is designed to provide a smoother, more effi
6 min read
What are Browser Flags and Why You Should use it?
Somewhere in the haze of web browsing, there is a hidden feature called browser flags. They are powerful tools that enable users to personalize and improve their browsing experiences far beyond the usual settings. However, such power can be quite tricky. To maximize all possibilities of browser flag
5 min read