Address bar
Web browser widget that shows the current URL
In a web browser, the address bar (also location bar or URL bar) is the element that shows the current URL. The user can type a URL into it to navigate to a chosen website. In most modern browsers, non-URLs are automatically sent to a search engine. In a file browser, it serves the same purpose of navigation, but through the file-system hierarchy.
Many address bars offer features like autocomplete, and a list of suggestions that appear while the address is being typed in. This auto-fill feature bases its suggestions on the browser's history. Some browsers have keyboard shortcuts to auto-complete an address.
01Features
In addition to the URL, some address bars feature icons showing features or information about the site. For websites using a favicon (a small icon that represents the website), the favicon may be present within the address bar, a generic icon appearing if the website does not specify one. The address bar is also used to show the security status of a web page; various designs are used to distinguish between insecure HTTP and encrypted HTTPS, alongside the use of an Extended Validation Certificate, which some websites use to verify their identity.
Most web browsers allow for the use of a search engine if the term typed in is not clearly a URL. This will usually also auto-complete, if the search engine offers this feature, to popular answers, some engines even suggesting answers to basic maths queries. Some browsers, such as Firefox, Opera and Google Chrome, allow for website-specific searches to be set by the user. For example, by associating the shortcut "!w" with Wikipedia, "!w cake" can be entered into the address bar to navigate directly to the Wikipedia article for cake. This feature is standardised for users of the search engine DuckDuckGo as "bangs".
Web browsers often include a feature called Smart Bookmarks. In this feature, the user sets a command that allows for a function (such as searching, editing, or posting) of a website to be expedited. Then, a keyword or term associated with the command is typed into the address bar followed by entering the term afterwards or selecting the command from a list.
In some browsers, such as Opera and Safari, the address bar can double as a progress bar that indicates how much of the contents of the page has been loaded.
02Comparisons
The following sections compare address bar widgets for a few well-known web browsers. The screenshots below are meant to be representative, and may not exactly match the browsers' current user interfaces.
Google Chrome
Firefox
Opera
Internet Explorer
Microsoft Edge
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Address bar”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- HTTPS and padlock in website address bar.jpg by Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0
- FirefoxBarreAdresse.png by versgui, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Chrome Address Bar 1.png by User:Kenny Strawn Kenny Strawn at en.wikipedia, BSD
- Chrome Address Bar 2.png by User:Kenny Strawn Kenny Strawn at en.wikipedia, BSD
- Chromebar ssl.png by Google, GFDL
- Firefox 62 address bar - Example domain.png by Newslinger, CC0
- Firefox 62 address bar - Wikipedia.png by Newslinger, CC0
- Firefox 62 address bar - Wikimedia Foundation.png by Newslinger, CC0
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