# How Does a Browser Open a Website?

Do you know how a browser opens a website and what happens internally?  
  
Sometimes a question comes to mind—when we type a website name or domain into a browser, how does the browser work? What kind of processing happens in the background? Among millions and billions of websites, how does the browser find and show the exact website we searched for?

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## What is a Domain?

A **domain** is the name of your website.  
Example: [`chaicode.com`](http://chaicode.com)

The main purpose of a domain is to make a website easy to access and easy to find.  
Using a domain, a client computer can easily connect to a server.

In simple terms, a domain is a readable name of an IP address that humans can easily remember.

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## What is DNS (Domain Name System)?

The main job of **DNS** is to convert a domain name into an IP address and an IP address into a domain name.

DNS helps users access websites easily.  
People cannot remember IP addresses, but domain names are easy to remember.

DNS converts domain names into IP addresses so users can easily access websites.

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## What is an IP Address?

An **IP (Internet Protocol) address**  
Example: `198.12.10.25`

An IP address is a unique identifier for every device on the Internet.  
This unique address makes it easy to find and identify each device on the internet.

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## What does DNS do?

DNS operates through a hierarchical structure, ensuring scalability and reliability across the global internet infrastructure.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1769442601423/450096df-bdd8-442f-93a7-7b07448f1ed0.png align="center")

## How Does a DNS Server Work? (Step by Step)

### Step 1: Request from the Browser

When you type [`chaicode.com`](http://chaicode.com) into the browser and press Enter,  
The browser sends a request to the **DNS server** asking:  
\# “What is the IP address of this domain?”

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### Step 2: DNS Contacts the Root Server

If the DNS server does not already have the IP address cached,  
It sends a request to the **Root Server**.

The Root Server does not return the IP address.  
It only tells the DNS server:  
\# “The `.com` domain is handled by this TLD server.”

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### Step 3: TLD (Top-Level Domain) Server

The DNS server then contacts the `.com` TLD server.

The TLD server also does not return the IP address.  
It responds with:  
\# “This is the authoritative DNS server for the domain.”

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### Step 4: Authoritative DNS Server

Next, the DNS server contacts the **Authoritative DNS Server**  
(such as Google DNS, GoDaddy, or Cloudflare).

This server contains the actual DNS records.  
It responds with:  
\# The IP address of [`chaicode.com`](http://chaicode.com) is `184.16.123.96`.

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### Step 5: IP Address Returned to DNS

The authoritative DNS server sends the IP address back to the DNS server.

The DNS server stores this information temporarily in its **cache**  
to make future requests faster.

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### Step 6: DNS Sends IP to the Browser

The DNS server returns the IP address to the browser.

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### Step 7: Browser Connects to the Web Server

The browser now sends a request directly to  
\# `184.16.123.96`.

The web server responds with the website data,  
and the website loads on your screen