What really happens when you visit a website?

From DNS lookup to pixels on your screen, a page load is a remarkable chain reaction.

First, the name gets translated

Your browser needs an IP address to reach a server. It asks the Domain Name System (DNS) to find the address associated with the domain name you entered. Results may be cached, which can make repeat visits faster.

A secure connection

For an HTTPS website, the browser and server negotiate an encrypted connection using TLS. The browser checks the site's certificate so it can establish that it is talking to the expected domain.

The server responds

The browser sends an HTTP request. The server, or an edge network acting on its behalf, returns a response that can include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images and other data.

Pixels appear

The browser parses HTML into a document structure, applies CSS styling, runs JavaScript and lays out the page. It may fetch more resources along the way. All of this happens in a surprisingly short time.