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Troubleshooting

What Actually Happens When You Type a URL into a Browser?

Typing google.com triggers a surprisingly complex chain of events. Here's the full journey from keypress to webpage, explained simply.

Updated 2026

  1. 1

    DNS lookup

    Your browser asks a DNS server to translate the domain (e.g. google.com) into an IP address. This usually takes 1–50ms. Your router caches recent lookups to speed this up.

  2. 2

    TCP connection

    Your device connects to the server's IP address on port 443 (HTTPS). This involves a three-way handshake — your device and the server exchange packets to establish a reliable connection.

  3. 3

    TLS handshake

    For HTTPS, your browser and the server negotiate encryption — agreeing on a cipher, exchanging certificates, and verifying the server's identity. This is what the padlock confirms.

  4. 4

    HTTP request

    Your browser sends a request: 'GET / HTTP/1.1' — asking for the homepage. The server receives this and prepares a response.

  5. 5

    Server response and rendering

    The server sends back HTML, CSS, JavaScript and images. Your browser parses and renders them — typically in under a second for a fast site.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does all of this take?
For a nearby server on a fast connection, the full process takes 50–200ms. Most of that is DNS lookup and TLS handshake — both cached after the first visit.
What slows this process down?
A slow DNS server, high latency to the server, a slow TLS negotiation, or a large page with many resources. This is why DNS choice and server location both affect page load speed.