12 min · Free
How the web works
Browsers, servers, URLs, and why a page is just files.
When you open academy.cashplanet.io, your browser asks another computer for files. That computer — a server — sends back HTML (structure), CSS (appearance), and sometimes JavaScript (behaviour). Your browser draws the page.
You do not need to memorise networking. You need a clear picture:
| Piece | Job |
|---|---|
| URL | The address you typed or tapped |
| Browser | The app that requests and draws the page |
| Server | The machine that stores and sends the files |
| HTML | The skeleton and the words |
| CSS | Spacing, type, colour, layout |
| JavaScript | What happens after a tap or a key |
A URL is a path
https://academy.cashplanet.io/tracks/learn-to-code has a scheme (https), a host (academy.cashplanet.io), and a path (/tracks/learn-to-code). Paths are folders and files, even when you cannot see the folders.
If a link is broken, the server has no file at that path — or it is hiding it. That is a 404. It is not personal.
Why this matters in practice
On a slow connection the browser still asks for every file you referenced: images, fonts, extra scripts. A heavy page is a bill. CashPlanet products are built mobile-first for this reason. Your student pages should be the same: few images, system fonts until you must load another, no autoplay.
You will write that text next.