The main difference between www and the internet is what they’re comprised of. WWW is a virtual entity that’s used to display web pages. The display of any web page on a web browser is achieved through www (World Wide Web).
On the other hand, the internet is a collection of all the media (images, videos, etc.), text pages, databases including raw data, and other digital content that you can access on a web browser. The internet is a collection of all these web pages hence becoming a superset of www.
What Is WWW?
When you try to access certain web pages located on the internet, you open up your web and enter the URL (for instance www.wikipedia.org). The www at the beginning of the URL denotes that the web page you’re trying to access is located on the internet. So, in other words, it’s safe to say that www is used to point to a web page on the internet.
Consider another example. If you enter the location of a folder stored on your computer locally in a web browser, it’ll display the complete index of that folder such as folder content. That’s because the absence of www restricts a web browser to look up the entered address on the internet and assumes that the address is on the local machine. Hence www is also a portal to the internet.
What Is Internet?
Whatever digital content you can think of such as images, videos, text, animations, etc. available to the public through www are on the internet. The internet is a virtual entity and a virtual mess network of all the web pages. It’s accessible for free by default, but the users trying to navigate the internet have to go through an ISP (Internet Service Providers). The ISP shall charge a subscription fee to cover the service cost. The Internet has a global reach and any country connected through internet cables with the other countries is online on the internet.
Web pages available on the internet are in reality, stored on someone else’s computer or server. For instance, if you’re hosting a website, you can either upload it on a secured server or host it right from your computer (for advanced users only). Uploading the website files on a server means you’re putting it on someone else’s hardware, who allows global users to look up for your website through www using a dedicated URL or website address assigned to your website.
Differences Between WWW & Internet
Comprised Of
WW comprises all the web page content that’s displayed through a web browser. It can be accessed through any device whether a mobile device or a computer with internet access. The internet, on the other hand, comprises all the digital data you can think of. That includes all the www web pages, websites, and the content on them.
Infrastructure
The infrastructure of www is simple. Any website is typically made up of a markup language and may optionally include styling frameworks (bootstrap Google Materialize, etc.), javascript frameworks, etc. That’s what is www’s infrastructure. In a nutshell, www acts as a service that operates on top of the internet.
Internet is an infrastructure that includes well-computers, servers, supercomputers, IoT devices, and any general electronic devices such as CCTV cameras, ATM machines, etc. Computer users may optionally prefer to make their computer available, discoverable, and remotely accessible through the internet. Once a device is up and online on the internet, it may be accessed remotely using another computer irrespective of the distance between the devices. The infrastructure of the internet sees no geographical boundaries and restrictions when it comes to accessing www.
Location
WWW is located on the internet while the internet is virtually located that comes into existence when multiple devices are connected remotely. So, once two or more devices are remotely connected, they form a network, which may also be called the Internet. When another device enters this network and the communication becomes possible between all the devices on the network, they’re actually making up an internet. WWW service is used to make that communication possible among those devices.
Protocols
Protocols are the rules and/or standards that the internet and www have to follow to ensure communication. The internet uses IP addresses to make communication possible. Each device on the internet is assigned a static or dynamic IP address, so when it tries to connect to a website on a server, they see the device’s address and the protocol it’s following to make a connection attempt. Getting up and online (or being a part of the internet) demands the computer to follow the IP (Internet Protocol).
Furthermore, accessing a website on the server through www requires the computer to use the HTTP protocol, where HTTP protocol is further divided into various codes such as HTTP 200 (meaning successful connection), and HTTP 404 (meaning web page is not available), etc.
Working Structure
The working structure of the internet and www are best understood simultaneously. When you connect to the internet, it means you’re on the network that comprises billions and trillions of www web pages. Then, when you’re trying to access a certain www web page, you use the www service to indicate to the web browser that the address is on the internet. So, the working structure of the internet and www are correlated.
Accessibility
Internet is basically accessible for free but the ISPs charge certain fees for the service they provide. WWW on the other hand is totally free to use.
Comparison Chart: WWW Vs Internet
| Areas | WWW | Internet |
| Year Of Origin (Start Year) | 1993 | 1969 |
| First-ever Version | NSFNet | ARPANET |
| Governing Style | Governed by HTTP | Governed by IP |
Similitudes
The internet and www aim to offer access to the websites located on someone else’s computer. They’re responsible for flawless communication including video and voice calls, texting, and remote access to the devices (such as printers, etc.).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I access the internet for free?
Not practically possible since the ISP through which you’re getting the internet itself is getting internet facility from a superior ISP. The wires are laid out across the globe to connect all the countries to make up the internet. Any country participating in the network is required to connect to the global network of those cables so as to get online.
How do I achieve fast internet access?
Achieve fast internet access by using fiber optic cables that can reflect the data within the glass wires, which are 100x to 1000x faster than an ordinary STP or UTP cable. Moreover, stay on a fast DNS server to allow a faster exchange of data packets than an ordinary DNS server. Using the best quality network infrastructure such as a router, LAN card, Wi-Fi card, etc. ensures faster, smoother, and more stable internet access.
How do I get started with my www page?
Create your webpage or website locally on your computer using a markup language and other web development technologies available today. Then sign up for website hosting on a service provider such as GoDaddy, Bluehost, DigitalOcean, etc. who’ll give you some disk space on their servers where you can upload your website. Then buy a www web address such as www.<yourname>.com, etc. Each URL is also assigned an IP Address made up of a collection of numbers but you don’t have to worry about it. Then link your purchased web address with the hosting so the URL knows where your website files are located.
Conclusion
By the end of this article, it’s safe to conclude that the internet includes trillions of web pages that are accessible through the www service. Therefore, www and the internet complement each other to make it possible to access digital content remotely stored on a computer miles away from you.
