What happens when you type https://www.google.com and press Enter? 🌐💡

When I started in web development or even long before I used to ask myself a question:

What happens when I type a URL like https://www.google.com in the browser and press Enter?

In this article, I'm going to answer that question, exploring what happens behind the scenes: from the network, through the servers, security, and finally, the database.

Let’s break down this journey step by step 🚶‍♀️🧠

1. 🧭 DNS (Domain Name System)

First, when you enter a URL like google.com, you’re using a domain name that humans can understand.

But machines need IP addresses 📍 to communicate.

This is where DNS translates that name to its corresponding IP.

👉 If the IP isn’t in the local cache, the browser asks the DNS server (usually your internet provider’s), which can make recursive queries until it gets the correct IP.

2. 📦 TCP/IP – Secure and ordered connection

Once we have the IP, a connection is established with the server using the TCP/IP protocol.

This ensures that data is sent and received securely and in order 🧱📬

3. 🔥 Firewall – Security filter

Before reaching the server, the traffic goes through several firewalls (in your network, in the routers, and Google’s servers).

These act as filters that block malicious or unauthorized traffic, protecting the network 🔐🚫

For example, they can block some ports to make requests

4. 🔒 HTTPS/SSL – Encrypted connection

If the page uses HTTPS, your browser and the server establish a secure connection using SSL/TLS.

This protects your information (like passwords or searches) through encryption 🔐✨

The browser also verifies the site’s SSL certificate to confirm it’s authentic.

5. ⚖️ Load Balancer – Traffic distribution

Before reaching the final server, the request may go through a load balancer.

This is responsible for distributing requests among several servers, avoiding overloads and ensuring the system is fast and reliable 🧠💼

6. 🌐 Web Server – Entry point

The web server (like NGINX or Apache) receives the request.
It can serve static files (like images) or forward the request to the application server if more complex logic is needed 🛠️📄

7. ⚙️ Application Server – Application logic

This is where the backend magic happens ✨

The application server processes your request, executes the necessary logic, and may require data from a database.

8. 🗄️ Database – Data and results

If needed, the server queries a database (like MySQL, PostgreSQL, or BigTable).

Then, all the information is assembled and sent back to the browser 📤💬

✅ Result: Google on your screen!

All of this happens in milliseconds, just by pressing Enter!
This invisible process shows how complex yet fascinating the web is 🌍💻