What is Web browser?
Also called: Browser
The short answer
A web browser is the app that requests web pages and turns their HTML, CSS and JavaScript into what you see and click.
What people say: “Chrome”, “Safari”, “the internet app”.
Web browser, explained
Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge all follow the same web standards, which is why one site can work everywhere. Each still has small differences, so sites are tested across them.
Browsers also enforce security: they sandbox every site, warn about insecure connections and block pages from reading each other's data.
Questions people ask about Web browser
What is Web browser?
A web browser is the app that requests web pages and turns their HTML, CSS and JavaScript into what you see and click.
Why does my site look different in Safari?
Browsers ship features at different times; check that the CSS or JavaScript you rely on is supported, and provide a fallback when it isn't.
Related terms
HTML is the language that gives a web page its structure: headings, paragraphs, links, images, forms and every other element on the page.
CSSCSS is the language that controls how a web page looks: colours, fonts, spacing, layout, animation and how the design adapts to each screen.
JavaScriptJavaScript is the programming language of the web: it runs in every browser and makes pages interactive, from menus and forms to games and 3D.
Responsive designResponsive design is building one website whose layout adapts to every screen size, from phones to wide monitors, instead of separate mobile and desktop sites.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.