Which one is the best way to load up a particular website though? Should you visit Dignited by typing www.dignited.com (or dignited.com) into your address bar? Or should you search for “Dignited” on Google and enter the website through the search results page? There’s no one method that works for all but depending on certain factors and scenarios, one is always better than the other. We highlight such factors below.
Using Search Engines
If you do not know the exact address of the website you intend to visit, or perhaps you can’t seem to remember the exact spelling or phrases that make up the website’s URL, searching for it using keywords you remember is the best thing to do. If, on the other hand, you know the exact URL of the website you are looking to visit, doing so through search engine or your browser’s search bar is not only time-wasting but also unnecessarily uses up bandwidth/internet/data plan — you’d first have to load up the search engine result page before proceeding to the website. If you know the exact address of the website but you only need a specific content on the site, using search engine is wise. More precisely, using Google’s site search (site:search) feature.
Typing URL into Address Bar
Unlike using the search bar, visiting a website by typing the URL in your browser’s address bar saves time and uses less bandwidth. Additionally, if you search for a website using the search bar, it might not appear on the search results page if the site has not been indexed by the search engine yet. If you know the exact URL address of a website, the best bet is to type it into the address bar; the http:// or www. prefixes aren’t necessary. Some websites even have short, lightweight URLs that redirect to the main URL so users can easily visit without having to type the whole URL address. Instead of typing www.facebook.com into your browser address bar, for example, you can simply type fb.com and you would be redirected to Facebook. Summarily, type in the URL of the website you want to visit into the address bar when you know the URL. It’s almost the easiest and best way to load a website, especially websites that aren’t indexed by Google (or other search engines) yet. If you need to access only a specific content on a particular website or you cannot remember a site’s exact URL, your best bet is to type in the URL and keywords into the search bar. With the tips and differentiations made above, hope you now know when (and why) you should you search on Google and when you should visit a site by directly entering the URL in a browser’s address bar?
