What does the term 'World Wide Web' refer to?

The term 'World Wide Web' refers to a collection of websites linked together, effectively creating an interconnected system of information accessible via the internet. This vast network allows users to navigate from one webpage to another through hyperlinks, enabling easy access to a plethora of resources, data, and multimedia. Websites can contain text, images, videos, and other formats, and they are typically identified by unique URLs.

This concept is foundational to how we use the internet today, as it is not merely a system or tool but a structure of content that relies on the underlying communication protocols of the internet. Understanding the World Wide Web helps clarify the distinctions between various online platforms and tools, such as web browsers and search engines, which serve different purposes within this broader context. For instance, while web browsers allow users to view websites, they do not constitute the web itself; they are merely the tools through which we access its content.