Navigating the Web - often called "surfing the Net" - means moving from page to page and from resource to resource. Actually, you never "move" anywhere - the information comes to you. But because retrieving information from sites around the world seems like moving through cyberspace, terms that imply motion (surfing, visiting, Go to) are used to describe Internet activity.

1. Click a hypertext link. Most pages contain hypertext links. A hypertext link is text that appears in a different color, underlined, or both. Clicking your mouse on one of these links takes you to a new page with related information or to a new Web site.
   

   www.bright.net
   
   
   
2. Click a button on the toolbar. BACK and FORWARD take you to pages you previously visited. HOME takes you to the default page that your browser goes to when you first open the browser.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Enter and open a Web address. Every page on the Internet has a unique address as part of the domain name system. The Web uses an addresses utility called a Uniform Resource Locator or URL to identify the location of the Web site. URLs are case sensitive and have to be entered exactly, so be sure to check for accuracy. Type in the exact address of a Web site you want to visit and press Enter.
   

   
   
   
   

4. Click a link from your Favorites list. With over 30 million places on the Web to visit, you're bound to come across a few pages you'll want to visit frequently. Instead of keeping a little black book beside your PC, you can mark and save your favorite URLs. To add to your Favorites list click Favorites on your tool bar then Add To Favorites. Internet Explorer will add a link to that URL (the current web page that is on your browser) and a description of the site to the Favorites list. Once you've added a site to your Favorites list, you can visit there anytime by selecting it from the Favorites menu.
   

   
   
   
   
5. Using a Search Engine. A search engine is like a library card catalog for the Internet with sites indexed by keyword or category. There are dozens of search engines on the Web. Search engines are a free service for everyone on the Internet to use. To access a search engine you can either click on the Search button on the tool bar or enter the subject you want to search for and click "Go" on the bright.net page. Once you have chosen your search engine simply type in the information you wish to search for. The search engine will then display your results as links that you may then click on to go to the various different web pages that contain the information you requested.
   
   Try Searching a Topic Here: