What does the acronym HTTP stand for?

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It is the application-layer protocol that lets clients and servers exchange resources across the World Wide Web, including HTML documents, images, scripts, and other media.

HTTP uses a request–response model. A client, such as a web browser, sends a request for a resource, and a server returns a response containing that resource or an explanation of why it could not provide it. This simple model helped make the Web practical because documents could link to resources hosted on other machines.

Tim Berners-Lee developed the early Web at CERN, including HTTP, HTML, the first web browser, and the first web server. HTTP/0.9 appeared in 1991 and was extremely limited; later versions added headers, status codes, persistent connections, caching, authentication, and other capabilities.

The word “Hypertext” refers to documents connected by links, while “Transfer” describes the exchange of data and “Protocol” means an agreed set of communication rules. HTTP is not the same as HTTPS: HTTPS is HTTP carried through an encrypted TLS connection. Modern versions include HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, but the acronym’s expansion remains unchanged.