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Google: do we need http://?

By Stuart Turton

Posted on 7 May 2010 at 11:02

Google has continued to experiment with the http:// prefix in the latest developer build of Chrome, as the company looks to simplify the browser.

The http:// prefix typically appears before web addresses in the browser's address bar and indicates the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. However, as Google explains, most people aren't even aware of the alternative File Transfer Protocol, making the information somewhat redundant.

To that end, Google hid http:// in the previous developer build of Chrome. Unfortunately, this meant that when people copied a web address from their address bar and posted it elsewhere - say Tweetdeck - they were greeted with a broken link.

Google has rectified that in developer build 5.0.396.0, which again hides http://, but appears when users copy the link.

While the change may seem minor it swiftly provoked a storm of debate on the forums, with commentators split down the middle on the usefulness of http:// - an argument succinctly summed up by Jonas N.

"I love how passionate we're about that change," he said. "It's the minimalists against the perfectionists, pitted in an epic comment battle on the internet."

If that's the case, the minimalists have an ally in Sir Tim Berners-Lee, widely considered the father of the internet, who admitted the // was "a mistake".

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User comments

Legacy can be a real pain

Comic strip on similar theme:-
http://www.xkcd.com/727/

By milliganp on 7 May 2010

Why so bothered?

Why is Google so concerned about the 'http://' prefix. It's automatically put in by the browser unless you specify ftp. Why tinker with it?

By everton2004 on 7 May 2010

HTTPS

FTP is very minor and hardly worth mentioning. But HTTP vs HTTPS is very important and is a good indication of security.

By peterm2k on 7 May 2010

Re: HTTPS

Most browsers have alternative representation such showing lock symbols and changing the colour of the address bar, so the 's' is largely redundant as an indication.

By john_coller on 7 May 2010

Fatherhood

I thought Tim Berners-Lee was the inventor of the WWW and Vint Cerf was the chap widely regarded as the father of the internet?

By The_Scrote on 7 May 2010

Tim

Tim Berners Lee says he would have made it http:www.example.com (without the slashes). He wouldn't have got rid of the http bit.

It's totally fine as long as you only ever use http to access internet services. What happens when you want to go to an itunes:// link on apple.com? Keep the protocol. It's useful.

By steviesteveo on 7 May 2010

While we are about it ...

Why not loose the "WWW" bit too? The only purpose that seems to serve is to make it virtually impossible to accurately pronounce a web address!

By JohnAHind on 7 May 2010

The problem..

..is that HTTP helps identify something as a website address. For example you might use words like Moomin.cat.combat for a legitimate reason (lol bad example) but without http systems could be adjusted to recognise anything with dot separation as a link.

As ever the problem with removing HTTP is not with the browser but all the other areas that it could impact. Also, as somebody else says, it's a moot point anyway because browsers add it for you. That's because they already know that anything you type into the address bar will be a website.

By Mark535 on 8 May 2010

just checked a https site and https still shows in the address bar,this also seems true for ftp, so it only hides the http from web addresses. no real functionality change just less text in the address bar.

By qu_be on 8 May 2010

scrap it

i dont even type www. anymore as most decent browsers will see you right

By baileytech on 8 May 2010

I think Google is just proposing to change what gets displayed in the browser address bar, not how the Web works under the covers.

Most browsers will add in "http://www." or parts thereof as necessary so you do not have to type them, but given that is it necessary to actually display these parts? Of course, the full address can still be inserted if the user copies or drags the address from the bar, so other apps still see the full address.

By JohnAHind on 8 May 2010