What is the index.html file really for?

The index.html page is the most common name used for the default page shown on a website if no other page is specified when a visitor requests the site. In other words, index.html is the file name used for the homepage of the website.

Besides index.html, there are other default page names that some sites use, including:

index.htm

default.htm or default.html

home.htm or home.html

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The index.html page is the most common name used for the default page shown on a website if no other page is specified when a visitor requests the site.

This is often the entry page to a website, it could be changed to something else but that's probably not so, It is a website setting not at all related to HTML coding. It is like autorun.ini that exists on CD and DVD-ROM discs.

Index.html is your First Page of your web page. When you place your web page on a server the first page is always called INDEX.

Bing Bing has the right of it!

The default file for a website that loads when you type the domain is determined by the settings on the server. The 'index.html' file will be loaded by default if you type in the address if it's set to load that file.

So if I were to create a website agent128669.com for my badge number, and had the home page named 'index.html' when someone types in the domain 'www.agent128669.com' into their web browser it will load the 'index.html' page. Most companies have it so that if you specify the index page you get redirected to the standard domain name to make it easier to see which website you're on and to keep their website secure. So if we were to use the same example, 'www.agent128669.com/index.html' would load the index page, however if I set it up to redirect it like CNN does, then even if I were to type in /index.html with the web address I would still see 'www.agent128669.com' in the address bar.

It's good to note that it doesn't have to be titled 'index.html' specifically. Some other common ones would be 'index.htm', 'index.asp', and 'index.php' as well as many others.

I hope this cleared up some for you, and I definitely recommend keeping up with the book!

Geek Squad Agent Joseph M.

Badge #128669

Advanced Repair Agent

Geek Squad Social Media Team

06/29/2018

It has nothing to do with HTML and everything to do with your web server. If you're using Apache, the default file (the one that loads when you type the domain only) is usually set in the .htaccess file. In IIS, it's part of the site setup.