Browsers are software that provide a graphical interface to information on the Web. They display pages written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and make it possible for you to click on links to jump to other pages. This neat invention is called hypertext.

The first graphical Web browser was Mosaic, which was replaced by two other popular browsers: Netscape's Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE). Regardless of which browser you choose, you can access the same information as well as configure the software to match your personal preferences.

Each browser interprets some HTML elements in its own way, so the same page might display differently, depending on which browser you use. The competition between Microsoft and Netscape to create the most popular software has been called the "browser wars." Each company tries to outdo the other with unique features.