A Web client program (such as a web browser) can access data from many different servers, such as Gopher, FTP, NNTP (Usenet) or HTTP. The HTTP server was designed specifically for the Web, and employs a protocol (system of messages) that supports sending documents from the server to a browser, and that also support sending complex data from the client back to the server.

 Gopher is a distributed document search and retrieval network protocol designed for the Internet. Its goal is to function as an improved form of Anonymous FTP, enhanced with hyperlinking features similar to that of the World Wide Web.