Usually, the browser will indicate hyperlink text by underlining it and displaying it in a different color than the rest of the text. When you click on a hyperlink, it causes the browser to issue a request for the HTML document associated with that link. The Web server will then service that request. One difference between hyperlinks in HTML and those in other hypertext systems, such as Windows Help, is that HTML hyperlinks can take you to an entirely different server. These hyperlinks, in effect, make the Web one giant document management system, which explains how the World Wide Web got its name.
Web servers are attractive electronic publishing systems.
Graphics, too, require specific viewer programs, which the reader may or may not have had. These factors hindered the presentation and effectiveness of electronic publishing. Enter the World Wide Web. The Web has given us a level of platform independence. It's somewhat similar to having a videocassette that can be played on a wide variety of videocassette recorders, regardless of the vendor.