HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web. HTTP has been in use by the World-Wide Web global information initiative since 1990. HTTP lies at the application layer of TCP/IP. HTTP was originally designed by Tim Berners-Lee to support the special demands of web communications, with an emphasis on efficiency, and a target page load time of under a tenth of a second. Modern Internet networks can support this type of response provided the page isn't too large and the server too far away.