This document provides some of the background to the design of GS1 Digital Link, highlighting existing techniques and practices that underpin the World Wide Web, and applying those to the GS1 system. The normative portions set out the detailed syntax of Web addresses (HTTP URIs) that encode GS1 identifiers with exactly the same precision and expressivity as the AI-based element syntax used across the GS1 system, notably in the GS1 General Specifications. The GS1 Digital Link URI syntax distinguishes between primary keys, such as GTIN and GLN, key qualifiers, such as batch/lot and GLN extension, and attributes such as expiry date and ship-to address. The GS1 Digital Link URI syntax is the foundation on which all other aspects of the standard are built.