What is a Web Server?
A web server is software that accepts HTTP requests from clients (typically web browsers) and serves them web content such as HTML pages, images, and other files. Common web server software includes Apache, Nginx, and LiteSpeed.
How Does Web Server Work?
When you type a URL into your browser, the request travels across the internet to a web server, which processes the request and returns the appropriate content. Web servers handle tasks like serving static files, executing server-side scripts, managing SSL/TLS encryption, and routing requests to the correct application or directory.
Web servers can be configured to handle virtual hosting (serving multiple websites from one server), URL rewriting, access control, caching, and compression. The two most popular web servers are Apache and Nginx, which together power the majority of websites on the internet. Choosing and configuring the right web server is a fundamental part of hosting any website.