A web server is a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) computer system that processes web requests.
Essentially, a web server exists to serve the web and ensure users’ needs are answered, be it the request to open a page or a request to receive information from a given page.
Web servers store, process and deliver web pages’ data to clients using the already mentioned HTTP protocol.
This delivery of information is done by sending out HTTP documents, which include text and might also include images, style sheets and scripts.
Where did the need for web servers come from? Find out on the next page.
The need for web servers came a few years after Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989.
The world wide web is basically a huge collection of webpages, or URLs, that are sitting on the internet (a network of computers).
The main technologies behind the WWW are HTML, URLs and HTTP. HTTP is the technology used to transfer files and other contents on the internet.