Web Server

What is a Web Server?

A web server is software which delivers (or "serves") content stored on the server to an end-user.

Web server software performs a similar role to that of a waiter or waitress in a restaurant. You order an item from your waiter or waitress, they check the item you want is available, and if it is, they subsequently deliver it to your table.

In a similar way, a webserver checks that the web page or resource you have requested exists on the server. If the page or resource exists, the web server then delivers it to you, typically through your web browser.

Examples of popular web servers include Apache and IIS.