{
  "id": 7990306,
  "title": "Phase 0 Understanding how websites work",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/phase-0-understanding-how-websites-work",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-17T08:42:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/yashvikothari/phase-0-understanding-how-websites-work-38od"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Phase 0 Understanding how websites work\n\nBefore writing code, it's essential to understand the key concepts that make up a website. Here are some of the main components to grasp:\n\n1. Websites consist of files (text, images, code) stored on a server computer. When you visit a website, your browser downloads those files and displays them on your screen. A website isn't a single thing, but rather a collection of files on someone else's computer, delivered to your computer over the internet.\n\n2. Browsers (clients) send requests to servers, which then process those requests and send back responses. The browser is the app on your device, like Chrome or Firefox, that sends requests and receives files. The server is the computer in a data center that constantly listens for incoming requests and responds accordingly.\n\n3. Frontend (client-side) refers to everything users see and interact with in the browser, including layout (HTML), colors, fonts, spacing (CSS), buttons, animations, and pop-ups (JavaScript). Backend (server-side) encompasses everything happening on the server, such as processing login credentials, fetching order history from a database, sending emails, and handling payments. Technologies used for frontend and backend development include HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Angular, Vue, Node.js, Python (Django/Flask), Java, Go, PHP, and Ruby.\n\n4. A database is an organized storage system for data. When you sign up on Instagram, your username, email, and password are stored in a database. Databases store various types of data, such as user information in relational databases (SQL) or flexible documents (NoSQL).\n\n5. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the language used by browsers and servers to communicate with each other. When you visit a website, your browser sends an HTTP request, and the server responds with an HTTP response. HTTP defines methods (GET, POST), status codes (200 OK, 404 Not Found), and other components that govern the exchange of data between the client and server.\n\n6. A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a webpage, telling the browser exactly where to go. A URL consists of several parts, such as the protocol (https), domain name (www.example.com), port number (443), path (/products/shoes), query parameters (?color=red&size=10), and fragment identifier (#reviews).\n\nUnderstanding these fundamental concepts is crucial for anyone new to web development. As you progress in your learning journey, you'll gain a deeper understanding of each component and how they work together to create the websites you interact with daily.",
  "summary": "Phase 0 Understand how websites work Before writing code, understand these concepts. Learn: What is a website? Browser vs server Frontend vs backend Database HTTP Request Response URL Domain IP address HTTP vs HTTPS GET vs POST Client-server architecture You should be able to understand: You ↓ Chrome ↓ Internet ↓ Server ↓ Application ↓ Database ↓ Server ↓ Chrome ↓ You Practice Open browser…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}