What Is Apache? What Is a Web Server?

Understanding Apache: The Premier Web Server

The Apache web server, developed by the Apache Software Foundation, is the backbone of 67% of websites globally. This open-source software is freely accessible and renowned for its robustness, speed, and security features.

Apache’s flexibility is one of its strongest assets, allowing for extensive customization through a variety of modules and extensions to cater to diverse hosting environments.

While Apache is the preferred choice for many WordPress hosting services, it’s important to note that WordPress is also compatible with other web server options.

The Role of a Web Server Explained

Imagine a web server as the digital equivalent of a restaurant’s front-of-house staff. It’s the technology that your hosting provider uses to display your website’s pages to visitors. Apache is a common choice for this role among WordPress hosting providers.

When you enter a restaurant, the host welcomes you, confirms your reservation, and guides you to your seat. Similarly, the web server verifies the visitor’s page request.

But the web server’s responsibilities extend further. It also fetches the requested page and presents it to the visitor, akin to a server bringing your meal to the table.

Moreover, the web server manages communication with the website, akin to a maitre d’, ensuring that all necessary modules are primed to respond to the visitor’s needs.

And like a busboy who clears tables after guests leave, the web server tidies up, clearing memory, cache, and modules to prepare for new visitors.

In essence, Apache and similar web servers undertake several critical functions:

• They process your request to view a webpage.
• They conduct security checks on your HTTP request before navigating you to the requested page.
• They may activate additional server modules to create the document you wish to see.
• They deliver the requested document for your viewing.

Setting Up Apache for Local WordPress Development

For those interested in running WordPress on a local machine, replicating the hosting environment is essential. This includes installing Apache, MySQL (the database system), and PHP (the scripting language).

Thankfully, software bundles such as WAMP for Windows, MAMP for Mac, LAMP for Linux, and XAMPP for cross-platform use simplify the process of setting up these components.