ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Front-end and back-end

Imagine you are building a house. The front-end is like the outside of the house that people can see and interact with. It includes things like the front door, the windows, the porch, and the driveway. Visitors can walk up to the front door, knock, and it will open for them to come inside.

The back-end, on the other hand, is like the inside of the house that people can't see. It includes things like the plumbing, electrical wiring, and heating system. These are all necessary for the house to function properly, but visitors don't see or interact with them.

In the same way, a website or application has a front-end and a back-end. The front-end includes all the parts that users see and interact with, like buttons, forms, images, and videos. It is built using programming languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and it determines how the website looks and feels to users.

The back-end, on the other hand, is where data is stored and processed behind the scenes. It includes things like databases, servers, and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). It is built using programming languages like Python, PHP, and Ruby, and it determines how the website functions and processes data.

In summary, the front-end is like the outside of a house that people can see and interact with, while the back-end is like the inside of a house that people can't see but is necessary for the house to function properly. A website or application has a front-end and a back-end, and they are both important for the website to work correctly.