ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Server-side

Imagine you are at a restaurant and you order food. The person who takes your order writes it down and gives it to the kitchen. The kitchen then prepares your food and gives it back to the person who serves it to you. The person who takes your order and the kitchen are like the server-side of a website.

In the world of websites, the server-side is like the kitchen. It is a powerful computer, called a server, that processes requests from people who want to see a website. When you type a website address into your browser, it sends a request to the server-side asking for the website's information.

The server-side takes this request and looks for the website's files and data, like text, images, and videos. It gathers all this information and sends it back to your browser, which shows it to you as a complete website.

But the server-side doesn't just send back the same information for everyone. It can do special things based on the request. For example, if you create an account on a website, the server-side remembers your username and password. When you log in, the server-side checks if your username and password are correct before allowing you to see your personalized information.

The server-side can also do other tasks like saving information you submit on a form, like when you fill out your name and address online. It stores this information in a database, so the next time you visit the website, the server-side can use it to remember you or show you personalized things.

Another important job of the server-side is to ensure the website is secure. It can check if someone trying to access the website has the right permissions or if they are authorized to see certain pages or perform specific actions.

Overall, the server-side is like a kitchen that prepares and serves information to your browser when you visit a website. It stores and retrieves data, remembers your information, and makes sure everything is safe and secure.