What is HTTP and How Does It Work

In today's interconnected digital world, understanding the fundamental protocols that power the internet has become essential for anyone managing a website or concerned about online security. HTTP, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, serves as the foundation of data communication on the World Wide Web. This protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and how web servers and browsers should respond to various commands.

HTTP operates as a request-response protocol in the client-server computing model. When you type a URL into your browser or click a link, your browser acts as a client, sending an HTTP request to the server hosting the website. The server then processes this request and sends back an HTTP response containing the requested resource, whether it's an HTML page, an image, a video, or any other type of content. This seemingly simple exchange forms the basis of virtually every interaction on the web.