How do I build a website that receives HTTP requests and sends responses?

If you want to process data or create an API, use a backend framework such as Flask or Django in Python, Express in JavaScript, or PHP. Your code defines routes, reads incoming data, and returns HTML, JSON, or another response. On the frontend, JavaScript’s `fetch()` function can send requests to those routes.

A web server is the part that receives HTTP requests and sends responses. That’s generally considered backend development. Start by deciding whether you want to build the user-facing frontend, the backend that browsers communicate with, or both.

You don’t need to manage a production web server immediately. A hosting provider can handle the server infrastructure while you learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and eventually backend programming. Later, tools such as Apache or Nginx can sit in front of your application and handle incoming HTTP traffic.

For a quick local experiment, install Python and run `python3 -m http.server` inside a folder containing an `index.html` file. Then open `http://localhost:8000` in your browser. This serves static files, so it’s a good first step, but it won’t handle custom application logic yet.