Web Application Fundamentals

Before we can learn how to hack web applications, we need to understand how they work. This series goes over the basics of web apps, how they are built, and how they function, setting you up for understanding the security side of web.

1. 1

   What are web applications?

   Web applications are everywhere, but what exactly are they? In this post, we’ll break down what makes a web app tick, how it differs from other types of software, and why it’s such a powerful tool in today’s connected world.

   September 1, 2026
2. 2

   What is a server?

   Not surprisingly, people tend to misuse the terms “server” and “web server”. Let’s settle once and for all what the difference between them is.

   September 3, 2026
3. 3

   Client vs. server side

   The architecture of any web application, whether it’s facebook.com or some no-name Wordpress blog, starts with two components: frontend and backend. In this post, we will analyse these components, how they interact, and what each one is for.

   September 11, 2026
4. 4

   Web application architectures

   Now that we have a basic understanding of web application architecture, it’s time to dig deeper. As you probably noticed, not all web applications work the same. Some are faster...

   September 14, 2026
5. 5

   Monolithic vs. Microservices architecture models

   Monolithic and Microservices web architecture are two of the most used models when deciding the infrastructure of a web application. But which one is better and how do they differ from the architectures discussed in the previous post?

   September 16, 2026
6. 6

   What is a URL?

   Coming soon

7. 7

   HTTP Protocol

   The HTTP protocol powers most of the web’s communication. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how HTTP works, why it’s so fundamental, and what you need to know to work with it effectively.

   September 20, 2026
8. 8

   Cookies explained

   Coming soon

9. 9

   Introduction to DNS

   The Domain Name System (DNS) is like the internet’s phonebook, translating human-friendly domain names into IP addresses. This post introduces DNS, explains how it works, and highlights its critical role in connecting users to web applications.

   September 22, 2026
10. 10

    An introduction to data types

    Coming soon

11. 11

    What is an API?

    Coming soon

12. 12

    Data representation: encoding

    Coming soon