What Is Apache
Apache is a free, open-source web server software that powers over 50% of websites on the internet. WordPress is a CMS that runs on top of Apache.
That means when you visit a WordPress site, your browser is actually communicating with the Apache server, which then sends back the requested content.
Apache is a very versatile software and can be configured in many different ways to serve different types of content. WordPress makes use of this flexibility by using a number of different Apache configurations to improve performance and security.
How Apache Is Used
Some of the ways in which Apache is used in WordPress include:
- Setting up redirects so that users are automatically redirected to the correct URL if they enter an incorrect one.
- Reduce the size of files sent from the server to the browser by enabling gzip compression.
- Configuring caching rules so that frequently accessed files are served from a cache instead of being generated anew each time they are requested.
- Setting up security rules to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive areas of the WordPress code or database.
Overall, Apache is a vital part of how WordPress works and is one of the reasons why WordPress is such a popular platform. Without Apache, WordPress would not be nearly as fast or as secure as it is today.