What is Back-end?
Also called: Backend, Server side
The short answer
The back-end is the server-side part of a site that visitors never see: databases, logins, payments, business logic and the APIs the front-end calls.
What people say: “the behind-the-scenes part”.
Back-end, explained
Anything that must be trusted, stored or kept secret belongs on the back-end, because code in the browser can be read and changed by anyone.
Many modern sites need very little back-end: a hosted database, a payment provider and a few serverless functions cover most small businesses.
Questions people ask about Back-end
What is Back-end?
The back-end is the server-side part of a site that visitors never see: databases, logins, payments, business logic and the APIs the front-end calls.
Does my website need a back-end?
Only if it stores data, has accounts, takes payments directly or calls private services; a brochure site does not.
Related terms
The front-end is everything that runs in the visitor's browser: the layout, styling, content and interactions of a website or app.
APIAn API is a defined way for one piece of software to ask another for data or actions, such as a site asking a payment service to charge a card.
DatabaseA database is organised storage for a site's data, such as users, orders and posts, that the back-end reads and writes on request.
ServerlessServerless means running back-end code as small functions that the host starts on demand, so you pay for use and never manage a server.
Part of the Web Encyclopedia by Apex Flow Digital. Definitions are general knowledge, kept current, with no invented statistics.