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CHAPTER 7
How Web Applications Work and Building a Secure Foundation

Although people often confuse a website and a web application, they are not the same thing. A website may consist entirely of a single web application, but one still contains the other. Websites are globally accessible collections of interlinked webpages addressable through a common URL. Websites are owned and operated by organizations, businesses, and individuals, who publish them for a wide variety of purposes that may include retail, information, games, blogs, and a whole lot more. On the other hand, a web application is one or more programs that together complete some kind of task, such as a purchase transaction, searching for specific content, looking up the meaning of something, and other processes, procedures, and actions.

This chapter identifies the organizations or agencies that establish the standards, requirements, and processing of web applications. This discussion also covers the best practices and guidelines used to ensure the error-free operations, reliability, and security of web applications. Much depends on the nature or purpose of a web application, so the chapter also reviews the processing regulations and/or trade practices that may be required.