Apache HTTP Server is the world’s most widely used open-source web server. Developed by the Apache Software Foundation, it serves a huge share of all websites and powers everything from small personal sites to large enterprise deployments, thanks to its maturity, stability, and modular architecture.

Key Features

• Fully modular architecture — over 200 loadable modules (mod_ssl, mod_proxy, mod_rewrite) let you add exactly the features you need
• HTTPS / TLS — robust SSL/TLS support via mod_ssl with modern cipher configuration
• Reverse proxy & load balancing — mod_proxy and mod_proxy_balancer route traffic to backend application servers
• Virtual hosting — serve many websites from a single server with name-based and IP-based virtual hosts
• URL rewriting — powerful mod_rewrite rules for clean URLs and redirect management
• Dynamic content — FastCGI, CGI, and embedded languages via mod_php, mod_wsgi, and more
• Access control & auth — .htaccess, HTTP basic/digest auth, and IP-based restrictions
• Cross-platform — runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, and Unix; per-user and prefork/worker/event MPMs

Why Use Apache HTTP Server?

Apache is battle-tested, extremely well documented, and supported by a vast ecosystem of tutorials and community knowledge. Its .htaccess file makes directory-level configuration accessible even to beginners, while the modular core scales to demanding enterprise traffic.

Use Cases

• Hosting static sites and PHP/Perl/Python web applications
• Running SSL-terminated HTTPS in front of application backends
• Pairing with Nginx as a reverse proxy or alongside other servers in a stack
• Shared hosting environments that rely on .htaccess and virtual hosts

Platform

Linux · macOS · Windows · BSD · Unix

Licence

Apache License 2.0 (open source)

Website

httpd.apache.org