> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://writeups.adityadindi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://writeups.adityadindi.com/tryhackme/walkthroughs-easy/how-websites-work.md).

# How Websites Work

![](/files/-McGveuk5OqBbBJDdZy3)

## How websites work

When you visit a website, your browser (like Safari or Google Chrome) makes a request to a web server asking for information about the page you're visiting. It will respond with data that your browser uses to show you the page; a web server is just a dedicated computer somewhere else in the world that handles your requests.

![](/files/-McGwJoMwY4q60BSpkKa)

There are two major components that make up a website: 

* Front End (Client-Side): The way your browser renders a website
* Back End (Server-Side): A server that processes your request and returns a response

## HTML

Websites are primarily created using: 

* HTML: To build websites and define their structure.
* CSS: To make websites look pretty adding styling options
* JavaScript: Implement complex features on pages using interactivity

**H**yper**T**ext **M**arkup **L**anguage (HTML) is the language websites are written in. Elements (also known as tags) are the building blocks of HTML pages and tells browser how to display content.

![](/files/-McGxn8-sF0rTjvZgzlc)

![](/files/-McGy91ndBw5tnGcPzzY)

![](/files/-McGylX9EaBwylqQTval)

## JavaScript

JavaScript (JS) is one of the most popular coding languages in the world and allows pages to become interactive. JavaScript is used to control the functionality of web pages - without JavaScript, a page would not have interactive elements and would always be static. 

![](/files/-McGzfOsqTQj20qjglLc)

## Sensitive Data Exposure 

Sensitive Data Exposure occurs when a website doesn't properly protect (or remove) sensitive clear-text information to the end-user; usually found in a site's frontend source code.

We now know that websites are built using many HTML elements (tags), all of which we can see simply by "viewing the page source". A website developer may have forgotten to remove login credentials, hidden links to private parts of the website or other sensitive data shown in HTML or JavaScript.

![](/files/-McH03ehI5-qmyAcfegd)

## HTML Injection

HTML Injection is a vulnerability that occurs when unfiltered user input is displayed on the page. If a website fails to sanitize user input (filter any "malicious" text that a user inputs into a website), and that input is used on the page, an attacker can inject HTML code into a vulnerable website.

Database injection is where you can manipulate a database lookup query to log in as another user by controlling the input that's directly used in the query.

![](/files/-McH147ehVkTWobZcGcM)