Build Basics / Standard term
Server
A computer that stays connected to the internet and waits for incoming requests, then sends back a response such as a page or some data.
A server is a computer that stays connected to the internet and waits for incoming requests, then sends back a response such as a page or some data. It runs continuously so anyone with the address can reach it at any hour, even while you sleep. Picture a visitor opening a to-do app: their browser sends a request for the day's list, the server receives it, looks up the saved items, and returns them as a response the browser displays. The same machine can answer thousands of these exchanges, handing each visitor the right reply. A server is a role a computer plays, so an ordinary laptop can act as one while a project is in development.
Builder example
When you deploy a project, you are choosing where its server runs so visitors reach it through a link instead of only on your own machine. Tell the AI assistant the kind of app you built and ask it to recommend a host and walk you through publishing, then confirm the running address responds. If the server stops, every visitor sees an error, so you want one that stays up and reports what it is doing when something breaks.
Common confusion: A server is the always-on computer that answers requests, while the frontend is the part of your app that runs inside each visitor's browser. The frontend asks; the server answers. One physical machine can run many separate servers at once, each listening for its own kind of request.