What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)

What is Nginx? Explore the event-driven web server, Nginx vs Apache, the absence of .htaccess, market share and how to identify a website server.

What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)

What is Nginx? A web server designed to handle thousands of simultaneous connections, and what changes on your site when your host runs it 💡 Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate Disclosure . 📅 Updated October 2026 The explanation draws on the project's site nginx.org, the official Apache documentation and the WordPress developer handbook. Market shares are from W3Techs (October 12, 2026), and the live examples come from requests we ran ourselves on October 12, 2026. You read in a hosting review that "the site runs on NGINX," or you inspect a site and find Server: nginx in its header, or support tells you that a .htaccess file does not work on their platform. So what is Nginx? Is it a replacement for Apache? And why do the 2026 statistics say "Cloudflare" has overtaken it in share? This article explains the idea from the ground up in plain language, corrects a…

About the author

I’m Hossam Hassan, a tech writer and the founder of Technoa5bar. I write practical guides, reviews and comparisons on web hosting, AI tools, website building, SEO, digital marketing and making money online, so you can choose the right tools with con…

Post a Comment

<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/widgets/950101909-widgets.js"></script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
window['__wavt'] = 'AKZvMztx4G9kQ9DvlbaWDIuMQYPw:1792251616790';_WidgetManager._Init('//www.blogger.com/rearrange?blogID\x3d2396958794832190400','//blog.technoa5bar.com/2026/10/what-is-nginx-web-server.html?amp\x3d1','2396958794832190400');
_WidgetManager._SetDataContext([{'name': 'blog', 'data': {'blogId': '2396958794832190400', 'title': 'Technoa5bar Blog', 'url': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/2026/10/what-is-nginx-web-server.html?amp\x3d1', 'canonicalUrl': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/2026/10/what-is-nginx-web-server.html', 'homepageUrl': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/?amp\x3d1', 'searchUrl': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/search', 'canonicalHomepageUrl': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/', 'blogspotFaviconUrl': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/favicon.ico', 'bloggerUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com', 'hasCustomDomain': true, 'httpsEnabled': true, 'enabledCommentProfileImages': true, 'gPlusViewType': 'FILTERED_POSTMOD', 'adultContent': false, 'analyticsAccountNumber': 'G-2KZ4MK5EKT', 'analytics4': true, 'encoding': 'UTF-8', 'locale': 'en', 'localeUnderscoreDelimited': 'en', 'languageDirection': 'ltr', 'isPrivate': false, 'isMobile': false, 'isMobileRequest': false, 'mobileClass': '', 'isPrivateBlog': false, 'isDynamicViewsAvailable': true, 'feedLinks': '\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Technoa5bar Blog - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://blog.technoa5bar.com/feeds/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/rss+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Technoa5bar Blog - RSS\x22 href\x3d\x22https://blog.technoa5bar.com/feeds/posts/default?alt\x3drss\x22 /\x3e\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22service.post\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Technoa5bar Blog - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2396958794832190400/posts/default\x22 /\x3e\n\n\x3clink rel\x3d\x22alternate\x22 type\x3d\x22application/atom+xml\x22 title\x3d\x22Technoa5bar Blog - Atom\x22 href\x3d\x22https://blog.technoa5bar.com/feeds/3158982114486909405/comments/default\x22 /\x3e\n', 'meTag': '', 'adsenseHostId': 'ca-host-pub-1556223355139109', 'adsenseHasAds': false, 'adsenseAutoAds': false, 'boqCommentIframeForm': true, 'loginRedirectParam': '', 'view': '', 'dynamicViewsCommentsSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/4224c15c4e7c9321/js/comments.js', 'dynamicViewsScriptSrc': '//www.blogblog.com/dynamicviews/ab5d071a9f9b11cc', 'plusOneApiSrc': 'https://apis.google.com/js/platform.js', 'disableGComments': true, 'interstitialAccepted': false, 'sharing': {'platforms': [{'name': 'Get link', 'key': 'link', 'shareMessage': 'Get link', 'target': ''}, {'name': 'Facebook', 'key': 'facebook', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Facebook', 'target': 'facebook'}, {'name': 'BlogThis!', 'key': 'blogThis', 'shareMessage': 'BlogThis!', 'target': 'blog'}, {'name': 'X', 'key': 'twitter', 'shareMessage': 'Share to X', 'target': 'twitter'}, {'name': 'Pinterest', 'key': 'pinterest', 'shareMessage': 'Share to Pinterest', 'target': 'pinterest'}, {'name': 'Email', 'key': 'email', 'shareMessage': 'Email', 'target': 'email'}], 'disableGooglePlus': true, 'googlePlusShareButtonWidth': 0, 'googlePlusBootstrap': '\x3cscript type\x3d\x22text/javascript\x22\x3ewindow.___gcfg \x3d {\x27lang\x27: \x27en\x27};\x3c/script\x3e'}, 'hasCustomJumpLinkMessage': false, 'jumpLinkMessage': 'Read more', 'pageType': 'item', 'postId': '3158982114486909405', 'postImageThumbnailUrl': 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIaWcg3VljgPjMLHWgwUkbXxpdcaGY0jjA0QAgp8kL1V8P8zWltvMYFHqquSrcz-TWYa0HweLGXkEjx8foindzUXPiXX_0tSTvFyXYUcvAyaENxEE3Wa1yKRmudaN32xemIMkOk4KNzZhyny90l2tGqxvH6UWyFAJS2NEUO3NjcZoXfCobsEHOQhS1VI/s72-c/what-is-nginx-web-server-cover.webp', 'postImageUrl': 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIaWcg3VljgPjMLHWgwUkbXxpdcaGY0jjA0QAgp8kL1V8P8zWltvMYFHqquSrcz-TWYa0HweLGXkEjx8foindzUXPiXX_0tSTvFyXYUcvAyaENxEE3Wa1yKRmudaN32xemIMkOk4KNzZhyny90l2tGqxvH6UWyFAJS2NEUO3NjcZoXfCobsEHOQhS1VI/s0/what-is-nginx-web-server-cover.webp', 'pageName': 'What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)', 'pageTitle': 'Technoa5bar Blog: What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)', 'metaDescription': 'What is Nginx? Explore the event-driven web server, Nginx vs Apache, the absence of .htaccess, market share and how to identify a website server.'}}, {'name': 'features', 'data': {}}, {'name': 'messages', 'data': {'edit': 'Edit', 'linkCopiedToClipboard': 'Link copied to clipboard!', 'ok': 'Ok', 'postLink': 'Post Link'}}, {'name': 'template', 'data': {'name': 'custom', 'localizedName': 'Custom', 'isResponsive': true, 'isAlternateRendering': false, 'isCustom': true}}, {'name': 'view', 'data': {'classic': {'name': 'classic', 'url': '?view\x3dclassic'}, 'flipcard': {'name': 'flipcard', 'url': '?view\x3dflipcard'}, 'magazine': {'name': 'magazine', 'url': '?view\x3dmagazine'}, 'mosaic': {'name': 'mosaic', 'url': '?view\x3dmosaic'}, 'sidebar': {'name': 'sidebar', 'url': '?view\x3dsidebar'}, 'snapshot': {'name': 'snapshot', 'url': '?view\x3dsnapshot'}, 'timeslide': {'name': 'timeslide', 'url': '?view\x3dtimeslide'}, 'isMobile': false, 'title': 'What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)', 'description': 'What is Nginx? Explore the event-driven web server, Nginx vs Apache, the absence of .htaccess, market share and how to identify a website server.', 'featuredImage': 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIaWcg3VljgPjMLHWgwUkbXxpdcaGY0jjA0QAgp8kL1V8P8zWltvMYFHqquSrcz-TWYa0HweLGXkEjx8foindzUXPiXX_0tSTvFyXYUcvAyaENxEE3Wa1yKRmudaN32xemIMkOk4KNzZhyny90l2tGqxvH6UWyFAJS2NEUO3NjcZoXfCobsEHOQhS1VI/s0/what-is-nginx-web-server-cover.webp', 'url': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/2026/10/what-is-nginx-web-server.html?amp\x3d1', 'type': 'item', 'isSingleItem': true, 'isMultipleItems': false, 'isError': false, 'isPage': false, 'isPost': true, 'isHomepage': false, 'isArchive': false, 'isLabelSearch': false, 'postId': 3158982114486909405}}, {'name': 'widgets', 'data': [{'title': 'Technoa5bar Blog (Header)', 'type': 'Header', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Title', 'id': 'Header01'}, {'title': 'Looking for something?', 'type': 'BlogSearch', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Search', 'id': 'BlogSearch01'}, {'title': 'Header Icon', 'type': 'TextList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'TextList01'}, {'title': 'Bookmark Posts', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'LinkList02'}, {'title': 'Translate', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Header_Icon', 'id': 'LinkList03'}, {'title': 'Navigation Menu', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_1', 'id': 'HTML01'}, {'title': 'Additional Links', 'type': 'PageList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', 'id': 'PageList02'}, {'title': 'Social Links', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', 'id': 'LinkList04'}, {'title': 'Tabbed Menu', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Under_Header', 'id': 'LinkList05'}, {'title': 'Blog Posts', 'type': 'Blog', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'Blog01', 'posts': [{'id': '3158982114486909405', 'title': 'What Is Nginx? How the Event-Driven Web Server Works and How It Differs From Apache (2026)', 'featuredImage': 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxIaWcg3VljgPjMLHWgwUkbXxpdcaGY0jjA0QAgp8kL1V8P8zWltvMYFHqquSrcz-TWYa0HweLGXkEjx8foindzUXPiXX_0tSTvFyXYUcvAyaENxEE3Wa1yKRmudaN32xemIMkOk4KNzZhyny90l2tGqxvH6UWyFAJS2NEUO3NjcZoXfCobsEHOQhS1VI/s0/what-is-nginx-web-server-cover.webp', 'showInlineAds': false}], 'footerBylines': [{'regionName': 'footer1', 'items': [{'name': 'author', 'label': 'Published by'}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': 'On'}, {'name': 'comments', 'label': 'Comment'}, {'name': 'share', 'label': ''}]}, {'regionName': 'footer2', 'items': [{'name': 'labels', 'label': 'in'}]}], 'allBylineItems': [{'name': 'author', 'label': 'Published by'}, {'name': 'timestamp', 'label': 'On'}, {'name': 'comments', 'label': 'Comment'}, {'name': 'share', 'label': ''}, {'name': 'labels', 'label': 'in'}]}, {'title': 'Categorized Posts', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList08'}, {'title': 'Table of contents', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Main_Widgets', 'id': 'HTML11'}, {'title': 'Popular Posts', 'type': 'PopularPosts', 'sectionId': 'sec_Side_Widgets', 'id': 'PopularPosts01', 'posts': [{'title': '12 Cheapest AI API Platforms in 2026: Claude, GPT and DeepSeek Access Compared (October 2026 Prices)', 'id': 481204507782197258}, {'title': 'How to Make Money Online with AI in 2026: 5 Realistic Routes, Platform Fees and Rules to Check (October 2026)', 'id': 1569459505330354465}, {'title': '34 Best AI Creative Platforms in 2026: Video, Writing, Voice, Design and Image Tools Compared (October 2026 Prices)', 'id': 3105117579593687496}, {'title': 'What Is a Domain Name? How It Works, Types, Prices and How to Choose (2026)', 'id': 6836328768974221359}, {'title': '13 Best AI Website Builders in 2026: Prices, Free Plans and What Each One Is Best For (October 2026)', 'id': 255217636236785831}, {'title': 'Hostinger Review 2026: Real Prices, Renewal Costs, Speed and Limits', 'id': 8613643224751839963}, {'title': 'How to Set Up a WordPress Ecommerce Store with WooCommerce in 2026: 10 Steps, Requirements and Fees', 'id': 8143251195976995908}, {'title': 'Cloudways Review 2026: Pricing, Add-Ons, Providers and Who Should Use It', 'id': 3123216500246119284}, {'title': 'What Is DNS? How the Domain Name System Works, Record Types and Fixes (2026)', 'id': 7613124686287508047}, {'title': 'How to Start an Online Store in 2026: 10 Steps, Platform Prices and Real Costs (October 2026)', 'id': 1152816299497980570}]}, {'title': 'Labels', 'type': 'Label', 'sectionId': 'sec_Side_Widgets', 'id': 'Label01'}, {'title': 'Take me back', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Error_404', 'id': 'HTML404'}, {'title': 'Social Media Links', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Organization', 'id': 'LinkList21'}, {'title': 'Web Hosting', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList22'}, {'title': 'AI \x26amp; Online Business', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList23'}, {'title': 'Guides \x26amp; Comparisons', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList24'}, {'title': 'About', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList25'}, {'title': 'Credit', 'type': 'HTML', 'sectionId': 'sec_Footer_Bottom', 'id': 'HTML21'}, {'title': 'Mobile Menu', 'type': 'TextList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Mobile_Menu', 'id': 'TextList99'}, {'title': 'Labels', 'type': 'Label', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'Label41'}, {'title': 'Contact Form', 'type': 'ContactForm', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'ContactForm41'}, {'title': 'Pageviews last month', 'type': 'Stats', 'sectionId': 'sec_Theme_Hidden', 'id': 'Stats41'}, {'title': 'Firebase Configurations', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList61'}, {'title': 'Progressive Web App', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList62'}, {'title': 'Cookie Consent [NoTitle]', 'type': 'LinkList', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'LinkList63'}, {'title': 'Image Uploader', 'type': 'Image', 'sectionId': 'sec_Addon_Widgets', 'id': 'Image61'}]}]);
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HeaderView', new _WidgetInfo('Header01', 'sec_Header_Title', document.getElementById('Header01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogSearchView', new _WidgetInfo('BlogSearch01', 'sec_Header_Search', document.getElementById('BlogSearch01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_TextListView', new _WidgetInfo('TextList01', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('TextList01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList02', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('LinkList02'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList03', 'sec_Header_Icon', document.getElementById('LinkList03'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML01', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_1', document.getElementById('HTML01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_PageListView', new _WidgetInfo('PageList02', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', document.getElementById('PageList02'), {'title': 'Additional Links', 'links': [{'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': '/p/sitemap.html', 'title': 'Sitemap'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/p/terms-of-use.html?amp\x3d1', 'id': '1930117060590716989', 'title': 'Terms Of Use'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/p/privacy-policy.html?amp\x3d1', 'id': '1940277772523633493', 'title': 'Privacy Policy'}, {'isCurrentPage': false, 'href': 'https://blog.technoa5bar.com/p/contact-us.html?amp\x3d1', 'id': '2710573314955251354', 'title': 'Contact Us'}], 'mobile': false, 'showPlaceholder': true, 'hasCurrentPage': false}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList04', 'sec_Nav_Widgets_2', document.getElementById('LinkList04'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList05', 'sec_Under_Header', document.getElementById('LinkList05'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_BlogView', new _WidgetInfo('Blog01', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('Blog01'), {'cmtInteractionsEnabled': false, 'lightboxEnabled': true, 'lightboxModuleUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/jsbin/2722639461-lbx.js', 'lightboxCssUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/static/v1/v-css/828616780-lightbox_bundle.css'}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList08', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList08'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML11', 'sec_Main_Widgets', document.getElementById('HTML11'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_PopularPostsView', new _WidgetInfo('PopularPosts01', 'sec_Side_Widgets', document.getElementById('PopularPosts01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LabelView', new _WidgetInfo('Label01', 'sec_Side_Widgets', document.getElementById('Label01'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML404', 'sec_Error_404', document.getElementById('HTML404'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList21', 'sec_Footer_Organization', document.getElementById('LinkList21'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList22', 'sec_Footer_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList22'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList23', 'sec_Footer_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList23'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList24', 'sec_Footer_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList24'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList25', 'sec_Footer_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList25'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_HTMLView', new _WidgetInfo('HTML21', 'sec_Footer_Bottom', document.getElementById('HTML21'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_TextListView', new _WidgetInfo('TextList99', 'sec_Mobile_Menu', document.getElementById('TextList99'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LabelView', new _WidgetInfo('Label41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('Label41'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ContactFormView', new _WidgetInfo('ContactForm41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('ContactForm41'), {'contactFormMessageSendingMsg': 'Sending...', 'contactFormMessageSentMsg': 'Your message has been sent.', 'contactFormMessageNotSentMsg': 'Message could not be sent. Please try again later.', 'contactFormInvalidEmailMsg': 'A valid email address is required.', 'contactFormEmptyMessageMsg': 'Message field cannot be empty.', 'title': 'Contact Form', 'blogId': '2396958794832190400', 'contactFormNameMsg': 'Name', 'contactFormEmailMsg': 'Email', 'contactFormMessageMsg': 'Message', 'contactFormSendMsg': 'Send', 'contactFormToken': 'AKZvMzvcnT_jW0aKgBAtsxtD4YUm:1792251616869', 'submitUrl': 'https://www.blogger.com/contact-form'}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_StatsView', new _WidgetInfo('Stats41', 'sec_Theme_Hidden', document.getElementById('Stats41'), {'title': 'Pageviews last month', 'showGraphicalCounter': false, 'showAnimatedCounter': false, 'showSparkline': true, 'statsUrl': '//blog.technoa5bar.com/b/stats?amp\x3d1\x26style\x3dBLACK_TRANSPARENT\x26timeRange\x3dLAST_WEEK\x26token\x3dANakCksL8fZaTcoGeX3hKQmekYSr5HlW1xH9CGB86TIjU_fQm65eXJo9pT5uZFzfDpGt2FAm1X0BX1MA8thoi2Q'}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList61', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList61'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList62', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList62'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_LinkListView', new _WidgetInfo('LinkList63', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('LinkList63'), {}, 'displayModeFull'));
_WidgetManager._RegisterWidget('_ImageView', new _WidgetInfo('Image61', 'sec_Addon_Widgets', document.getElementById('Image61'), {'resize': false}, 'displayModeFull'));
</script>
</body>