Server-side scripting is the use of a high-level language developed specifically for use in a web environment. It addresses issues not present in client-side scripting or normal application development. Any site that constantly updates information has user logins, a blog, or basically any functionality other than displaying static content, is most likely using server-side scripting. There are a wide variety of languages to choose from; some are developed by companies and their inner workings are kept a secret.

A markup language is a set of tags that describe the content of a document. The most common markup languages today is HTML a markup language is not a programming language, hence it is a misnomer to 'code' HTML. XML has introduced extensibility into HTML called XHTML. This new more versatile language can incorporate many types of media, other than plain text; and web browsers are constantly adding more support for W3C languages such as SVG and XSLT. XML has strict rules that can increase the learning curve for a person new to XML-based markup.