{{short description|Software framework to support the development of websites}}
A '''web framework''' ('''WF''') or '''web application framework''' ('''WAF''') is a [[software framework]] that is designed to support the development of [[web application]]s including web services, [[web resource]]s, and [[web API]]s. Web frameworks<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Latest Front-end Libraries and Frameworks |url=https://www.almabetter.com/bytes/articles/front-end-libraries-and-frameworks |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=AlmaBetter |language=en}}</ref> provide a standard way to build and deploy web applications on the [[World Wide Web]]. Web frameworks aim to automate the overhead associated with common activities performed in [[web development]]. For example, many web frameworks provide [[library (computing)|libraries]] for [[database]] access, [[template processor|templating]] frameworks, and [[session (computer science)|session]] management, and they often promote [[code reuse]].{{refn |{{cite web |url=http://docforge.com/wiki/Web_application_framework |title= Web application framework |author=Multiple (wiki) |website=Docforge |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723163302/http://docforge.com/wiki/Web_application_framework |archive-date=2015-07-23 }} }} Although they often target development of [[dynamic web page|dynamic web site]]s, they are also applicable to [[static web page|static website]]s.{{refn |{{cite web |title=Top Open-Source Static Site Generators |url=https://www.staticgen.com/ |website=StaticGen}}}}
