What the heck is client side programming? Programming for the client--duh! Seriously, client side programming is simply a form of web programming that is run by the client computer rather than being executed by the server.

Remember, there's a client and there's a server. The client, also known as the web user, searches for and connects to a particular website which is sent by the web server as a response. Although in most cases there is one web server there can easily be hundreds or thousands of web users (web clients) making a request to your web server at the same time. There's a lot of work that a web server has to do, but why put all the processing burden on the single web server machine when each user has a computer that is doing probably nothing at that time but viewing your website. As the web developer, you can put the web user's computer to work.

For instance, let's say somebody accesses a form on your website. They are asked to enter their name and email address and all sorts of other information. Let's say they enter the information incorrectly and you do not want your server to process this information, so your website sends them an error message saying they forget so and so information or entered some information incorrectly. This error processing can and probably should be handled by the server but it should be handled first by the user and the data should only be sent to the website server if this first checkpoint is all clear. The users own web browser using JavaScript can determine if the user entered an incorrect email address or forgot to type the subject of the message, and so forth. Again, don't place the burden of processing simple tasks on the server when they can be run by the client who is browsing your site.

Client-side programming is not limited to reducing server-load by processing web site forms. Client-side programming also can be used for neat web effects, web graphic rollovers, re-displaying site content and so on. There's a lot that can be done with Javascript and JQuery so there's a lot that can be by the client which ultimately reduces work of the server and thus decreases your server requirements. What does this mean in the end? Quality web design and web programming utilizing client side programming reduces your serve-load, your server-cost in resources per user and thus allows you to run a fast and efficient website at a fraction of the cost using cheap web hosting with web hosts listed on this site without compromising site ease, usability and performance.