As React developers, building our project largely focuses on what the user sees, which is known as the frontend.

In every React project, we manage data on the client through state and user interactions. However, many apps are not possible without data that comes from the backend.

The backend takes care of getting or updating data in our application and it is hidden away from the user.

Most backends consists of two parts:

1. A place to store our data (often a database)
2. A method for retrieving the data (often an API)

But here's the good news: based off of the type of application you're making, you may not need either.