JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data format used to store and exchange information between systems. Originally derived from JavaScript, it is now language-independent and supported by virtually all modern programming languages.

JSON data is written as key-value pairs, similar to how objects are structured in code. Its simple syntax makes it both human-readable and easy for machines to parse. Here are the basic components:

• Objects: Surrounded by curly braces { } and contain key-value pairs.
• Arrays: Ordered lists of values, enclosed in square brackets [ ].
• Values: Can be strings, numbers, booleans (true/false), objects, arrays, or null.

For example, data about a website user might look like this:
{
  "username": "john_doe",
  "active": true,
  "plan": "premium",
  "domains": ["example.com", "test.net"]
}

In web hosting, JSON is commonly used for configuration files (like package.json in Node.js), API responses (when your hosting panel communicates with servers), and transferring data between your website and databases. Its efficiency and simplicity have made it the standard format for web APIs today.

To start using JSON, you only need a text editor—save files with the .json extension. Most programming languages provide built-in methods to parse (read) and stringify (convert to JSON string) this data effortlessly.