[b]"Can someone explain what is reverse proxy in simple terms?"[/b] or [b]"What is reverse proxy in simple terms,

"ELI5: what is reverse proxy in simple terms?"

Hey folks, total noob here trying to wrap my head around this.

So like... what is reverse proxy in simple terms? Is it just a fancy middleman for web traffic? I’ve heard it’s used for security or load balancing, but how does it *actually* work?

And why should I even care? Like, is this something only big sites use, or could it help my lil’ blog too?

Would love a dumbed-down explanation—maybe with a real-world analogy? (Like, is it the bouncer of the internet or smth?)

Thanks in advance! 🙏

*(ps. sorry if this has been asked a million times, my search-fu is weak today.)*