A method and apparatus for providing a Web application framework is provided. The framework includes four main components which are used in combination to create Web servers of varying complexity depending on the needs of the end use. The framework includes a Server object, a Handler object, a Properties object, and a Request object. A Server object is created with an initial set of properties and calls a Hander object. The Handler object defines how URL requests are processed by the Web server. When a request appears at the server, the Request object obtains and formats the request for subsequent processing. The Handler object works with the Properties object to process the request. Multiple Handler objects may be chained together to create a Web application that can perform many operations without being restricted to traditional server designs.