What in the Web are you talking about?
Do you speak Internet? Talking about websites, functionality and e-commerce can sound like a completely different language. In the interest of more rewarding communication, we've put together a web glossary of common terms that may be throwing you for a loop.
Animation: An image that changes over time.
Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can travel a communications path in a given time, usually measured in seconds. If you think of the communications path as a pipe, then bandwidth represents the width of the pipe that determines how much data can flow through it all at once.
Banner: Also referred to as a banner ad, a banner is a typically rectangular advertisement placed on a Web site either above, below or on the sides of the Web site's main content and is linked to the advertiser's own Web site.
Blog: A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.
Browser: Very often called Web browser, this is a software application used to locate and display Web pages. The two most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and FireFox (Mozilla). Other browsers include Netscape Navigator, Opera, AOL Browser, and Safari. Note: Internet Explorer is losing ground due to its noncompliance with current web standards. Firefox is currently the most compliant browser available.
CMS: Content Management System. A software solution used to create, maintain and control a website.
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets. Code used to control the visuals of a site, from layout and graphics to font styles.
Database: A special way of organizing computer data. There are many different types of databases but all of them work on the same principle. Databases are very useful for storing and organizing data for later retrieval, and very often used for managing accounts, managing user information, creating guest books and bulletin boards.
Discussion Group: A web page that supports interactive discussions by users. Users submit text content using a form that is saved on the server and made available to other visitors.
DNS: The Domain Name System which identifies each computer as a network point on the Internet using an internet protocol address system to translate from domain name to IP and reverse.
Domain Name: A unique name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name ideabankmarketing.com represents one IP address. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. Every web site that you visit is stored under a domain name.
Domain Name Extension: The domain name extension comes after the dot, like "com," "org," or "edu."
Downloading: Downloading is the method by which users access and save or "pull down" software or other files to their own computers from a remote computer, usually via a modem.
E-Commerce: E-Commerce means conducting business on the Internet, mostly referring to buying and selling items on line.
Encryption: Encoding information so it cannot be read as it travels over a network. Only the sender and receiver have the key, making the information indecipherable to third parties.
Flash: Browser independent vector and graphic animation technology owned by Macromedia Inc. Most browsers support Flash technology and flash animation looks the same on all browsers.
FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol, a method of transferring files over the Internet.
GIF: GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, a bitmapped graphics file format that supports color and various resolutions. Limited to 256 colors.
Home Page: Usually the first page (index page) of a Web site. It is sometimes preceded by a "splash page" with animation to introduce the Web site.
Hosting: Hosting is a service that provides storage and sharing of the files that comprise a website.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language, the authoring and editing language used to create Web pages.
Interactivity: Website displays or functions that respond to user input. Interactivity creates a more engaging Web environment, encouraging users to stay at your site longer.
Internet: The largest global network connecting millions of computers, based on TCP/IP protocol for communication between host and server.
Intranet: A private network belonging to an organization, usually a corporation, accessible only by the organization's members, employees, or others with authorization.
IP Address: An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifier for a point or host connection on an IP network.
Java applet: A short program written in Java (not JavaScript) that is attached to a Web page and executed by the browser machine. Often used for complicated web applications.
JavaScript: JavaScript is a client-side scripting language that allows dynamic behavior to be specified within HTML documents.
JPEG (JPG): Acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG uses a specific compression technique for color images. Some details are lost in the compression, yet the image retains relatively good quality. JPEGs are widely used on the Internet and other digital applications.
Link: Sometimes called hyperlink. A link is an object on a Web page that., when clicked, transports the user to another site or location.
Meta Data: Meta data is information describing the web page or document it is attached to. The inclusion of meta data in a web document helps indexing and searching processes, and information management.
MP3: MP3 is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is a coding scheme for the compression of audio signals. MP3 files embedded into web sites provide music while visitors are viewing the site.
PHP: PHP Hypertext Preprocessor is a server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages. Designed for Windows and Unix type platforms.
Search Engine: A program that searches the Web for specified terms or phrases and returns a list of the sites where those terms were found. The most popular search engines are Google, Yahoo and MSN.
SEO: Search Engine Optimization. The act of adjusting a website so that it does well in the organic, crawler-based listings of search engines.
Spam: Spam refers to the practice of blindly sending commercial messages or advertisements to email users or posting to newsgroups.
Submission Forms: Forms are web pages which contain input areas users complete. They are an excellent way of collecting and processing information from people visiting a website, as well as allowing them to interact with web pages. The output can be sent as an e-mail, stored online, printed, and/or returned to the user as an HTML page.
Thumbnail: A small version of a larger image on a web page. Usually containing a hyperlink to a full-size version of the image.
URL: It stands for Uniform Resource Locator, which is a string that supplies the Internet address of a resource on the World Wide Web, along with the protocol by which the resource is accessed. The most common URL type is "http," which gives the Internet address of a World Wide Web page.
Video Clip: A short video sequence that can be embedded into a web page.
Web Application: Web Applications are web programs designed to be used on the web site using a browser. Examples of web applications would be shopping carts, web banking, web games and many others.
Web Based E-mail: Web based e-mail is software on a mail server that allows you to access your email accounts by using a web-browser. The most common examples are Yahoo mail and Hotmail.
Web Site: A specific set of files stored on an Internet-connected server which display in a systematic way to form pages.
World Wide Web: A network of Internet servers hosting Web sites, email and other online services.
XHTML: eXtensible HyperText Markup Language, which is used to control the display of site content. XHTML is the next generation of HTML and is a hybrid between HTML, designed to display data, and XML, designed to describe it.
