Web Glossary
Attachments: Files that are linked or attached to an email message. Similar to paper clipping extra documents to a regular postal mail letter.
Bookmarks: A list of favorite web sites compiled by the user and stored in the your browser where they can be referred to at any time and act as direct links to the web sites.
bps (Bits Per Second): How fast data is transferred over the Internet or any other digital communications medium. Data is transferred in zeros or ones (binary) and each zero or one is a "bit".
Browser: A browser is the software or program that displays web pages from the Internet to your computer. The most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. There are many other types of browsers but the vast majority of users use these two.
Cache: Cache is the storing of web page objects as you down load them from the Internet. By storing them in the cache the computer can display the pages much faster if you wish to view them for a second time. The user can control how much hard drive space the cache is allocated and how long the files stay in the cache.
CGI (Common Gateway Interface): These are computer programs or scripts, which take information entered into a web page by the user and do something with that information such as e-mail it to the webmaster as in a form, or place that information on another web page such as in a guest book. Other uses for CGI scripts include databases, auto-responders, credit card processing, shopping cart programs and much more. CGI scripts can be written in any programming language but are commonly written in Perl or C.
Client Computer: A computer that is receiving information from another computer. A client is normally the destination location and the Host Computer is the source location.
Cookie: A cookie is information that is downloaded by your browser from a web site and stored in a folder for future reference by that web site. The information in the cookie can be used to customize the web site on the users return visit, such as targeted advertising and displaying the most relevant products.
Database: A database is a collection of information. For example, many businesses have a customer database which has details such as phone numbers, delivery addresses, what they have purchased etc. The information is usually stored on a computer in table form and often many people can access a database.
Domain Name: A domain name is a registered address for a web site such as www.webinteractiveconsulting.com. The domain name has an underlying numerical address called the IP (Internet Protocol) address; it is made up of a series of numbers such as 135.34.92.618. If you look at the address entry box near the top of the browser, the address for this page should read http://www.webinteractiveconsulting.com/pg/web-glossary.htm. The http:// stands for hyper text transfer protocol and tells the browser it is looking for an "html" or "htm" document."www.webinteractiveconsulting.com" is the domain name, the "www" does not really represent anything and is not always needed in the address so in this case if it was emitted it would still find the correct web page. The .com is the extension of the domain name and usually represents the country and type of web site e.g. commercial, military, government, etc. "/pg" is a sub directory of the domain, and "web-glossary.htm" is the name of the file in that directory for this page.
Download: Downloading is to save information from the Internet or any other network on to your computers hard drive. Whenever you look at a web page it must have first been downloaded by the browser, which is done automatically. This information is stored in an area of the hard drive called the cache and it is usually only stored for a limited period of time before the computer deletes it. If the user wants their own copy of something from the Internet then they need to save it on the hard drive them selves.
E-mail: E-mail is an electronic mail system for sending messages and files between computers. E-mail usually uses the Internet but can also be confined to a local area network (LAN) or a combination of both.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions): A page of questions and answers.
Form: A form is usually made up of a series of fields where you can enter information such as your name or e-mail address. The form usually ends with a SUBMIT or SAVE button which sends the information you have entered. The submitted information is usually e-mailed to the webmaster but there are a wide range of things that can be done to it such as storing it in a database or modifying the information in some way and then displaying it on another web page.
Frame: Frames divide a web page into sections. These sections can have scroll bars and can scroll independently from each other. Frames are an alternative method for organizing a web page but not all browsers can view frames so they are not used on most web sites.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format): a file type used for pictures on the Internet. Gifs are used more for simple images on the web.
GIF Animation: A number of GIF images put together to make an animation for the Internet. You usually need a special program to make an animated GIF
Hits: When you look at somebody's web page your computer asks the host computer for all of the computer files needed to make up that page. Each picture or object on a web page is a separate file therefore you might need 10 files to make one web page. A hit is one request for a computer file therefore if you look at one page with 9 picture's on it, the web site will have received 10 hits. If you look at 10 such pages, the web site will have received 100 hits. Hits are a very inaccurate way of assessing how many people have been to your web site.
Hosting: All web sites need to be located on a computer that is always online so that people surfing the Internet can access those web pages at any time day or night. To store a web site on one of these computers is called hosting. Host computers or servers do not have to be located in your local area; they can anywhere in the world, as geographical location is unimportant.
Host Computer (server): A computer which is accessed by other computers (clients) for information such as web pages or databases.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): A simple programming language used to create web pages. HTML is the underlying code for all web pages on the Internet. The browser reads this code and displays the appropriate text and images that make up the page.
http (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol): A protocol for transferring hyper text documents (web pages) around the Internet. The protocol works between different kinds of computers that otherwise might not be compatible.
Hyperlink: A generally highlighted piece of text or part of a picture on a web page which links to another web page. Clicking on the hyperlink will make the browser load the page relating to that hyperlink.
Image Map: An image map is a picture on a web page that has several links in it. By clicking on certain parts of the image map you can jump to new web pages.
Internet: The Internet is a huge network of computers that covers the globe. A network is a series of computers linked together such that they can send information to each other. The Internet uses a protocol called TCP/IP which allows normally incompatible computers to communicate with each other. When you send an e-mail or view a web page the information is sent via the Internet and is relayed from computer to computer until it gets to its end destination. As a simple comparison, you can compare a network of roads and highways between cities to a network of cables connecting to many computers. For the same reason you can have traffic jams, you can have Internet traffic jams. The reason is too many people trying to get to the same place, at the same time.
IP (Internet Protocol): The underlying protocol used for transferring information over the Internet.
IP Address: The Internet Protocol (IP) address is an underlying numerical address for domain names. The user sees the domain name but the computer uses the underlying IP address. IP addresses are made up of four sets of numbers separated by points ie. (673.64.97.113). The first two numbers are for the institutional network, the third number represents the local network and the last is for the individual computer. Every computer must have a unique address. When you connect to the Internet your local service provider will assign you your own IP address for the time you are online.
ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company that provides connections to the Internet. Service providers usually have other services such as web site hosting and e-mail accounts.
Java: A programming language created by Sun Microsystems, which is often used for Internet related applications.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group): A graphic file format. JPEG pictures can be created in most graphics applications. JPEGs are used for more complex images.
Keyword: A word relating to the content of a web page. Keywords are used by search engines to help them index web pages more accurately.
Link: Text or a picture which will load a different web page.
LAN: A local area network is a network of computers within one company or organization all linked together like the Internet. LAN's can connect to the Internet.
Mailing List: A mailing list is a list of e-mail addresses which is used for bulk mail outs for such things as news groups or junk mail.
Meta Tags:
META tags are placed in the HTML code of a web page. They are used to describe a page and be used as a simple easy way to define properties of a page. Each META tag has an attribute and a value.
Modem: A device for your computer that is used to send information to other computers via the telephone lines.
Newsgroup: A type of forum for sharing ideas about a common subject.
Page Views: For statistical purposes, the number of times a particular web page has been visited.
Path: Generally is used for locating a file on a computer. A path tells you where the file is located, such as c:\mydocs.
Perl: A simple programming language often used for writing CGI scripts for the Internet
POP3 (Post Office Protocol): A protocol used for receiving e-mail
Real Audio: Streaming sound. Sound that loads at the same time as you listen to it. Requires plug-in in your browser.
Real Video: Streaming sound. Sound that loads at the same time as you listen to it. Requires plug-in in your browser.
Scroll (DOWN, UP, LEFT, RIGHT): Moving up or down within a document in your screen. You drag the scroll button with your mouse to move the document.
Search Engines: There are hundreds of millions of web pages on the Internet. A search engine is an Internet based program for searching the Internet for ones on particular topics. Usually you type in a keyword or a series of keywords into the search engine and it goes and finds the web pages that are most relevant to those keywords.
SEM/SEO/SEP: These terms are all related to getting your website ranking high in the results of popular search engine queries. They stand for search engine marketing, optimization, and placement. Visit our page on how to attract visitors to your website.
Server: A server is a computer dedicated to serving information to client computers or other hardware.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): A protocol used for sending e-mail.
Spiders: Computer robot programs, referred to sometimes as "crawlers" or "knowledge-bots" that are used by search engines to roam the World Wide Web via the Internet, visit sites and databases, and keep the search engine database of web pages up to date. They obtain new pages, update known pages, and delete obsolete ones.
T-1 LINE: A T-1 line is a high speed , high bandwidth Internet connection. It carries 1.544 megabits per second of data. It is capable of handling tens of thousands of requests for information on a daily basis.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator): A URL is the address of a web page.
Vector Animation-Vector animation is animation using vector graphics. Vector graphics are pictures made of objects, which can be described by simple maths, rather than with a bitmap. Text, circles, lines, squares, mathematical gradients etc are examples of vector graphics, they can all be described with a series of points, similar to joining the dots. Vector graphics require only small file sizes and much more complicated and larger graphics can be produced for the Internet.
Web Server: A computer, which is permanently online and is used to host web pages for the Internet.
Web Hosting: See hosting or our page on our web hosting service.
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