Following
are definitions of terms related to the Internet and Web design.
If some of the terms have several meanings, we are providing
the meaning that is related to designing, navigating, and
promoting Web sites.
Auto
Responder/Mailbot
An
autoresponder is an email address programmed to automatically
send a pre-composed email message back to the sender when receiving
email
Bookmark
A feature in some browsers that allows the browser
to remember a Web address you visited and makes it easy to return
to the bookmarked Web page later.
Browser/Web
Browser
Software to view and navigate Web pages. The current
popular browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape.
CGI/Common
Gateway Interface
A
service that provides functionality to Web sites by using scripts
or programs that are executed on the server.
Domain
Name
The
name that identifies an Internet site i.e.www.fivestarwebdesign.com.
The three digit suffix of a domain identifies the type of organization.
A domain name ending with .com refers to a commercial web site.
Domain names can also end with .net (network), .org (organization
or non-profit), edu (educational), gov (government), .mil (military),
.int (international), cc, and others suffixes.
FAA/Free-For-All
Links Pages
Pages
where
you can put up free links to your Web site.
FTP/File
Transfer Protocol
A
method to upload and download files over the Internet. You use
FTP to upload your Web pages from your computer to your hosting
company's computer (the server).
GIF/Graphic
Interchange Format and JPG/JPEG
Image
formats used in Web pages.
Home
Page
The main page of a Web site. The home page usually provides
links to other Web pages on the site.
Host
A
computer on a network that provides services to other computers
on the network.. Unless you have your own server, you need a
hosting company who provides a server or computer that is connected
to the Internet and makes your Web pages available on the Internet.
HTML/Hyper
Text Markup Language
The
coding language that makes it possible to view Web pages with
Web browsers such as Explorer or Netscape and allows to link
text, words, and images to other pages.
HTTP/Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol
A standard method of transferring data between a Web server
and Web browser.
Hyperlinks/Links
Words
or blocks of text or images on Web pages that take you to another
page when you click on them. Internal links take you to a different
page on the same Web site. External links take you to a different
Web site.
Internet
A network of computers that is inter-connected around the world.
Internic
The
primary registration service and directory for the American
part of the Internet.
IP
Number/Internet Protocol Number
Every
computer that is on the Internet has a unique IP number. The
number consists of four parts separated by dots, e.g.209.219.128.158.
Most computers also have one or more domain names that are easier
to remember. Your Internet provider will tell you what number
represents your Web site.
ISP/Internet
Service Provider/Internet Access Provider/Dial-up Provider
A company that provide Internet access.
Meta
Tags
Meta
tags are parts of your HTML code. They tell search engines what
your Web site is about and help index your site.
Search
Engines
Search engines are databases that catalog Web pages and
lets you search for Web pages. Popular search engines include
Yahoo, Infoseek, Lycos, Alta Vista, Excite, and Hotbot.
Secure
Web Site
A
Web site that uses encryption to scramble sensitive information
submitted online like credit-card numbers, and prevent unauthorized
people to read it.
Server
The
computer
that contains your Web pages and makes them available on the
Internet. The term can also refer to software, such as a Web
server or the machine the software is running on.
Spamming
(Also called spamdexing)
Search engine spamming is trying to fool search engines
to get a higher ranking. Examples of spamming include repeating
words excessively, using keywords that are unrelated to the
contents of the site, and hiding text by using the same color
as the background or making the text very small. Most search
engines will penalize pages that use spamming.
Spider
An automated program that searches the Internet.
SSL/Secure
Socket Layer
Secure
Socket Layer uses encryption to make the sensitive information
you are sending readable only by the merchant you are doing
business with. You usually get a message that pops up when you
are entering the secure mode, and another message when going
back to a non-secure mode.
Surfing
the Net
Exploring the Internet with a Web browser.
URL/Uniform
Resource Locator
A
URL is the address of your Web page you enter into a browser
such as Explorer to get to a Web page. The URL identifies a
location on the Internet and looks like http://www.yourname.com
or http://www.fivestarwebdesign.com/samples.htm.
WWW/World
Wide Web
The
graphical part of the Internet that makes it possible to view
Web pages with text, graphics, sound files, and other features
with a browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape.
For
additional listings of Internet glossaries, visit:
