Glossary of Web Terms

Active Server Pages (ASP)

These are web pages that deliver customized pages containing database query results. 

Animated GIF

As GIF but these images can contain multiple layered images which can be revealed in succession to produce an animation effect. Banner Ads are typically Animated GIFs

Banner Ad

Advertising which generally appears in a block at the top of a web page. These are generally animated GIFs. 

Browser

This is the application you use to surf the web. The most popular browsers today are Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator and Opera. Web Browser software is usually free.

Cookie

A cookie is a small text file which sometimes get places on your computer by a web site that you visit. The Idea is that if you come back the the site again, it can remember who you are and what interested you most on the site last time you visited. Cookies can also be used when you register on a web site so the site can store your registration info on your PC for the next time you return.

e-Commerce

The term which describes doing business over the internet; buying, selling, auctioning or trading information.

Extranet

A web site that is only visible to specifically authorized external clients. 

Flash

Flash is  compressed a animation file that can produce almost video-like effects on web sites. To view a sample flash page click here. To view flash animations the users browser must have the appropriate Macromedia Shockwave Player installed.  In most cases in a visitor does not have the player installed, they will be prompted to automatically download and install it from the Macromedia web site.

Frames

A frames page is a special kind of web page that divides the browser window into different areas called frames, each of which can display a different page

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. Much like HTTP, FTP is uses as a way of remotely viewing  folders on another computer over the internet. FTP is frequently used to transfer files up top a web server or ISP.

GIF

A format for graphic images on the web. GIFs are compressed representations of a (typically) graphic element.  GIF files are more often used for Graphic, as opposed to Photographic images. A GIF image generally has a defined collection of indexed color values inside it, and only those which are used in the image. GIF is more suitable for objects with blocks of solid color, unlike photos, which are better represented in JPEG format.

Hit Counter

A counter on a web page that increments each time it receives a "hit". A hit is basically a "fetch" of the page containing the hit counter by another computers web browser. Hit counters are useful to monitor the success of your web site. you can see on a regular basis how much traffic is getting to your site.

Home Page

Refers to the "home" of a web site. Generally a home page the starting page, of first page that appears when a web browser goes to a URL. Typically this page is called "index.htm", "default.htm" or "default.asp"

HTTP

Hyper Text Transfer protocol. If the internet and IP are what allow all the computers in the world to connect to each other, then HTTP is what makes the world wide web run on the internet. HTTP is the protocol by which web browsers request and fetch pages from web servers and web servers deliver them.

Hyperlink

A hyperlink is a connection from one page to another destination such as another page or a different location on the same page. The destination is frequently another Web page, but it can also be a picture, an e-mail address, a file, or a program. A hyperlink can be text or a picture.

Intranet

A web site that is only visible inside a company's local area network, wide area network, or domain. Intranets are rapidly becoming the new way to share information and best practice inside organizations. The intraned can replace the company magazine, the company phone book, and paper based forms and procedures.

IP Address

IP stands for "Internet Protocol" This is the language computers talk on the internet to locate each other and exchange packets of information. the IP "Address" is just that, its the unique address of any computer or collection of computers (LAN) on the internet. Every URL is eventually translated into an IP Address. A typical IP address look like this:  195.162.43.12

ISP

A web site or home page basically is a set of files which sit on a disk on a computer which is connected to the internet. The computer that these files reside on is referred to as a web server. Web servers need to handle requests for pages from the internet 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.

They also need to deliver that information fast, and often to many requestors at the same time. This really demands a permanent connection of the web server to the internet trough a high speed, 24/7/365 connection; not practical or cost effective for most companies or individuals to do themselves!

This is where the ISP (Internet Service Provider) adds value. Internet service providers basically have banks of computers (web servers) all connected through high speed connections onto the internet. Then companies effectively "rent" space on these servers to "host" their web site files. They also provide URL to IP Address name resolution for the URLs they host

Java

Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is an object oriented programming language. Java "scripts" as they are often known are applications that are compiled and run in your computer's browser. Java adds intelligence to web pages so that what you see in your browser can be modified on demand, in real time. A Java script running in a web page for example can inquire of your computer what browser you are running, then optimize the web sites content for your particular browser. 

JPEG

A format for images on the web. JPEG are compressed representations of a (typically) photo like image. When webmasters create JPEG files, that can choose the amount of compression to use on them. The higher the compression the smaller the file size and the quicker it will appear in the viewers browser. But the flip side is that the quality will not be so good.  conversely, the lower the compression, the better the quality of the image, but the longer it will take to load into the viewer's browser.

Keywords

These are the key words and phrases that people type in to search the web. "Meta Keywords" a series of words or phrases that you have in the hidden code of your web site to tell the search engines what your site is all about. Defining the correct keywords for your site is critical to good search engine positioning.

MP3

MPEG Layer 3 compress files. This is a format for digital music, delivered over the internet.

Rollover

An effect you see on a web page whereby when you position your mouse pointer over an object, it changes its color, position or appearance. likewise, "rolling over" an object can cause effects on other areas of the page, or cause sounds to be emitted. Rollover effects are generally created by Java or VB Scripts. 

Search Engine

Search engines are like Yellow Pages in the paper based world. They contain classified listings of web sites in a tree like structure, which can also be searched using key words or phrases. Search engines are often maintained by software called 'robots', which will crawl through the web and automatically find web sited and index their content.

URL

Uniform Resource locator. This is the name for those addresses you often type in the address bar of your web browser, for example "http://www.mitchellsonline.co.uk" On the internet these days URLs are becoming prized possessions, just like company names. Owning a URL that looks and is spelled the same as your company name or one that describes your web site's content is important. On the Internet, URLs are converted by things called "Name Servers" into something much less memorable, known as an IP Address.

VB Script

Achieves much the same effects as Java Scripts, but these scripts are written in a language called Visual Basic, rather than Java. Java Scripts will be good for most browsers, whereas VB Scripts are really only workable on (the most dominant) Microsoft Internet Explorer Browsers

Web Directory

Web Directories are like Yellow Pages in the paper based world. They contain classified listings of web sites in a tree like structure, which can also be searched using key words or phrases.

Webmaster

The person in a company who has the role of managing and developing the company's web site 

Web Server

A Web Server is basically a PC, Unix Box on Macintosh computer which is connected to the internet. It has one or more web sites on its hard disks, and a special piece of software which responds to HTTP requests from the internet to "serve" pages up on demand. These servers can also host databases, plus special programs to provide services to the web site such as hit counters, Script processors etc.

Web Site

The entire collection of information and pages which represent a company's, organization's or individual's web presence. Generally the Web Site is the tree of documents and pages that can be reached by links from the "Home Page"