Glossary of commonly used terms relating to websites and web design..

Bandwidth
A measurement of speed and how fast a webpage loads or how data is sent via the internet connection. The higher the bandwidth the faster the connection.

Browser
A web browser is the software used to view websites and access the internet. Examples are Firefox, IE (Internet Explorer), Safari, Opera etc.

Cache
The cache is like the browsers memory which stores data of visited websites onto your computers hard disk.

CMS (Content Management System)
CMS or Content Management Systems allow employees or employers edit the content of their own website or publish new content.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS is a language used to define the style/design of the website and how it appears on the web.

Domain Name
A domain name is the address or identity of a website (ie: www.jamfrog.co.uk)

Hosting / Host
Web hosting is when companies provide space on their server to 'host' your website.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
HTML is used to create most websites and is the language of the web. The tags within the HTML tell the browser how to display the text.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a general term used to describe the method of improving the visibility of your website to people using search engines such as Google, Bing, MSN, DMOZ, Yahoo etc.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP is a term used to decribe the method of uploading files to a server.

IE (Internet Explorer)
Internet Explorer is the default browser for most Windows based PC's.

Javascript
One of the mostly widely used scripting languages on the internet. It can add a dynamic element to a website (pop up galleries for example)

Keywords
Keywords are used in the HTML of a website to assist search engines looking for relevant information relating to the content of your site. For example a web design company would have 'web design' as one of its keywords.

Link / Hyperlink
A link is used to point to another web page. You'll notice a link when you hover your cursor it changes from an arrow to a hand or the text itself changes in appearance.

Meta data
Meta data is a genareal term which includes 'Meta Tags', 'Meta Keywords' and 'Meta Description'. The Meta Data is used to describe the content of a webpage. This helps search engines to find and index your page.

Payment Gateway
A payment gateway is a tool to take payments via the web. Examples include; Paypal, Worldpay and Protx.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)
PHP is a scripting language used to build websitess which often have to communicate to servers. It allows users to interact more with the web pages like sending contact details or editing the content of a site.

Social Bookmarking
Social Bookmarking has become a popular online marketing tool. It's a method of saving a webpage for futre use or to share with other users online. Social bookmarking sites include; Facebook, DIGG, Twitter and StumbleUpon.

SPAM
Spam is unsolicited information or messages sent to email inboxes.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
W3C is an online organisation which sets the standards for the web.

Web Spider
A Web Spider is a programme which search for web pages and are used by search engines.

Zip
The method of 'zipping' a file or folder means to compress a file size to allow it to be easily sent through the internet.

 

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