Glossary of Terms

Search for specific terms with the Web hosting glossary by clicking the first letter of the word. Or, scroll down through the page for a general overview of Web hosting words and their meanings.

0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

0-9

301

When a page or Web site is permanently moved to a new URL, a 301 redirect is used as a method of telling Web browsers and search engines that the Web page or Web site has changed locations. Usually a 301 redirect includes the URL the resource has been moved to. Web browsers will typically follow 301 redirects to the new location automatically, without the need for the user to take action.

404

A 404 error page indicates the page cannot be found by the Web browser. Web developers can customize these pages by modifying the .htaccess file to give users more information.

A

Access

A user’s ability to get onto the Internet or other online service or network.

ActiveX

ActiveX is a brand name referring to a set of Microsoft's technologies and services based on COM (Component Object Model) widely released in 1997. Today, it refers generally to ActiveX controls. For a short time, it was used to brand Microsoft's entire COM object architecture.

Add-ons

Products or features designed to complement and work with an existing product.

Address

The URL of a Web site or other Internet facility that allows users access. See URL.

See banner ad.

Ad Space

"Advertising Space" is the space on a Web page reserved for advertisements. Oftentimes, it includes text and banner advertisements.

Alias

An alternate name used for identification, such as for naming a field, file, or domain.

Analytics

See Web analytics.

Anchor

A HTML format code that keeps a button, message or other interface control aligned to some part of the window. The starting or ending point to a hyperlink.

Animation

Moving graphics, diagrams or cartoons that are made up of a sequence of images displayed one after the other. Animations are created for entertainment, banners ads as well as instructional sequences and product demonstrations. The two most popular animation formats on the Web are animated GIFs and Flash.

Anonymous FTP

An FTP option that allows users to download files without establishing a user account or revealing their identity.

Antivirus Program

Software designed to search a system for known viruses; also known as a "virus scanner."

Apache

Considered the most widely used HTTP server on the Internet, Apache is an open source, Unix-based Web server developed by the Apache Software Foundation (www.apache.org).

API (Application Programming Interface)

An interface for that allows Web browsers or Web servers communicate with other programs.

Applet

An applet is a small application, such as a utility program or limited-function spreadsheet or word processor. Java programs that are run from a Web browser are always known as applets.

Archie

A software tool used to find files stored on anonymous FTP sites. It only works if you know the exact file name or a sub-string of it.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

Pronounced ask-ee, ASCII is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter assigned a number from 0 to 127.

ASF (Advanced Streaming Format)

A multimedia streaming format developed by Microsoft for Windows Media used to allow users to view dynamic content.

ASP (Active Server Pages)

ASP is a Microsoft-developed Web server technology that enables the user to create dynamic, interactive sessions with users.

ASP.NET

This free technology lets programmers create dynamic Web applications for all types of Web sites. ASP.NET is the latest version of Active Server Pages (ASP), but it is an entirely new technology not compatible with ASP.

ASP Hosting

Web hosting that supports Active Server Pages, a server-side scripting environment from Microsoft.

ASX (ASF Streaming Redirector)

A Microsoft Windows file format that is used to store information about ASF files.

Attachment

A file, such as a database, document, spreadsheet or graphic that is linked to an email message so that it is received by the receiver along with the email message.

Audio Streaming

See streaming audio.

Authentication

In computer security, authentication is the process of verifying a user’s digital identity. Passwords, digital certificates, smart cards and biometrics can be used for authentication.

Autoresponder

A mail utility that automatically sends a reply to an email message.

Availability

One of the six fundamental components of information security, the availability refers to the measurement of a system’s uptime.

AVI or .avi (Audio Video Interleaved)

A Microsoft Windows multimedia video format, AVI interleaves standard waveform audio and digital video frames (bitmaps) to provide reduced animation at 15 fps at 160x120x8 resolution. Audio is 11,025Hz, 8-bit samples.

B

Backbone

A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network.

Backup

Duplicate copies of data that is maintained on different storage media for emergency purposes.

Bandwidth

Also known as monthly data transfer in Web hosting, bandwidth refers to describe the amount of data that can be transferred to or from the Web site or server over a prescribed period of time.

Banner Ad

A graphic image used on Web sites to advertise a product or service. Banner ads come in numerous sizes. Some common sizes include: 460 x 60 pixels, 460 x 55 pixels and 392 x 72 pixels.

Baud

The number of symbols per second sent over a channel.

BBS (Bulletin Board System)

A Web-based public system where users can share discussions, files and announcements. These forums are often used for a particular interest group.

Binary

Binary code is comprised of two digits: 0 and 1 as well as the principle behind digital computers.

Bit (Binary Digit)

The smallest element of computer storage, a bit is a single digit in a binary number (0 or 1). A computer uses 8 bits to store one text character.

Bit rate

The transmission speed of binary coded data that is expressed in bits per second (bps).

BMP (Bitmap)

Also known as a "bump" file, it is the native, bitmapped graphics format in Microsoft Windows. A BMP can be saved in several color options: 1-, 4-, 8- and 24-bit color provide 2, 16, 256 and 16,000,000 colors respectively. BMP files use the .BMP or .DIB file extensions (DIB stands for Device-Independent Bitmap).

Bookmark

The practice of storing a Web site or page URL within a Web browser for easy retrieval.

Bot

A computer program that can perform a variety of automated tasks such as repeatedly posting a message to a forum.

BPS (Bits Per Second)

The measurement used to express the speed at which binary coded data is transmitted.

Browse

The act of moving from Web page to page using hyperlinks on a Web browser.

Browser

A program that lets you look through a collection of data on the Internet. See Web browser.

Browser Default Style Sheet

Each browser has a unique style sheet attached to it. When you view a Web page without a style sheet embedded in or attached to it, the browser applies its default styles to the page. Because no two browsers use the exact same style sheet, the Web page displays differently in each browser.

Business Hosting

Web hosting geared towards the mission-critical functions demanded by business-class customers.

Byte

A storage measurement that contains 8 bits and can store one text character.

C

C is a general-purpose, block structured computer programming language that was originally developed for use with the Unix operating system.

C# (C Sharp)

C# is an object-oriented computer programming language that is based on C++ with elements from Visual Basic and Java.

C+/++

C+ is an object-oriented version of C that has been widely used to develop enterprise-level and commercial applications.

Cache

Browser caches and Internet caches store copies of Web pages retrieved by the user for some period of time in order to speed up retrieval the next time the same page is requested.

Cascading

A Web page can contain one or all types of style sheets. When it contains more than one, the sheets are "cascaded" into a single style sheet with an established order of priority:

Inline style sheet (inside an HTML element)
Internal style sheet (inside the page's head tags)
External style sheets
Browser default style

Case Sensitive

When an application or program, etc. is set to distinguish between upper and lower case alphabetical characters.

Certificate

A digital ID used for Secure Server Licensing (SSL) transactions. Certificates include their owner's name, public key, the issuer, hostname, and the expiration date.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

A standard protocol that enables a Web server to pass requests from a client Web browser to a Web server.

CGI Bin

The folder (or directory) on a Web server that stores CGI programs.

Chat

An online, real-time, text-based communication between two or more users

Class selector

Applies the CSS rule to all elements that contain a tag including the specified class. To use this selector, you would add a class tag to the specific elements you want the rule to apply to.

Click

To select an object by pressing the mouse button when the cursor is pointing to the required menu option, icon or hypertext link.

Click and Drag

Using a pointing device, such as a mouse, to latch onto an icon on screen and move it to some other location on the screen. When the screen pointer is over the icon of the object, the mouse button is clicked to grab it. The button is held down while the object is moved ("dragged") to its destination. Then the mouse button is released.

Clickthrough Rate

The number of times visitors click on a hyperlink or banner ad on a page, as a percentage of the number of times the page has been displayed.

Client

A software application that allows users to access and interact with content on the Internet. See also Web browser.

Clustering

Clustering refers to two or more servers or computer systems that are linked together in order to handle variable workloads or to provide continued operation in the event one fails.

Codec (Compressor / Decompressor)

Software or hardware that compresses and decompresses audio and video data streams to reduce the size of digital audio samples and video frames in order to speed up transmission and save storage space.

ColdFusion

ColdFusion is a scripting language for Web designers that want wish to do advanced development and/or database interfacing. Cold Fusion supports MS Access, dBASE, FoxPro, and Paradox databases.

ColdFusion Hosting

Web hosting that supports the Cold Fusion scripting language.

Colocation

The practice of customers, who own their own Web server, using a Web hosting provider’s data center to house and maintain their servers.

Command-line Interface

A user interface to an application that accepts typed-in commands one line at a time.

Compression

A method of reducing the size of Web documents, files or graphics for faster transmission via the Web.

Content Management Systems (CMS)

A software system designed to allow multiple users to contribute and manage changing digital information. Content management systems are often used for storing, controlling, versioning, and publishing Web site content.

Control Panel

Included in most Web hosting packages, a control panel is an online Web-based application that allows customers to manage their accounts. Most control panels allow customers to upload files, add email accounts, change contact information, set up shopping carts or databases, view usage statistics, etc.

Cookie

A piece of data that is saved on a user’s computer by a Web browser. A cookie saves information about a user’s visit to a Web site and allows for a customized browsing experience during return visits to the site.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

The most important part of the computer, the CPU is the component within the computer capable of executing a program.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

A style sheet format for HTML documents endorsed by the World Wide Web Consortium for defining style (such as font, size, color, spacing, etc.) for Web documents.

Cyberspace

Cyberspace is currently used to describe the whole range of information resources available through computer networks.

D

Data Transfer

The total amount of outbound traffic from a Web site, typically measured in gigabytes (GB).

Database

A structured collection of records stored on a computer that allows users to easily retrieve and manipulate the data.

Dedicated Server

In a dedicated hosting environment, where the customer leases an entire server for their Web site. The customer has full control over the server, including hardware and which operating system to use, but the server administration is usually still provided by the hosting provider.

Default

A preset action or setting within computer software or hardware that is automatically used when the user doesn’t specify otherwise.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

Software that automatically assigns temporary IP addresses to client stations logging onto an IP network. It eliminates having to manually assign permanent "static" IP addresses. DHCP software runs in servers and routers.

DHTML (Dynamic HTML)

A combination of HTML enhancements, scripting language and interfaces that are used to deliver animation, interactions and dynamically update Web pages.

Dialup Connection

Dialup access is a way of connecting a computer to the Internet using a modem and a telephone line.

Diesel Generators

Diesel-powered generators are used by hosting companies as a back-up source to generate electricity in the event of a data center power outage.

Discussion Group

Using the Web or Usenet services on the Internet, users post messages that appear in chronological order or in question-answer order that can later be reviewed by the general public.

Disk Space

Refers to the amount of storage a Web site needs to display its pages, including dynamic content, graphics, video files, etc.

DNS Server

Domain Name Servers that match up a fully qualified domain name with a Web site’s numeric IP address.

Domain Name

Domain names are the word sequences users enter in their Web browser to visit Web sites. They are attached to a DNS, short for Domain Naming System, which is used to translate numeric addresses (known as IP, or Internet Protocol, addresses) into words.

Domain Name Parking

All domain names have to be stored on a server in order to be purchased. Most domain registration services will therefore temporarily place a newly purchased name on their servers until a hosting plan is purchased or the owner points the DNS to a different site. This is known as parking.

Download

To transfer a file from a remote computer or Web server to a local computer or Web client.

Downtime

Length of time a Web server is offline or unable to connect to the Internet.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)

Technology that provides digital data transmission over a local telephone network for an Internet connection.

Dynamic IP

An IP address that changes each time it connects to the Internet.

E

Ecommerce

Electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web.

Ecommerce Hosting

A hosting plan option that allows a merchant to establish an online store that allows visitors to order products or services from a Web site using a shopping cart system.

Element

In HTML, and element is everything contained within an opening and a closing tag plus the tags themselves.

Element selector

Applies the CSS rule to a specific HTML element. For instance, using h1 as the selector will assign the property and value to all content within the h1 tags throughout the document.

Email

Message transmissions over electronic communication systems.

Email Address

The address used for sending emails to a person or an organization. Typical format is username@hostname.

Email Forwarding

Automatically sends email messages from one email address to another.

Email Hosting

A Web hosting plan that allows users to send and store email using their own domain name.

Encryption

The process of transforming information so that it is unreadable to anyone who does not the knowledge or tools to decode it.

Ethernet

A family of frame-based computer networking technologies for local area networks (LAN). Ethernet will handle about 10,000,000 bits-per-second and can be used with almost any kind of computer.

External Style Sheet

This style sheet is saved as a separate file from Web pages. You can "link" it to every page on your entire Web site using a <link> tag in the head of each page. When you want to change the style for the entire site, you only need to update this one file.

Extranet

A Web site for that is only accessible to users who have the password to access it. It can provide access to research, current inventories and internal databases, virtually any information that is private and not published for everyone.

F

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

FAQs are documents that list and answer the most common questions on a particular subject.

Fiber Optic Cable

A glass or plastic fiber designed to guide light along its length.

File Manager

Software that manages data files.

Filename Extension

A filename extension is a suffix added to the name of a computer file that indicates its type. It is commonly used to infer information about what sort of data might be stored in the file.

Filtering

See Web filtering.

FireFox

An open-source Web browser based on the Unix platform and developed from the Mozilla project. The Firefox user interface is designed to be easily customizable by adding "extensions," such as a stock tracker, auto-fill and hundreds of others.

Firewall

Security software designed to protect Web servers. Firewalls are typically deployed to protect sites from hacker attacks and unauthorized access.

Flash

A popular piece of animation software developed by Macromedia.

Forms

See HTML form.

Frame

The part of a browser screen displaying particular content. Frames are often used to display content from different Web pages.

FrontPage

A “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) HTML editor and Web site administration tool developed by Microsoft.

FrontPage 2002 Extensions

Server-side programs that support Web site administration, security and tracking statistics.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

A way of transferring files (uploading and downloading) across the Internet. Most Web sites are uploaded to the Internet by means of an FTP program.

G

Gateway

A computer program for transferring (and reformatting) data between incompatible applications or networks.

GB (Gigabyte)

One billion bytes (technically 1,073,741,824 bytes).

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)

A compressed format for storing images developed by CompuServe. One of the most common image formats on the Internet.

GNU

A free operating system that includes all free software as well. It is similar to UNIX in its functioning.

GUI (Graphical User Interface)

A graphical method for controlling how a user interacts with a computer to perform various tasks. Instead of issuing commands at a prompt, the user performs desired tasks by using a mouse to choose from “a dashboard” of options presented on the display screen.

Graphics

The creation and manipulation of computer images.

Guestbook

A logging system that enables Web site visitors to leave a public comment for future site visitors to see.

H

Hexadecimal

A number and counting system based on 16. The digits are 0 through F. In computers, Hex numbers are derived from the binary numbers stored on disk and in RAM.

Hexadecimal color-notation system

A way of defining colors used on a Web site that uses red, green, blue (RGB) scheme and associates a two digit hexadecimal number with each base color (red, green and blue). See hexadecimal.

Hits

The number of times a program or item of data has been accessed or matches the condition of a search.

Home Page

The default page displayed when you visit a Web site.

Host

See Web Host.

Hosting

Provided by Web hosting providers, hosting allows individuals, organizations and businesses to make their Web sites available on the World Wide Web.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

Hyper Text Markup Language is the language by which Web servers and client browsers communicate. All server-side functions (such as database processing), although they may be performed in another language, must eventually be output back to the user in HTML.

HTML Document

A document written in HTML.

HTML Editor

Software that allows a user to make changes and add elements to HTML pages in the same way they would using a word processing program. An HTML editor will display the page being edited exactly the same way it will be displayed on the Web.

HTML Form

An online form that passes user input back to the server.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

Stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol, the protocol by which HTML files move across the Internet. HTTP requires a client browser and an HTTP server (typically a Web server).

HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure)

The HyperText Transport Protocol (Secure), the standard encrypted communication mechanism on the World Wide Web. This is actually just HTTP over SSL.

Hub

A hub is a network device that is used for connecting computers on a Local Area Network (LAN). It forwards all the packets it receives to all of its ports.

Hyperlink

Words or graphics on a Web page that connect to another Web page or a different part of the same page. A hyperlink is also referred to as a link.

Hypertext

Text on the Web page that is linked to another Web page or a different part of the same page.

I

ICANN

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a global non-profit corporation formed to oversee a select range of Internet technical management functions currently managed by the U.S. Government, or by its contractors and volunteers. Between now and September 2000. ICANN is gradually taking over responsibility for coordinating the assignment of protocol parameters, the management of the domain name and root server systems, and the allocation of IP address space.

Id Selector

Used when you want to style just one tag, an id selector applies to the element on the page containing an id tag. Only one element can have a particular id tag, for example, <div id="footer">.

IE (Internet Explorer)

The most commonly used Web browser that was developed by Microsoft and is included with all copies of Microsoft Windows software since 1998.

Image Map

An image displayed on the Web page that has different areas that are hyperlinks. By clicking on different parts of the image browser redirects to another page, or can display a modified version of the current page.

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)

A method allowing a client email program to access remote messages stored on a mail server. The protocol includes operations for creating, deleting, and renaming mailboxes, checking for new messages, message parsing, searching, and setting and clearing flags. IMAP was originally developed in 1986 at Stanford.

Inline style sheet

An inline style sheet appears within a single HTML element and applies only to that element. Because inline style sheets are specific to a single item on the page, they eliminate most of the benefits of using CSS and should be used sparingly if at all.

Internal style sheet

An internal style sheet appears between the <head> </head> tags of a Web page and controls the style of the page on which it appears.

Internet

The word Internet refers to all the computer networks worldwide that are connected together. TCP/IP is the de facto standard protocol set for the Internet.

Intranet

A vast internal network structured in a fashion similar to the Internet. Intranets are usually established by large corporate organizations to improve communication. The main difference between the Internet and an intranet is that access to intranets is restricted to authorized members only.

IP (Internet Protocol)

The network layer protocol in the TCP/IP communications protocol suite. The terms "IP network" and "TCP/IP network" are synonymous.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)

The address of a device attached to an IP network (TCP/IP network). Every client, server and network device must have a unique IP address for each network connection (network interface). Every IP packet contains a source IP address and a destination IP address.

IP Number (Internet Protocol Number)

See IP address.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat)

An Internet system that enables users to take part in online discussions.

IRC Client

A computer program that enables users to connect online chat programs.

IRC Server

An Internet server dedicated to the Internet chat connections.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)

The ISDN is an international standard that governs the transmission of voice and data that uses digital circuits and has a speed of 64Kbps.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)

A company that provides its subscribers with Internet access.

J

Java

Sun Microsystem's popular platform-independent programming language. It is an object-oriented language that can be used to write applets that run in a browser, servlets that run server-side, or independent programs.

Java class files

The file or set of files that contain the code for a Java applet.

JavaScript

A simple client-side programming language created that can be embedded in HTML pages to create interactive effects and do tasks like validate form data. JavaScript is a separate language from Java.

Java Servlet

Servlets are programs written in Java that run on a Web server and can produce dynamic pages. Also see Java Server Pages.

JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or JPG

The JPEG is a popular format used for compressing the size of still images. JPEGs are saved on a sliding resolution scale based on the quality desired.

Jscript

Jscript is Microsoft’s version of the JavaScript programming language that is similar to JavaScript but has extensions that are specifically developed for the Microsoft Windows environment.

JSP (Java Server Pages)

JSP allows Web pages to be generated dynamically using a combination of XML tags and Java Servlets.

K

KBPS (Kilobits Per Second)

A measurement of the transmission speed of data measured in 1,024 bits per second.

Keyword

A word used to search for relevant Web information that a user has typed into a search engine.

Kb (Kilobyte)

A kilobyte is a measurement of 1024 bytes and often called 1K, and rounded to 1000 bytes.

L

LAN (Local Area Network)

A network between computers in a local area (like inside a building), usually connected via local cables. See also WAN.

Link

See hyperlink.

Linux

A free UNIX-like operating system developed by Linus Torvalds.

Load Balancing

Load balancing refers to the distribution of data across a network of servers in order to prevent a single Web server from being overloaded and crashing.

Log File

Files maintained on a server that provide data about all files accessed on a Web site.

Login

Often a sequence of alphabetical characters and numerical digits, a login is an alias for a user that is used for identification and authentication.

Lossless

A compression scheme is loseless when decompressed files are exactly the same as the original files prior to compression.

Lossy

A lossy compression allows for the quality of the compressed data to be diminished after decompression in order to make the compressed file smaller in size. It is suitable for audio, video and image compression.

M

Mail

See email.

Mailing List

A list of user email addresses that allows fast transmission of email messages to an entire group. Mailing lists are often subscribed to by users wishing to receive email from the list provider.

Mailserver

The Internet host server that is used to send, receive and forward email messages.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting involves a dedicated server along with by a full suite of technical support, maintenance and monitoring services provided by the Web host.

Margin

A margin is the distance between an element and any adjacent element on a page.

MB (Megabyte)

1MB = 1024 KiloBytes = 1048576 bytes.

Mbps (MegaBytes per second)

One million bytes or one million bits per second depending on whether the B is upper case or lower case.

Meta Data

Meta data is the descriptive data that is contained in Meta tags.

Meta Tags

Meta tags refer to code that users cannot see but is used by search engines to determine the topic of a Web page.

MHz (MegaHertz)

1.000.000 Hertz

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Access is a popular database creation and maintenance software, which is most widely used among developers who maintain online databases with Windows NT servers.

Microsoft Index Server

A full text Web site search solution that automatically detects and indexes your files.

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft’s relational database management system (DBMS), Microsoft SQL Server is designed specifically for high-end client/server databases and is closely integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio and the Microsoft Office System.

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

And older file type for online music that has been described as sounding like music in a tin can.

MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions)

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions are a standard system for identifying the type of data contained in a file based on its extension. MIME is an Internet protocol that allows users to send binary files across the Internet as attachments to email messages. This includes graphics, photos, sound and video files and formatted text documents.

Mirror Site

A mirror site is an exact copy of another FTP or Web site. Mirror sites are often used to spread the site traffic load on busy Web sites.

Modem (MOdulator-DEModulator)

A device used to transform digital data sent by a computer to analog format suitable for transmission over a telephone line. It also transforms analog signals back to the digital form. A modem is required for the dial-up connection to the Internet.

MOV (.mov)

File name extension for files with video sequences that can be read by a QuickTime player.

Mozilla

The original name for the Netscape Navigator Web browser, which is believed to be a hybrid of the words "Mosaic" and "Godzilla."

MP3

MP3 are an extremely popular lossy audio compression format.

MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group)

An ISO/ITU standard for compressing digital video that is the universal standard for digital terrestrial, cable and satellite TV, DVDs and digital video recorders (DVRs).

Multimedia

A presentation combining text with pictures, video and/or sound.

MySQL

Database software that is available in the open source format.

N

Nameserver

A server responsible for translating domain names and IP addresses.

Navigate

See browse.

Network

A group of electronic devices connected together that is able to communicate with each other.

Newsgroup

A virtual Internet place where people exchange text messages on various topics.

NOC (Network Operations Center)

The NOC is usually where most administration, technical support and physical server storage takes place at a Web hosting provider.

Node

On a local area network, a node is a device that is connected to the network and is capable of communicating with other network devices.

O

Opera

A Web browser developed by Opera Software in Norway, Opera was the first browser to offer a host of unique features such as enlarging text and graphic elements on the page and displaying multiple windows with only one instance of the program running.

Offline

The state of the computer when it is not connected to the network (i.e. it is not online).

Online

The state of a computer when it is connected to the network and can communicate with other networked machines.

Open Source

Refers to software that is distributed with its source code so that end users and vendors can modify the code and use it for their own purposes. Most open source licenses allow the software to be redistributed without restriction under the same terms of the license.

Optimization

The process of modifying a computer system to make some aspect of it work more efficiently or use fewer resources.

OS (Operating System)

A set of programs that manage the hardware resources of a computer, provide the environment for application programs to run and provide the user interface.

P

Padding

Padding is the distance between the edge of an element and the content (text, image) within that element.

Page

In the context of the Web, a page refers to a single HTML document.

Page Hits

See page views.

Page Impressions

See page views.

Page Not Found

See 404.

Page Views

When discussing Web site statistics, page views are the number of times a page on a Web site is viewed.

Parked Page

A generic Web page that is associated with a domain name prior to the Web site residing to the domain name.

Password

A secret word or code used to serve as a security measure against unauthorized access to data.

PDF (Portable Document Format)

A document file format developed by Adobe. Most often used for text documents.

Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language)

A program language that combines syntax from several Unix utilities and languages, Perl can handle a variety of system administrator functions.

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor)

A scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages, PHP is commonly used to extract data from a database and present it on the Web page.

phpMyAdmin

This database administration tool, written in PHP, can create and drop databases, tables and fields in a MySQL database; execute SQL statements and manage keys on fields over the Web.

Ping

A method used to check the communication between two computers. A "ping" is sent to a remote computer to see if it responds.

Plug-in

An add-on piece of software that can extend the features of an existing application.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

A format for encoding pictures pixel by pixel for Web transmission.

POP (Post Office Protocol)

A standard communication protocol for retrieving emails from an email server.

Pop-up

Usually a java script built into a Web page that triggers a new window to open in front of the current window.

Port

A number that identifies a computer input/output channel used by an Internet application.

PPP (Point to Point Protocol)

A network protocol widely used to connect computers to the Internet. Most often used on a telephone line.

Propagation

The process where name servers throughout the Internet add new domains and remove expired ones from their records.

Property

A property is the attribute of an HTML element that you can change. You can define more than one property in a single CSS rule by separating them with a semicolon. Properties can deal with typography or layout.

Protocol

The format and procedure that governs data transmission and receipt.

Q

Query

A request to retrieve data from a database or search engine by search term.

QuickTime

Developed by Apple Computer, QuickTime is downloadable tool that allows users to store and view digital audio and video files.

R

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)

A method of data protection and backup where data is stored over a number of servers so that information will still be accessible if a piece of hardware/software crashes.

Raw Logs

Raw logs show detailed data of a visitors activity on a Web site, such as IP, date and time of the access, what kind of request was done, which document was requested, HTTP status code, bytes transferred, referrer, and user agent information.

RDF (Resource Description Framework)

A recommendation from the W3C for creating meta-data structures that is designed to provide a method for data classification on Web sites in order to improve searching and navigation.

Realtime Audio

Voice or music files that are transmitted without delay on the receiving side.

Realtime Video

The transmission of live video without delay at the receiving side.

Real Audio

A common multimedia audio format created by Real Networks.

Real Video

A common multimedia video format created by Real Networks.

Redemption Period

A period of time after a domain name registration has expired where the previous owner can bring the registration current by paying applicable fees to the registrar.

Redirect

When a Webpage is coded to automatically forward the user to another Web page.

Referrer

The URL of the Web page, banner ad, or search engine that led the visitor to the Web site landed on.

Registrar

Registrars process domain name registrations for Internet end-users and send the necessary DNS information to a Registry for entry into the centralized Registry database and ultimate propagation over the Internet.

Registry

An Internet domain name registry is an entity that receives domain name service (DNS) information from domain name registrars, inserts that information into a centralized database and propagates the information in Internet zone files on the Internet so that domain names can be found by users around the world.

Renewal

The process of keeping a domain name registration current.

Resellers

Resellers are smaller businesses that sell larger company’s products to their own set of customers and share the revenue by a predetermined percentage.

Resolution

The degree of sharpness in detail visible on a printed image or computer monitor.

RGB (Red Green Blue)

Used to determine colors on Web sites, RGB is the combination of the three primary colors that can represent a full color spectrum.

Robot

See Web robot.

Router

A network device that is used to connect two or more networks together and transmit packets between them.

Rule

A rule tells the browser how to render a particular element in the HTML document.

S

Scalability

The ability to expand, evolve and grow as necessary.

Script

A collection of statements written in a scripting language.

Scripting Language

A programming language that causes a series of commands to be interpreted and executed one by one.

Search Engine

An Internet service that stores a vast number of Web pages and allows for fast searching among them. Also, a piece of software that implements a Web site’s search functionality.

Search Form

An online form that specifies a query to a Web pages’ database.

Secure Web Site

Any Web site that uses encrypted transmissions and takes other appropriate measures to ensure the protection of visitor inputted sensitive information.

Self-Extracting Archive

An archived file that can execute a program when it is decompressed.

Selector

Specifies which HTML tag(s) a rule applies to.

Sendmail

A mail transfer agent (MTA) used by Red Hat Linux to deliver email messages. This system is popular with administrators for its power, scalability and compliance with standards such as SMTP.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

A form of online marketing, search engine optimization (or search engine marketing) is the process of making a site and its content highly relevant for both search engines and searchers. Successful search marketing helps a site gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases.

Server

Computer, or software package, that provides a specific kind of service to client software running on other computers. The term can refer to a particular piece of software, such as a WWW or HTTP server, or to the machine on which the software is running.

Service Provider

A company that provides access to the Internet, usually for a fee. See ISP.

Session

All the data exchange between two parties, starting when the connection is established and ending when connection terminates.

Setup Fee

A fee paid by a hosting client to at the beginning of a new hosting contract.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting involves numerous Web sites sharing the space of one server. Shared Web servers are a way of providing low-cost Web hosting services.

Shared IP

An IP address shared by multiple Web sites.

Shareware

Software that you can try free of charge, and pay a fee to continue to use legally.

Shell Account

A shell account is a personal account that gives a user access to a Unix shell on another machine, allowing the user to log into and run commands on a remote server.

Shockwave

A technology that enables Web pages to include multimedia objects such as audio, animation and video.

Shopping Cart

A program designed to handle the ecommerce section of a Web site. Shopping cart software lets users browse for and purchase products online.

SHTTP (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

A version of HTTP protocol that uses encryption to assure that the traffic between the server and the browser is not accessible to the public.

Signature

A few lines of text that are automatically attached at the end of an email message by the email client.

Smiley

Characters used in text-only communications to convey emotions. Example :) :-) ;-) :O :(

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

SMTP is a protocol used by email servers to exchange messages with each other.

Snail Mail

Traditional paper mail that must be stamped and delivered by the Post Office.

Sniffer

A program that captures data across a computer network that audits and identifies network traffic packets.

SoftArtisians FileUp

FileUp is a file transfer product that overcomes the built-in file size limits of ASP.NET and allows you to upload very large files.

Spam

Unsolicited and undesired bulk email messages.

Spider

See Web spider.

Spyware

Computer software hidden in a computer with the purpose of collecting information about how the computer is used.

SQL (Structured Query Language)

A standard protocol used to request information from databases. Servers which can handle SQL are known as SQL servers or SQL database enabled.

SQL Server

A database system from Microsoft that is often used on high traffic Web sites running on the Windows platform.

SSI (Server Side Include)

A type of HTML comment inserted into a Web page to instruct the Web server to generate dynamic content.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer)

Software that secures and protects Web site communication using encrypted data transmission.

Static IP (address)

An IP address that is the same each time it connects to the Internet.

Statistics

Numbers and data about a Web site that can include who visits, what pages are most popular, where they are coming from, which browsers are being used and more.

Streaming

Playing multimedia files (audio and video) without the files being completely downloaded.

Streaming Audio

A one-way audio transmission over a data network, streaming audio is widely to deliver audio-on-demand or an audio broadcast. Streaming audio is played within a few seconds of requesting it, and the data is not stored permanently in the computer.

Streaming Video

A one-way video transmission over a data network, streaming video is widely used to deliver video-on-demand or a video broadcast. Streaming video is played within a few seconds of requesting it, and the data is not stored permanently in the computer.

Style Sheet

A style sheet is a section of code that describes how content on a Web page will display. It controls presentation elements such as font families, colors, spacing, margins and more.

Subdomain

Typically known as a "domain within a domain", subdomains are individual Web addresses built upon a pre-existing domain name (such as clientname.yourhostingcompany.com).

Support

Sometimes called tech support, support provides customers with help for the products or servers they have purchased.

Surfing

A slang term for exploring the Internet, or accessing different Web sites on the World Wide Web.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)

A W3C recommended language for defining graphics in XML.

Switch

A switch is a network device that forwards packets only to the necessary ports.

T

T1

A phone or data connection that can support the transfer of up to 1.544Mbits of data per second, T1 connections are popular among businesses and ISPs.

T3

Dedicated telecommunications lines providing 44 Mbps of bandwidth, T3 lines are often used by ISPs to connect to the Internet backbone.

Tag

Notifications or commands written into a Web document.

Tape Backup

A popular and inexpensive way to backup and store Web sites that uses hardware that looks similar to a cassette.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)

TCP is an important network protocol that allows two hosts to connect and exchange data, and ensures that "data packets" are delivered exactly as sent.

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol)

This protocol suite is the de facto standard for the today's Internet. TCP is a higher level protocol that runs on top of the IP protocol.

Telnet

A character-based protocol for connecting with remote systems telnet is being replaced by much more secure SSH access.

Terabyte

TB equals 1,000 Gigabytes or 1 million Megabytes or 1 billion kilobytes.

Terminal

An input/output device for a computer system.

Title Tag

HTML tag used to define the text in the top line of a Web browser, also used by many search engines as the title of search listings.

TLD (Top Level Domain)

A Top Level Domain (TLD) is the uppermost in the hierarchy of domain names. The most common TLDs include .COM, .NET, .ORG and .EDU.

Traffic

Data packets ransmitted over a network.

Trouble Ticket

A computerized system of reporting a specific problem or requesting help from a Web hosting providers’ technical support staff.

U

Unicode

A 16 bit ISO 10646 character set that accommodates more characters than ASCII, which allows for easier internationalization.

Unique IP Address

A unique IP address provides a one-to-one relationship between a domain name (www.yourname.com) and an IP address.

Unique Visitor

An actual visitor to a Web site with a unique IP address.

Unix

A text-based, multitasking operating system used for Web and network administration, Unix has spawned numerous popular spin-offs, including Linux and FreeBSD.

UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)

UPS keeps a server running on a battery for several minutes after a power outage, allowing for a clean shutdown without loss of data. UPS can also shield the server from line voltage spikes and drops.

Uptime

The amount of time within a specific period that a hosting provider's system is active or available for servicing site visitors.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

An URL is address on the Web, which consists of the type of service the Web host name and the file type.

USENET

A network of thousands of discussion groups on the Internet.

V

Value

A value is the style that you want to apply to an element.

VB (Visual Basic)

A version of the BASIC programming language from Microsoft specialized for developing Windows applications.

VBScript

Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition is an interpreted scripting language for creating scripts that can be embedded in HTML pages or for creating ActiveX Controls. VBScript is used as the Microsoft alternative to JavaScript.

Viewer

A stand-alone application used to display files of different formats.

Virtual Host

A shared hosting solution, where numerous Web sites are shared on one server but each has its own domain.

Virtualization

A process/software designed to reduce server management costs through automation, while providing more control over service levels.

Virus

A virus is a malicious program written to cause errors and harm to computers and/or networks.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A virtual private network is a method of accessing a private network securely, using public communication lines and networks.

VPS (Virtual Private Server)

A virtual private server provides the features of a dedicated server on a machine that is shared by other Web hosting customers. Customers therefore get hosting services that are similar to that of dedicated Web hosting without sacrificing privacy or performance.

W

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)

An international consortium of companies involved with the Internet and the World Wide Web. The W3C was founded in 1994 by Tim Berners-Lee, the original architect of the World Wide Web. The organization's purpose is to develop open standards so that the Web evolves in a single direction rather than being splintered among competing factions. The W3C is the chief standards body for HTTP and HTML.

WAN (Wide Area Network)

A physical or logical network that provides capabilities for a number of independent devices to communicate with each other over a common transmission-interconnected topology in geographic areas larger than those served by local area networks.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)

A leading standard for information services on wireless terminals like digital mobile phones.

WAV

Created by Microsoft, a WAV file is an audio file format, for everything from system and game sounds to CD-quality audio. A WAV file is identified by a file name extension of WAV (.wav).

Web Analytics

The analysis and reporting of Web site traffic.

Web Browser

A software program used to display Web pages on the Internet.

Web Filtering

A Web filter can be set to block access to unwanted Internet content.

Web Host

A Web server that "hosts" Web services like providing Web site space to companies or individuals.

Web Hosting

Web hosing is the business of providing the storage, connectivity, and services necessary to serve files for a Web site.

Web Robot

See Web spiders.

Web Site

A Web site is a collection of Web pages, which are documents coded in HTML that are linked to each other and very often to pages on other Web sites. A Web site is hosted on a server by its owner or at an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Web Spiders

A computer program that searches the Internet for Web pages, Web spiders are also called Web robots or wanderers.

Webmail

Email that can be accessed via a Web browser.

Webmaster

A person responsible for the maintenance and implementation of a Web site.

Whois Databases

Central domain name registration databases, which tracks all domain name/IP registrations in the world and serve as a directory for domain name owners’ contact information.

Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows 95/98, Windows XP

Computer operating systems from Microsoft.

Windows Media

Microsoft's audio and video framework for Windows, Windows Media can be used for playback, encoding and streaming.

WinZip

A computer program for compressing and decompressing files for easier transmission.

WMA

Windows Media Audio is Microsoft’s audio file format for the Internet.

WMV

Windows Media Video is Microsoft’s video file format for the Internet.

Worm

A computer virus that can make copies of itself and spread to other computers over the Internet.

WWW (World Wide Web)

The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. A Web browser is needed to use the Web.

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

A user interface where "What You See Is What You Get", as opposed to interfaces that use obscure commands which do not result in immediate visual feedback.

Y

Home
Web Resources
Glossary