Glossary of Terms

In this glossary of terms we will explain the common terms that you will encounter during the development and running of your website.

HTML

HTML is the acronym for Hypertext Mark-up Language. HTML code is the language that is read by your web browser (internet explorer, Google chrome, etc) and is used to display the website to visitors. Other web languages such as JavaScript or CSS can also be integrated into this base code, this is commonly known as XHTML.

CSS

CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are used to organise the content of a website making it easier for search engines to read, this aiding with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). During development CSS is often used to separate the code generating the appearance of the site (fonts, backgrounds, etc) from the content (meaning the text and images that may be frequently edited). This method also allows for quick changes to the structure of the website which can then be filtered down into all the pages that use a particular layout without the need to amend multiple pages.

Pages

The term page describes the different unique areas within the website, for example the home page, portfolio page, contact page, etc. Each page contains different information which can be navigated using links placed throughout the website pages such as in menu bars.

Links

Links (also known as hyperlinks) are simply pointers that point to a particular location (e.g. the portfolio page, contact page etc) that when clicked will navigate you through to the new page. Links can be internal (leading to other sections of the same website) or external (leading to another website that could be associated with your own).

Hosting

Web hosting refers to the process of storing your websites base code in a way that makes the website it relates to visible on the internet. The base files are stored on a server with will then process these base instructions so that when someone enters the domain name of your website it will be displayed. Websites can be hosted on either private (for larger websites with background databases such as ecommerce sites) or shared servers (for smaller, more basic websites). The hosting location can affect both the speed of the website and the amount of down time (when your site can become temporarily unavailable for a variety of reasons) that your site may experience. Most hosting services also maintain the email relating to a website allowing for email addresses related to your site (e.g. info@yourdomain.com).

Domain name

A domain name is the address that users can type into their web browser to view your website (e.g. typing www.aukweb.co.uk into internet explorer would bring you to our homepage). The Domain Name Server will then translate this address into an IP address which will then point to the location that your website is stored in. A single website can have several domain names linked to it which can help increase network traffic to your website. A wide variety of domain name extensions are available with .org, .net, .com and .co.uk being the most commonly used in the UK/US. Domains are not brought but simply leased for a set period depending on the type of domain and the options that are supported.

Domain Registrar

The Domain Registrar refers to a company authorised to sell leases for domain names. Some examples of this would be www.123-reg.co.uk or www.lcn.com.

Ecommerce

Ecommerce refers to online trading and selling. This could include renewing your car insurance online or buying books and DVDs. These websites are often referred to as online stores. These sites are often quite large sites with a database structure in the background. These sites also often use payment gateways such as PayPal to process online transactions.

SSL Certificate

A Secure Socket Layer Certificate (SSL) is a virtual certificate that allows information entered into a website by a user (such as credit card details) to be securely encrypted before being set across the internet to be processed. These certificates are assigned to a domain or hosting account and are often associated with ecommerce sites to allow customers to make payments securely online.

Webmail

Webmail is a service that allows a user to check their emails be logging onto an online version of their email account, allowing them to access their emails regardless of their location. Although webmail does not provide the full functionality of an email program such as outlook it does provide an ideal secondary access point for a users emails.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is measure for the speed (amount of data) you can send through an Internet connection. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the connection will be.

Cache

The cache is a web browser or web server feature which stores copies of visited web pages on a computer's hard disk; this allows the site to be viewed offline in a limited manner if an internet connection is not present.

Cookie

A cookie is information from a web server and stored on your computer by your web browser. The purpose of a cookie is to provide information about your visit to the website for use by the server during a later visit (e.g. saving passwords or addresses to allow for automatic login or to quickly fill out web forms).

Home Page

The home page is the default page that is displayed when you visit a website.

IP Address (Internet Protocol Address)

The IP Address is a unique number identifying every computer on the Internet (like 197.123.22.240), this number can be fixed (the number never changes) or roaming (the number changes every time the computer connects to the internet) depending on the computers use.

ISP (Internet Service Provider)

The ISP is the company that provides access to the Internet and web hosting such as Virgin Media or Sky.

Keyword

Search engines use keywords to evaluate the relevance of a website in comparison to the search that a user is making. Keywords are another element in Search Engine Optimisation that helps ensure your website shows up in a good position during internet searches.