Jargon explained...
- What is a domain name?
- What is hosting?
- What is a server?
- What is an ISP?
- What is a browser?
- What is HTML?
- What is XHTML?
- What is JavaScript?
- What is CSS?
- What is Flash
- What is a search engine?
- What is a directory?
- What is a website?
- What is a SEO?
- What is a URL?
- What are keywords?
- What are metatags?
- What is FTP?
- What is a link?
- What is an anchor link?
- What is an external link?
- What is bandwidth?
- What is uploading?
- What is downloading?
- What is email?
- What is a favicon?
Is there something that I have missed? If you have come across any jargon on my website that you don't understand, please contact me so that I can add it to the list!
What is a domain name?
A unique name that is used to identify an internet site. Domain
names are usually rented for a period of 2 years. Whilst you are
renting your domain name, no one else can use it and you own all of the
email addresses at that domain name.
You are given the option of renewing the name or letting it expire. If it expires, anyone can then rent that name.
A domain name allows someone who types your address into their browser address bar to view the pages and files within your website.
What is hosting?
A host is a computer that is always connected to the internet. A
hosting company will allow you to use their hard drives to "host" your website and emails.
What is a server?
The computers that hold web pages are called servers. They are a
permanent part of the internet. They serve up web resources to web browsers.
What is an ISP?
An Internet Service Provider is a company which allows you to use their
servers to access the internet via a telephone line or cable. They usually provide other services such as email.
What is a browser?
A computer software programme that you can view the different places on the
web with. A browser will look at the HTML tags on a site and
translate it into what you see on the screen. Your browser asks the
server of the address you're trying to reach to send the information that you
requested. The server then sends the information back to you and
you see it on your browser.
There are several browsers to choose from. Chances are you are using a browser called Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox or Safari which used to be just for Apple Mac, but is now available for Windows too. It doesn't matter which one you use as long as you are happy with it.
New Moon Web Designs checks its websites in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari to make sure they function correctly in each one.
What is HTML?
Hyper Text Markup Language is the basic language used in web pages.
It is designed to run in different browsers and different computers. It is a list of instructions
that tell the browser how to render the page i.e., text size and colour, where to place graphics etc.
HTML is the most widely used language for web pages.
What is XHTML?
Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language is aimed to replace HTML. It is a stricter, cleaner version of HTML and will
eventually replace HTML as the language used in web pages.
What is Javascript?
It is a script language developed by Netscape - a system of programming codes that can be embedded into the HTML of a web page. Javascript
should not be confused with Java.
What is CSS?
Cascading Style Sheets are the language used to describe how a HTML document should be formatted.
What is Flash?
Flash movies use a file format called Shockwave. Instruction embedded within a HTML page load the shockwave file which then runs in your browser.
A flash movie can manipulate text and graphics and produce fantastic animations.
What is a search engine?
This is a website that allows users to search for websites. They use robot programs, often called spiders, to index websites.
Google and
Bing
are two popular search engines.
What is a directory?
A directory is similar to a search engine except that they use human editors to index the pages.
Yahoo and
Dmoz are two directories.
What is a website?
A group of pages or files that are linked together with a navigation system and are available for viewing on the internet.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation describes methods used to make pages attractive to search engines and benefit from high listings.
What is a URL?
A Uniform Resource Locator is often called an internet address, e.g., www.mysite.co.uk
What are keywords?
Words that you type into a search engine or directory to help you find a site. Keywords are important as they help your site be listed in
search engines.
What are Metatags?
They are HTML tags that are written into the head section of a HTML page
and convey different kinds of information, but they don't actually show on
the page as text. Your keywords are set in the meta tags and they are
used by search engines to index your site.
What is FTP?
File Transfer Protocol allows files, documents and images to be transferred
from one computer to another. FTP is used to upload pages to the
server so that they can be seen on the internet.
What is a link?
A clickable element on your page which will direct the user to another page on your site.
What is an anchor link?
This link will send the person who clicks on it to an exact point on the page, as opposed to
just another page within your site.
What is an external link?
A link which directs to a page that is not on your website.
What is bandwidth?
The amount of information that can be transferred from the server to your browser.
What is uploading?
The transferring of files from a local computer to a server.
What is downloading?
The transferring of files from a remote computer to your own computer
What is email?
Short for electronic mail. Mail that is composed and transmitted on a computer system or network.
What is a favicon?
Short for "favourites icon", also known as a page icon. It is the little graphic that shows in the address bar and in your favourites/bookmarks folder next
to the website name.
