Glossary - Internet & Web Terminology

Access Provider: A company that sells Internet connections. Known as Internet Access or Service Providers (IAPs or ISPs).

Attachment: File included with email, i.e. text, image.

Autoresponder: An automatic e-mail message in response to an incoming e-mail message.

BBS: Bulletin Board System. Members can access online and leave messages, send email and trade files with other members. The SitePoint Community Forum for webmasters is one example.

Browser: Programs such as Netscape or Internet Explorer that allows you to download and display web documents.

Cache: Temporary storage space. Browsers can store copies of the most recently visited web pages in the cache.

Chat room: A web site incorporating interactive elements which allow visitors to interact & "talk" with each other in real-time.

Cyberspace: Term coined by science fiction writer William Gibson, referring to the virtual world that exists within the blending of computers, telecommunication networks and the digital media.

Dial-up access: Accessing the Internet or making other computer connections over telephone lines.

Domain: A domain is a web site with its own unique domain name that specifies details about the host, such as its location and what entity, i.e. (.com), (.net), (.edu), (.org)

Download: Retrieve a file from a host computer. Upload means to send one the other way.

Downtime: A period during which Internet connectivity cannot be established with a server (or with any web site hosted on the server) - when you just can't view a page!

E-mail: "Electronic mail" consisting of messages sent and/or received electronically on the net.

E-mail address: An online location where e-mail messages are stored on a server until they are picked up by the recipient. An e-mail address consists of a "userid" and a domain name separated by the "@" sign. Example: YourName@DomainName.com.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A standard method to transfer files from one computer to another.

Freeware: Free software, often available in downloadable files over the Internet.

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GIF (Graphic Interchange Format): A compressed graphic format for images.

Graphic: An image on a web page.

Hit counter: A script that records the number of times a web page or file is accessed.

Home page: The main page or main menu of a web site. The most common point of entry into any web site.

HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language): The language used to create web documents.

HyperText links: The 'clickable' links or 'hotspots' that connect pages on the web to each other or to other web sites.

Internet: A global network that makes it possible for computers to communicate with other computers.

IP number: (Internet Protocol) A unique number that identifies a domain.

ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company that provides access to the Internet.

JPEG ("jay-peg"): Compressed format for an image file.

Keyword: A word used in search engines and directories to define search parameters.

META tags: Hidden commands inserted into the HTML code on a web page. Examples include META keyword tags, META description tags, and META title tags.

Modem: A device that connects a computer to a phone line and allows computers to communicate.

Netiquette: Internet rules of etiquette. Find some interesting guidelines at NetLingo

Protocol: An agreed way for two networks devices to talk to one another.

Reciprocal linking: A common online marketing & promotional technique involving the exchange of links between multiple web sites.

Registrar: Until recently, Network Solutions had a monopoly on domain name registration. Now, however, the process has been opened up to competition resulting in reduced prices.

Search engine: A database of web pages. Most search engines use indexing software (spiders or robots) to explore the web, "crawling" from link to link and indexing web pages as they go.

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Server: A computer capable of hosting web sites and domains, and of performing complex tasks for other computers, called "clients."

Shareware: Free software for which some form of voluntary payment -- not necessarily in the form of money -- is usually requested.

Signature file: A file added to the end of outgoing e-mail messages that contains the sender's contact information.

Site map: A web page that provides links to other areas on a web site. Site maps are usually used to facilitate navigating a web site.

Snail mail: Printed matter sent via the U.S. Postal Service.

Spam: Unsolicited or inappropriate posting the same message to newsgroups or email addresses.

Spider (or web crawler): A "robot" used by some search engines to "spider" a web site (to "crawl" from link to link until it has accessed and indexed all or most of the pages on the site).

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) The protocols that drive the Internet.

Traffic: Usually refers to the number of visitors to a web page.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The unique Internet address assigned to every web page.

User-ID: A unique name given to a user on a system. An example of a userid is the first part of an e-mail address, which distinguishes the user from all other users on the system.

Warez: Software, usually pirated.

Web Authoring: Designing and publishing web pages using HTML.

Web page: A document on the Internet with a unique URL (Internet address).

WebRing: Consists of a "ring" of member sites about a specific subject. Each member site displays a logo on the bottom of its main page that provides a link to the next member site in the ring.

Web site (or website): A little piece of cyberspace consisting of one or more web pages.

Web site host: A server that hosts web sites and/or domains such as NetFirms or XXXXXXXX

World Wide Web (or WWW): An Internet application based on hypertext which allows users to move from one document to another via links.

WYSIWYG: 'What you see is what you get' often refers to a type of web page editing program.

Zip: PC file compression format that creates files with the extension .zip using a WinZip type of software. Reduces the file size for transfer or storage.

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