This Internet Glossary has been designed to help you more fully understand the good, the bad and the ugly of the World Wide Web. You can find even more information by clicking the links in the right column.
Absolute Address: The full address of a file. The address is the physical location of the file on a computer or website. The absolute address for this page is http://www.homebusinessops.com/internetglossary.html. Your Internet Browser has located an HTML page named INTERNETGLOSSARY on the World Wide Web domain of HOMEBUSINESSOPS.COM. See also, Relative Address.
Access Provider: An Internet Service Provider that provides local access to the Internet. This could be your local phone company, cable company or satellite company.
Adware: Software that is free to the user, but supported by advertisers.
Anchor: A named point (anchor) on a web page. You cannot see an anchor but you can certainly see the results. Below you will see a link "Internet Service Provider" in the definition of AOL. Clicking that link will take you to another definition on this page: the definition of Internet Service Provider.
Animated GIF: A series of images shown one after another to simulate animation.
Announcement List: A mailing list that restricts who may send messages to the list of subscribers.
AOL: America Online, the largest commercial Internet Service Provider today. Because of AOL's email policies, some web sites will not allow customers to use AOL email addresses when conducting business. That may partially explain why AOL ended 2006 with three straight years of a declining subscriber base in each quarter. Hey guys - poor customer service could be another reason!
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Basically, it is the lowest common denominator method for transferring information. ASCII has almost universal support and is required when creating or updating htacess files.
ASP: (1) Active Server Pages: A form of programming that is available only on servers that run the Windows operating system. (2) Application Service Provider: An ASP is a company that creates business software applications, and then makes the applications available on a subscription basis to other businesses.
Attachment: A file attached to an email message that can be sent to anyone with an email account. Attachments can be any type of file including text, graphics, fonts, programs, etc. One of the more common attachments among home users is a photo.
Attributes: Describes an aspect of an HTML tag that is modified with a value. For example, "<p>" is a tag that begins a new paragraph. <p align="center"> will open a new paragraph with all the text in that paragraph centered. The align="center" is an attribute of the <p> tag.
Autoresponder: A type of email account that automatically responds to requests for information with a prewritten message. (See also, smart autoresponder.)
Bandwidth: The amount of data you can send through a connection. Usually measured in kilobits per second (Kbps). Webmasters purchase a certain amount of bandwidth for websites. Each visitor to a site uses a little bit of that allowance. Most web hosting packages for Internet marketers contain more than enough bandwidth in the base price. But, hey, if you're making sales, buying more bandwidth is not a bad thing!
Binary File: A file that is not in ASCII text format, such as an image or program.
Bit: A single binary piece of information (a "one" or a "zero").
Blog: Originally blog came from the term web log which was a log of whatever you wanted to say that was posted on the web. Today it has a whole new meaning because it has become a major money maker for people working from home. Read our article, Keys to Successful Blogging.
Bookmark (or Favorite): A feature included in browsers such as Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer that allows you to save addresses of your favorite sites and quickly access pages of interest. Surely you have bookmarked this site by now.
Browser: See Web Browser. After all, we're talking computer things here. We are not talking about the guy at the video store browsing through the available movies.
Bulletin Board: In the beginning, a bulletin board was an electronic message center that usually served a specific interest group like Trout Fisherman of the Sahara. Consider yourself fortunate if you never used one. Newsgroups and Blogs have virtually made this term sort of dinosaur-ic in nature. I thought I'd put it here to honor those trout fisherman.
Byte: One word of binary information (eight bits long). The term "word" is used lightly here because 1010101010 is a byte. Does it look like a word to you? Now, if that byte appeared in the box on a check next to the $, the word would be WOW!!!
Cache: Pronounced cash, this is a location on your computer that stores recently visited web pages so they may be accessed faster. When returning to a recently visited web site, you may be viewing a page from your computer's cache rather than fresh content, depending on how you configure your browser. It's always a good idea to refresh a page you have visited before.
Cascading Style Sheets: See CSS.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface. CGI allows HTML pages to interact with programming applications. CGI also is a good way to hide and track affiliate links. But your website needs to be on a Unix-type server that supports CGI.
Chat Room: A chat room is an area on the Internet where people can communicate in real time. As users type their messages, they appear on-screen along with messages from other visitors to the chat room. Beware: this is a favorite place for Internet predators and law enforcement personnel who are waiting for you to say the wrong thing.
Client-side Image Map: An image that is divided into clickable regions; each region can be linked to a different file. While I wouldn't advise using an image map if you're trying to optimize a page for search engines, it certainly has its place.
Compression: A technology used to make files smaller for faster transmission or to take up less hard drive space. It's like putting an oversized pillow into a carry-on bag. When removed from the bag, the pillow (hopefully) returns to its big, fluffy state for your use. That probably explains why my favorite software program for zipping and unzipping files is called Stuffit. Click here to read the article entitled, How to Zip and Unzip Files.
CPM: Cost per Thousand Impressions. Usually used for pricing banners. (For example, a $5 CPM means that $5 is paid for one thousand displays of the banner on a web site.) CPM is also used for mailing lists; one impression usually equals one email address that the mailing is sent to.
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets. A web page formatting language that gives greater control and more flexibility in page design than is possible with HTML only, including the ability to use a single file that serves as a centralized control mechanism over the layout of an entire web site. For webmasters, it means being able to create pages with less on-page coding, making pages smaller and faster loading. They're called "cascading" because you can use multiple Style Sheets on a single page.
Cyberspace: A sweeping term used to refer to anything on the Internet.
Dedicated Server: A dedicated server is a computer that runs only one type of server software, and is usually constructed according to the user's specifications. Dedicated servers are typically used for web sites that have high traffic, and need many resources and much processing power.
Digital Subscriber Line: An Internet connection method. See DSL.
Discussion List: A moderated or unmoderated mailing list that allows any member to send messages to the other members (subscribers). Yahoo Group members are able to opt-in to messages posted in the group by selecting individual email delivery, daily digest delivery, or special notices only.
DNS: Domain Name Server. A method of indexing the Internet based on site names. DNS is sometimes referred to as domain name system.
DNS Aliasing: The Internet relies on Domain Name Servers to translate domain names into IP addresses. Every web hosting company must have a domain name server.
Domain Name: This is the official name of a website. A domain name is much like a trademark or a license. It allows people to find a web site by name instead of by number (IP address). Domain names are like fingerprints, in that there can only be one of any domain name in the world. Example: you are now on the domain known as http://www.homebusinessops.com. Domain names can be 67 characters long, including the ".com, .net, .org" or other designation like ".us (United States) or .ws (Western Samoa)" at the end, but not including the "http://www" at the beginning.
Downloading: The process of copying files from the Internet onto your computer or a disk using a variety of methods. See Web Browser, FTP, and Telnet.
DSL: Digital Subscriber Line.
E-commerce: Electronic commerce (e-commerce) grows daily and more and more brick-and-mortar businesses understand the power of Internet shopping. The term basically means to conduct business (commerce) online (electronically).
Email: Short for electronic mail, email is a method for sending letters, sales notices, brochures, and countless other things over the Internet.
Email Alias: Sometimes called a forwarding account, this type of email allows you to use one address and have mail to that address forwarded to another email account.
Email POP Account: See POP.
Encryption: A process of scrambling information so that it is unusable to all but the intended users.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions. An easy-to-read list of questions and answers about a web site, individual, company, or specific topic.
Firewall: Software or hardware that creates a protective barrier between an individual user or a company's internal network and the rest of the Internet.
Flame: A fiery (read angry) complaint sent via email. Often generated when sending unsolicited email or posting commercial ads to noncommercial areas of the Internet.
Form: A web page that has input fields for a user to submit information.
Frames: A feature that divides a web page into separate windows, each of which can be scrolled independently. Many search engines cannot index framed sites.
FreeBSD: An operating system, which is a version of UNIX. FreeBSD runs on Intel microprocessors and powers the servers of some of the web's largest sites.
Freeware: Software that is free.
FrontPage: A Microsoft Office web site creation and management tool used as a means to easily manipulate and publish web pages with no knowledge of HTML codes.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. A means of uploading files to the Internet or downloading files to your computer.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. A common image format using up to 256 colors. GIF images work best for text, sharp lines, and large areas of continuous color. GIF images can be animated and can have one color set as transparent.
GUI: Graphical User Interface (pronounced "gooey").
Helper Application: An application that is launched to view files that browsers can't parse (such as videos).
Hit: A request from a browser to a server. A web page with 14 images will count 15 hits, one for the main page and 14 (one per image) for the images. Hits are often confused with other measurements, such as page views or users.
Host: A company that provides disk space on their servers to other companies and individuals so their web sites are available on the Internet.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): The simple programming language that allows you to display formatted pages on the World Wide Web.
Hyperlinks: See Hypertext Links.
Hypertext Links: A method of embedding a URL into an object, such as a segment of text or an image. When this object is clicked, the browser activates the embedded URL to retrieve the linked file. As a general rule of thumb, most colored and underlined words, and many graphics, are linked and can be clicked on.
ICANN: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. An organization recognized by the U.S. government in November 1999 to administer the Internet's core technical functions and foster competition among domain name registrars.
Internet: The catchall word used to describe the massive worldwide network of computers. The word "Internet" literally means, "network of networks." In itself, the Internet is comprised of thousands of smaller regional networks scattered throughout the globe. On any given day it connects roughly 200 million users in more than 100 countries.
InterNIC: Internet Network Information Center. InterNIC began as a cooperative between the U.S. government and Network Solutions, Inc. They were initially responsible for registering and maintaining the com, net, and org top-level domain names on the World Wide Web.
Internet Service Provider: See ISP.
Intranet: Private networks of computers in which access from the outside is restricted.
IP Address: Internet Protocol Address. IP addresses are the numerical addresses that relate to a specific domain name, however, a domain name may identify one or more IP addresses. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be from zero to 255. For example, 204.17.42.69 could be an IP address.
IRC: Internet Relay Chat. IRC is a massive network of text-based chat channels (rooms) and their users all across the world.
ISDN: Integrated Digital Services Network. A type of phone line that can handle both analog and digital data and is used for higher speed Internet access. If you have ISDN, you can use the same line for talking on the phone and accessing the Internet simultaneously.
ISP: Internet Service Provider. An Internet service provider who provides local access to the Internet and may provide hosting services as well. Also known as a local dial-up provider or access provider.
Java: Developed by Sun Microsystems as a response to problems programming in the C++ language. Java is a general programming language suited for use on the World Wide Web and is intended to be simple, cross-platform, high performance, multi-threaded, and dynamic.
JavaScript: It's a popular client-side, interpreted scripting language used to bring additional functionality and interactivity to web pages. The date at the top of the right hand column is created by a javascript.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. A common image compression format capable of including more than 16 million unique colors. JPEG images, recognizable by the file name extension .jpg, are best suited for textures, photographs, and gradients. JPEG, or JPG images use a loss compression that degrades the image each time it is saved. Photographs you want to keep for a long time should be saved as PNG or TIF files rather than jpg. JPEG is best suited for website images and those you send to someone via email because they are much smaller than PNG or TIF images.
JSP: Java Server Pages. A scripting language similar to ASP and PHP, JSP allows the use of Java on the server side to produce dynamic web pages.
Kbps: Kilobits (1000 bits) per second. The transfer rate of information from point to point. This speed affects how fast you can download files from the Internet.
Link Directory: Web directories at which you can list your website to get incoming links to your site and free traffic. Click here for more information about Link Directories.
Mac: An Apple Macintosh computer (some clones still exist, running Mac OS).
Mbps: Megabits per second. Equal to 1,000 Kbps, or one million bits.
Modem: Modulator/demodulator. Whether you have dial-up, DSL, or cable, each uses a modem with varying speed capacities.
MRA: Multiple-recipient alias. An email alias account that forwards mail to multiple email addresses.
Multimedia: Content in the form of images, sound, video, or animation.
Navigation: The system you use to access files on the Internet. aka: how you get there from here.
Network: Two or more computers connected together so they can communicate with each other. Beth and I have several computers networked in our home. The Internet is a huge network.
Netiquette: The art of employing common courtesy while using the Internet, email, newsgroups, and other resources. Although the rules are informal, when you break them, some people get quite upset.
Newbie: A somewhat affectionate term for someone new to the Internet. It generally takes a while to learn Netiquette and find your way around the World Wide Web.
Newsgroup: An individual newsgroup. Yahoo, Google, MSN and AOL have numerous newsgroups scattered among hundreds or thousands of categories.
Operating System: An operating system (OS) is what runs your computer. Most computer users have most likely heard of Windows or Macintosh. Windows computers outnumber Mac computers by nearly 20 to 1. These are operating systems that are normally used on private individual computers. A computer that is used as a web server must also have an operating system. The two most common operating systems used on web servers are UNIX and Windows with UNIX being the dominant system.
Opt-in List: Email addresses of people who have agreed to receive email messages, usually ezines or announcement lists.
Ordered List: An indented list of items prefaced with a number or letter. i.e.
- Number One
- Number Two
- See Unordered List
Pageview: The complete display of a web page to a viewer. This is a good measure of web site popularity.
Password: A secret code that allows a user to access a restricted area.
PC: Personal Computer. A general term for computers running the Windows operating system. They were once referred to as being IBM-compatible, which had to be a big joke since IBM thumbed its nose at personal computers under the assumption that no one would want a computer in their home. Sure, IBM later developed a line of personal computers using their own Operating System, but never could really break into the PC market.
PDF: Refers to Adobe Acrobat files or similar files created with other pdf software. These files are cross-platform (Windows and Mac) and are useful for electronic publishing and prepress.
PERL: Popular Extraction and Report Language. Designed for processing text, this popular programming language is also used for creating interactive web sites.
Pixel: An individual dot of color in an image or on a computer screen.
Plug-in: A product that is not part of the original software (in this case, browsers such as Netscape, Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.). For example, Macromedia's Flash/Shockwave, Real Audio, and a number of other companies have plug-in programs to make web sites more interactive. Also refers to components added to software programs such as Corel Photopaint and Adobe Photoshop that extend the programs capabilities.
POP: Post Office Protocol. An email account to send and receive email. When email is sent to a real POP account, the mail is stored on the server until the user logs in with their email software and downloads it. (Same as Email POP and POP account.)
POP Account: A type of email account. See POP.
Protocol: Specific rules governing how data is exchanged between two electronic devices.
Public Domain: Things in the public domain are available to the public at no charge because their copyrights, trademarks, or patents have expired or somehow been nullified. This may include information on government sites. This does not include information that is publicly visible on private or commercial web sites. Just because it's there, does not mean you may copy it for your own site or publications without permission from the copyright holder.
RAM: Random Access Memory. The most common type of memory used by computers and other devices. The "random" part means that any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes. RAM is commonly known as the amount of memory that is available to programs. RAM is not storage memory. When you save a file, you move it into ROM Memory.
RealAudio/RealVideo: RealMedia technology that allows you to stream audio and video from your site.
Registrar: A company or organization that registers domain names. Previously, Network Solutions was the only domain name registrar, but competition for registrars opened up in November 1999, and now there are about numerous registrars globally. ICANN is the new governing body for registrars.
Relative Address: An Internet address defining the path to a file within a domain (rather than using the full Internet address). For example, a link to a page within your own site can use a relative address rather than an absolute address. The relative address to this page from the main page is internetglossary.html. See Absolute Address.
Remove List: A file containing the email addresses of those who have asked to be removed from a mailing list.
Resolution: The number of pixels per inch of an image or graphic, or that a monitor can display. Most images on web pages contain 72 pixels per inch, though some photography sites may use 200 ppi (also known as dpi: dots per inch). Windows users can go to the Control Panel, click on the Display icon and then the Settings tab to see what resolution their monitor is using. It will be listed like 1024 by 768.
Router: Routers integrate WAN technologies such as Frame Relay, ISDN, leased lines, and LAN connections with feature-rich multi-protocol software, including robust SNA routing.
SCSI: Small Computer Systems Interface (affectionately known as "scuzzy". This was a standard for connecting peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.) to your computer via a standard hardware interface until xxx became so prominent.
Search Engine: A searchable index on the web. Search engines like Google (the largest) do not index all of the materials and web sites on the Internet because some webmasters create items they don't want indexed and other folks build websites that are either unreadable to the search engines or they're deemed to be useless web sites. Search engines are consistently ranked among the most popular sites on the Internet because they help people find what they are looking for.
Smart Autoresponder: Smart autoresponders are similar to standard autoresponders, but they can send multiple emails at varying intervals of time, from one hour to many days apart.
Secure Server: A web site that uses encryption technology to protect information being transferred over the Internet.
Servlet: Server Side Java that replaces CGI and allows access to Java functionality from both client-side and server-side web applications.
Servlet Container: A program that plugs into your web server and allows it to serve Servlet and JSP (Java Server Page) technologies. These are small programs that provide similar functionality to Microsoft's Active Server Page.
Shareware: Software that you may download and use at no initial charge. If you like the software and want to keep using it, some form of payment is usually required. Shareware is sometimes referred to as nagware, as it often prompts you to register if you keep using it.
Sig File: Short for Signature File. Contact information and marketing materials in a brief format at the end of an email message. Sig files are the only accepted way to advertise within newsgroup posts.
Sit File: A compressed file usually produced with Aladdin's StuffIt Deluxe, which is available for both Macintosh and Windows. Most versions of StuffIt Expander, included with StuffIt Deluxe, can unstuff both .zip and .sit files.
SMTP: The server address of the account through which you send email.
SPAM: The practice of sending massive amounts of e-mail promotions or advertisements (and scams) to people who have not asked for it, or the message that is received as such. Spam email lists are often created by harvesting email addresses from discussion boards, newsgroups, chat rooms, IRC, and web pages. Spam is universally hated by almost everyone except the spammer.
SSL: Secure Sockets Layer. SSL protects transmissions over the World Wide Web from spectators by encrypting the data while it is transmitted over the Internet. SSL works through a certificate that authenticates the domain. With this certificate, secure transmissions on the server are "certified" and valid. Many web sites use this protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers. Web pages that require an SSL connection start with (https:) instead of (http:).
Storefront: To sell your products on the web, you must build an electronic storefront where users can browse your products, put desired products into an electronic shopping cart, and check out to pay for the items in their cart.
Streaming: This technology promises quick access to media content without waiting for files to download. Downloading requires that files be sent to the user's computer in their entirety before they can be played. Streaming sends files to the user's computer in such a way that they can begin viewing or listening to the file after an initial buffer is set. Downloaded files remain on the user's computer until deleted; when a streaming file ends, no data is left behind on the user's machine.
Sub-domain: CHANGE that appears before your master domain in the URL, such as http://www.yourchoice.masterdomain.com.
Surfer: Slang for a person browsing the web.
Surfing: The act of browsing the web.
Table: A formatting method for arranging content into orderly rows and columns.
Tag: The term for an HTML command.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The set of protocols that allows the web, Telnet, FTP, email, and other services to function between computers using varied networks and operating systems.
Templates: A format programmed to accept information from someone by simply typing or pasting content into it. It enables a less-skilled(or non-skilled) web site owner or newsletter operator to post regular updates without having to do any programming and without the danger of messing up the site's code.
Tracking Code: The means by which you keep track of the response generated by your marketing messages. Often expressed as a department number, operator code, extension, or specific email box.
Undeliverables: Email addresses that return to you when the person at the other end has closed their account, has a full email box, or has provided you with a faulty address.
UCE: Unsolicited Commercial Email. Informally referred to as spam.
Unique User: One user identity. When talking about the number of unique users to a web site over a specific time frame, this counts each user once, no matter how many times he or she may return. A web site that has the same 1,000 users returning every day will have 30,000 user sessions in a month, but only 1,000 unique users for that month. This statistic is a good measure of site popularity.
Unordered List: An indented list of items prefaced with bullets. You can also improve appearance by using small images instaed of bullets.
UNIX: A popular multi-user, multi-tasking operating system developed at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. Due to its portability, flexibility, and power, UNIX has become the leading operating system for Internet server workstations.
Uploading: Taking files from your computer or disk and sending them to the Internet. Generally, this is done through FTP or a template provided by your host. You need to upload files to put your site's pages onto the Internet. Many sites also offer online templates or forms to let you simply paste in the information and put it into their pages.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator (sometimes referred to as Universal Resource Locator). This is the address at which you can find a specific web site or file.
User Session: A person visiting a web site over a short period of time. Usually, a user session is considered ended if there is no activity from that user for 30 or so minutes.
USP: Unique Selling Proposition. These are the reasons a consumer should use your products rather than a competitor's products.
Virtual Server: A web server that shares computer resources among many clients (hosted sites) on a single machine. Virtual web servers are a way of providing low-cost web hosting services. Instead of requiring a separate computer for each server, dozens of virtual servers can reside on the same computer, allowing a single machine to act as many separate systems.
Visitors: The people who come to your web site.
Web Browser: A software program that allows your computer, once connected to the Internet, to retrieve documents from web servers around the world, translate the HTML code in the documents, and display the information on your screen.
Web Designer: A person who creates web sites. Web designers may use web-authoring software, an HTML editor, or a simple text editor to create the actual pages, or they may design the overall look and let a webmaster do the actual coding. Web designers are usually proficient with web graphics and images.
Web Developer: The person who develops the interface between the front and back end of a web site. Although web developers may be web designers as well, they typically have more database, CGI, and engineering experience.
Webmaster: A very broad term generally meaning anyone who builds web sites. The scope of webmaster duties vary greatly. For a small company, the webmaster may design and build the site, market it, and handle all Internet related activity. For a large company, it could have as little meaning as the person that answers email inquiries.
Webmaster Service Provider: A company in the business of providing webmaster services to clients on a contract basis.
Web Page: Any one particular page that is accessed via the World Wide Web. Web pages comprise a web site, and are distinct from other pages by their URLs (web addresses).
Web Server: A computer on the World Wide Web (connected to the Internet Backbone) that stores HTML documents that can be retrieved via a web browser.
Web Site: A location on the World Wide Web. Each web site contains a home page, which is the first document or page that users see when they enter the site. The site might also contain additional documents, files, or web pages, which are sometimes called "child pages."
WWW: World Wide Web: Also known as simply the web, this is the graphical, fastest growing part of the Internet. It is sometimes disparagingly referred to as the World Wide Wait because of slow Internet connections, slow servers, or slow web sites.
ZIP File: A compressed file format. A ZIP file may contain one or more files, which are compressed to save space or allow for faster transmission to others. ZIP files are generally for Windows-based operating systems.
