A

Accessibility - Accessibility in the context of a Web site is the degree to which that Web site is usable by people with disabilities.

Ajax - (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a way of developing web applications that combines: XHTML and CSS standards based presentation, interaction with the page through the DOM, data interchange with XML and XSLT, asynchronous data retrieval with XMLHttpRequest and JavaScript to tie it all together.

Alt Tag - The alternative attribute is used in HTML coding, most commonly to display text in cases where an image will not display through the browser. In SEO, alt tags are used to add keywords to the website page source code.

Application - Program or script used for specific tasks within a website, which typically will be run within the website's server and will use a programming language such as PHP, Java, Ajax, ASP, Perl.

Application Integration - Often a website will need a special capability, and a custom or commercial web-based application can be integrated into the website. One example might be adding an Online Operator or online chat application to a website to assist with website marketing and sales.

Array - In programming, an array is an indexed collection of data values. For instance in PHP, and array is a container for a number of variables which all have the same name, but each has a different index. Each member of the array is called an element. You can create arrays in the same way you create variables, as long as you remember to put square brackets around them to denote the index. By default, arrays are zero-based, that is, the first element of the array has an index of zero.

B

Beta Site - A test site for computer software or systems.

Best Practices - In any industry, best practices are generally the most widely utilized practices utilized in order to bring about predictable or repeatable results. In website design, best practices will often involve a methodology by a website designer so that every project, no matter how large or small, goes through an indentical process, to insure the best possible outcome for the project.

Beta Testing - Testing of an application or a website before officially launching or distributing the application.

Bitmap - Computer image consisting of pixels or halftone dots.

Browser - Computer program to view and interact with Internet Web pages. Examples of browsers would be Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google's Chrome, Apple Safari, Opera, to name a few.

Browser Testing - The process of reviewing a website or web-based application on different browsers and with different computer operating systems in order to verify that the website or application coding functions as intended.

C

CSS - (Cascading Style Sheets) A language for the Web to define the style (look and feel) of a Web page. Cascading Style Sheets can define: fonts, colors, layouts, and more.

Click-Through - This is a Web term. A click-through is counted if a viewer clicks on a Web page ad, thereby triggering the link assigned to it.

Click-Through Rate - The number of times a Web page ad is clicked on as a percentage of the number of times the ad is displayed.

CMS - (Content Management System). A tool for managing content, usually on a Web site, that separates the design, interactivity, and content from one another to make it easier for content authors to provide content.

Conversion - In website traffic, conversion is where visitors go to a specific page, or respond to a call to action within the website. In adword or Internet campaigns, this refers to potential customers who see an ad and respond by clicking on a link to go to your website.

Conversion Rate - In website traffic, this is the percentage of visitors divided by the number of "conversions" where a visitor ends up on a specific page or takes a specific action.

Cookie - A small piece of information that some websites store on your computer, typically used to assist with quick login using passwords, and can be used to track visits on websites.

CPC - (Cost per click). Applicable only to Web advertising. This is the fee that is paid to the Web publisher each time a visitor clicks on an ad. Abbreviated as CPC. This contrasts with a campaign that is bought based on the number of impressions delivered and paid for on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis.

D

Database - Used with web-based applications and content management systems to stor the actual website content or text, member information and other information, and is dynamically combined with a website template to create website pages.

Data Migration - In a database driven website, data migration is the process of moving over website content which can be text for information pages, or data such as members, product pages descriptions, meta tags and other information used by the database to populate the website. 

Domain - A domain is a person, company's or organization's unique name on the internet. Example: JohnSmithsCompany.com

Domain Registration - Individuals, companies and organizations can use any number of Registrars to register a new domain name and manage where the domain name points.

Download - When a website page is requested by a visitor, it is downloaded using the visitor's browser to their computer. Each website page consists of graphics, text and HTML page code which must be downloaded and is considered part of bandwidth on the server.

E

Ecommerce - This is a broad term encompassing shopping cart scripts and systems which allow website visitors to purchase products or services from a website owner.

Ecommerce Catalog or System - A web server application which allows a website owner to easily create, maintain and expand an ecommerce website.

Email - An encoded message that is sent instantly to another person, company or organization using a website page or an email program on the sender's computer.

Freeware - Software is made available to computer users at no cost. While most freeware is legitimate, some malicious malware is spread by providing free software to computer users and care must be taken when downloading and using freeware.

F

Form - Pages within a website with form fields which the user can type into in order to pass the user's data from the website page to a database, or to convert the data into an email, or both. Commonly used for feedback, contact and in ecommerce.

Form Field - Small text boxes within a page or a form that the website user can use to send information to the website owner.

FTP - (File Transfer Protocal) This protocol allows computer users to "upload" and "download" files to and from a host server. FTP software such as CuteFTP or Transmit and others can be used to manage website files.

G

GIF - A graphic file type commonly used for website graphics which consist of text and graphics combined.

H

Host and Hosting - Websites have to be located on the Internet on a Web server in order for website visitors to find a website using the website's domain name. Many commercial providers sell hosting space on servers and some companies provide space in data facilities so companies can place their own private web server and have it connected to the Internet.

HTML - (HyperText Markup Language). A simple coding language which uses <tags> around a webpage's content. HTML is normally not visible to the website visitor, but can be seen by using the browser's View Source menu. HTML is used to structure pages, emphasize text, create form elements and more.

HTTP - (HyperText Transfer Protocol). This is a method of transferring information on the internet and appears in the web browser URL location. Example: http://www.abcdefgEnterprises.com

I

Internet Explorer - (IE) One of many website browsers. Internet Explorer is a browser created by Microsoft and is commonly found on PCs using Microsoft's various operating systems. Other browsers such as Firefox and Chrome can be downloaded and used with or instead of Internet Explorer.

Internet Marketing - This refers to specialized marketing designed to bring Internet users to a target website. Internet marketing can involve many different strategies and tactics from pay per click advertising to article linking, public relations, social media and more.

ISP - (Internet Service Provider) An ISP is the company who provides the end user with an actual connection to the Internet.

J

JavaScript - A programming language which is used to give website pages additional functionality beyond basic HTML. An example of JavaScript is in the use of form pages where error message boxes will pop up to remind the user that a form field is not filled in or that an email address is not valid.

JPG - An image file type used for photographs, which works best with gradients or continuous tones, and allows for different levels of compression resulting in quality web images that are very small.

K

Keywords - Main topics or subjects of a website page, and used by website visitors in searching using Google, Yahoo and other search engines, or for searches within a website. Keywords also refer to meta tags within a website page to describe the main topics within the page.

L

LAN - (Local Area Network) A method of connecting severa computers in a home or office to each other only, allowing the sharing of files and printers.

Landing Page - Sometimes referred to as the Home page or the first page a website visitor sees when going to a particular domain. Landing pages are also used in Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising where a potential customer clicks on an ad link and will be directed to a special website page relating to the ad, or a simplified page designed to convert the potential customer by presenting more specialized page content.

Link - Typically a hypertext link, that makes a visible link, either text or a graphic, from within a website page to another website page or to an external website.

M

Merchant Account - In ecommerce, a merchant account is used by a website owner to enable customers to pay for products using credit cards, by way of a payment gateway.

Meta Tag - Coding tags including in the Head section of an HTML page, which is visible to search engines, but not visible to website visitors. Meta tags provide information about the page such as the title of the page, keywords, description, the author and other information.

O

Operating System - (OS) The software that is used to run or operate a particular computer or web server. Examples would be Linux, Windows XP, Windows 7, OSX.

Optomize - To optimize a website means to either make the graphics and HTML code as small as possible for faster page downloading, and to make the page easier for search engines to find, catalog and reference.

Organic SEO - Organic Search Engine Organization is the process of following the most widely accepted practices or guidelines that Google, Yahoo and Bing provide so that a website can achieve higher search engine rankings based on it's content, rather than relying on questionable tactics or manipulation of web page code and external links in order to achieve higher search engine rankings.

P

Page Not Found - Also called a 404 Page Not Found, this error message will appear on website servers when a requested page cannot be found. If a website visitor types in a website URL and includes an outdated page, a page that has been moved, or a mistake in the URL, this can result in a Page Not Found message.

Parked Domain - A domain name that sits on the same web server as another domain name. Example: Having both  ABCenterprises.com on a server and ABCenterprises.net parked on the server will meant that the website visitor can type in either website address and will reach the same website.

Payment Gateway - In ecommerce systems or shopping carts, a payment gateway allows the website owner to pass credit card information from the website on to a merchant account so the transaction can be approved and payment made to the merchant account. Payment gateways are specific code for any given shopping cart system to allow the use of Authorize.net and other gateways to work with any given system.

PHP - A commonly used scripting langeuage originally designed for website development to produce dynamic web pages. Often it is embedded into HTML and runs on a web server.

PPC - (Pay Per Click) A common type of Internet advertising where ads are displayed at no cost, but when a website visitor clicks on an ad, the advertiser is charged for that one click. Clicking on the ad will take the customer to the advertiser's website or a special landing page.

Project Plan - A document which details the time-line and project milestones for a website project. Project plans are usually detailed on a week by week basis and are used to track the progress of a project and to project ahead to establish a realistic completion and project launch date.

R

Ranking - When an Internet user uses a search engine such as Google or Yahoo or another search engine, search results are displayed in an order according to the search engine's criteria. Higher rankings are desirable and many website owners rely on Search Engine Optimization to assist in achieving higher rankings.

Reciprocal Links - Also called link trading or swapping, which is where two websites agree to link to each other. Link trading can bring website vistors to both websites and can help with search engine rankings with Google, which values relevant links to and from other websites.

Requirements - Website requirements are very specific features or capabilities a website must have in order to achieve specific results by the website owner. Examples of requirements might include a database for capturing all information sent by website visitors, or a search box on all pages so visitors can search a website using keywords or phrases. Other requirements may include an outline of all the website pages or a a specific number of product pages for an ecommerce website. Requirements are used by website designers to accurately access the size and scope of a project in order to provide a proposal or project estimate.

RFQ - (Request For Quote) This is a formal document which an individual, company or organization will use to document all of website design requirements, goals, expectations and other relevant information in order to receive an exact price quote or estimate from a website development company. Using an RFQ will allow several potental website developers to receive the same information and bid on a project individually.

Robots - Search engines utilize robots or "bots", which is a program designed to seek out a website so the website can be searched or "crawled" in order to analyze and collect information about the website which will be used later when someone uses a search engine to search using keywords or a phrase. Different search engines use robots with different missions. Meta tags and a robots.txt file can be used to instruct robots to follow individual website pages or not.

S

Script - A small piece of code which allows a website page to have a specific function. Shopping cart scripts, log in scripts or form validation scripts are a few common scripts used in websites.

Search Engine - A search engine is a program on a server that collects and stores information about websites and is used by Internet to search using keywords and phrases. Google, Yahoo and Bing are but three examples of search engines. Seaching the same phrase on each will usually result in different websites being listed by each as each search engine has its own criteria for matching results with any give keyword or phrase.

SEO - (Search Engine Optimization) Involves coding a website in a way so that different search engines can more easily find and catalog a particular website, and help a website achieve higher search rankings.

Server - A compuer that is used to host or house websites and to provide a physical storage area for email and websites. Servers can house many websites in what is called a Shared hosting environment, or individual servers can be used to house only one website.

Shopping Cart - This is a script or an entire website system that allows website visitors to purchase products and services, create user accounts and allows the website owner to process orders.

Site Certificate - A certificate that authenticates a network host or virtual host and is signed by Certification Authority. A site certificate allows an ecommerce or shopping cart website to have https:// on website pages where credit card and other sensitive information needs to be encrypted and sent from the user's computer to a website securely.

Sitemap - A sitemap is a list or index of all the website pages within a given website. Typically a sitemap is used by search engines to catalog website pages, but many websites will also have a publicly viewable website map so all pages within the website can be organized for visitors, without the visitor having to use website navigation.

T

Template - In website deign and development, a page design is often converted into a template so that a database can be used to dynamically merge page content with a template in order to create website pages dynamically. Templates are useful for creating a consistent look and feel throughout a website.

Timeout - When trying to connect to a website, a timeout may occur if it takes too long for your browser to connect to the website server. If a server is down, or overloaded with requests or there is some problem with the website domain pointing to the correct website server where the website is hosted, a timeout error message may occur.

Traffic - This is also referred to as bandwidth and refers to the volume of website visitors and the amount of page views, file download and other activity on the website server. High traffic websites can be a problem when a website is hosted on a server that cannot handle a high volume of traffic or is hosted in a shared hosting enviroment where hundreds of websites use one server.

U

Upload - To move a file to the web server via FTP or by attaching the file using a website form page or another web-based image tool, is considered uploading. The original file remains on the user's computer, and a copy of the file is transferred or uploaded.

URL - (Uniform Resource Locator) The URL allows a website user to specify an exact location for a website or a page within a website. Example:  http://www.ExampleWebsite.com   goes to the domain and the first website page, whereas: http://www.ExampleWebsite.com/pages/contact-us.html  will go to a specific page within the website.

User Interface - The user interface for websites is that which is contained within the browser window that is composed of the website page which allows the user to manipulate the system or use the website page to view text and images and navigate to other pages.

Usability - This is the user interface design, which is the amount of effort required by the user in order to provide input for a system or to properly utilize the system. In websites, this is often called being "user friendly" or easy to use and find what is needed by the user. Highly complicated websites that may be designed poorly requiring much more effort to use is considered not to be user friendly.

V

Virus - A computer program that reproduces itself and travels or infects multiple computers, and is frequently malicious. Viruses can invect both the website visitor's computer and can sometimes infect web servers.

W

Webmail - Commonly offered by web hosting companies which allows website owners to access email using a webpage.

Web Page - An individual page of content. A website is a collection of pages. Most websites are organized so the visitor can easily navigate from page to page.

Website - A collection of individual web pages. A website can consist of a handful of pages or thousands of pages. Larger websites will typically have a nagation scheme or broad categories in order to organize information within the website.

Web Designer - Also called website designers, these are specialized individuals or companies who have experience and knowledge of both graphic design principals and current web technologies.

Website Address - This is also referred to as the domain name, and an example would be: http://www.ExampleWebsite.com

Website Design and Redesign - Website design encompasses both the look and feel of a website as well as content organization and website capabilities in order to reach specific goals for an individual, company or organization. Website design or redesign can range from a simple makeover to giving a website many sophisticated capbilities.

Worm - A type of virus or malicious code that looks for security loopholes in order to gain access into a website or computer.

WWW - (World Wide Web), which is part of the URL and used to point a web browser to a website. Many web browsers do not require http://www. to be typed in the URL.

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