FDezine's Jargon Buster - making sense of it all
Are you confused by all the jargon used when people talk about website design and the associated items? If it all seems a little bit baffling and you really just want it explained in simple terms, then look no further than our Jargon Buster. We have tried to explain the main terms as simply as possible. Of course, if there is still something you are unsure of, we would be only too glad to help.
Browser
Often referred to as a web browser, it is simply a software application running on your computer that allows you to display web pages. Typical examples of browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari.
Content
Content is basically the ‘stuff’ that makes up a website. Content can be words, pictures, images or sounds. In practice, however, content tends to refer to the 'information' a web site provides. With our easy-to-use, secure Site Editor System, you can easily change the content of your website whenever you choose.
Data Transfer
Data Transfer is the amount of data that can be transferred over the network in a fixed amount of time. On the Internet, it is usually expressed in bits per second (bps). A website host will allocate your site a fixed amount of bandwidth usage a month. (i.e. if a website page is 1Mb in size and you have a 10 Mb monthly allowance, your site page can be ‘downloaded’ (or viewed) 10 times)
DNS [Domain Name System]
The Domain Name System (DNS) associates various sorts of information with so-called domain names. Most importantly, it serves as the internet phone book by translating human-readable computer hostnames, e.g. www.yourdomain.com, into the IP addresses, e.g. 80.120.35.50, that networking equipment needs to deliver information.
Domain Name
A Domain Name is simply an alphabetically unique name that acts as your internet address i.e. www.yourdomain.com. Domain names are converted to IP address by DNS servers.
Email (Electronic Mail)
Email is just the same as sending a letter to another person, only it is done electronically. When you send an email you have to send it to a specific address, i.e. somebody@yourdomain.com - the mail is then delivered electronically to the person who owns that email address.
Email Address
This is the address used for sending emails to a person or an organization. Every email address is unique and email is stored on mail servers (like a large postbag) until the owner of the mailbox (email account) retrieves or downloads their emails.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP is used to transfer data from one computer to another through a network, such as over the Internet. When a web designer is testing or has built a website for you, he will have to put your website files onto the hosting server. This process of putting files onto the server is known as FTPing. The process can work 2 ways, so you can place (upload) files onto a server or retrieve (download) files from a server.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
HTML is the code behind web pages. It tells browsers how to display web pages on your screen. The code uses "tags" that instruct your browser on how to display web pages on your screen. It tells the browser the font/size/colour/page position etc of text, images and the page as a whole.
Hosting
Hosting is simply the term for storing a website. A hosting provider will store your site (or files) on a server and provide a fast and stable connection to allow multiple computers to access the site (or files). If your site is not hosted, nobody can access (or see) it!
Hyperlink (link)
A hyperlink (commonly referred to as a ‘link’) is simply a clickable element on a web page that automatically takes you to another place, usually another web page or a place within the current page.
IP Address (Internet Protocol address)
An IP address is quite simply a computer address. All computers that are connected to the internet have a unique IP address (usually of the form 80.120.35.50). This unique address allows computers to be identified, and also allows devices to communicate with each other on a computer network. Other devices such as printers also have IP addresses.
Internet
Also known as the World Wide Web, a world wide network connecting millions of computers.
Intranet
A private (closed) Internet, running inside a LAN (Local Area Network). This would generally be found inside a company or an educational establishment such as a university. People using computers within the establishment would generally be able to access data on the intranet, but people outside the establishment would not (unless they are granted login rights).
JPG or JPEG
The acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is an image compression format used to display photographs and images on websites. The file format allows the images to be compressed so that they take up less space and can be downloaded (viewed) on a website in a relatively short space of time. It is important that images are optimised for viewing on web pages. If they are not, viewers can get fed up with waiting a long time for images to appear and may go elsewhere and not see your site!
Login
This is just the process of connecting to a secure computer or web page. You will usually be asked for a username and password. Some websites incorporate "secure" areas, these are areas where there may be sensitive information, which only members or certain people can access with the right login details.
MPEG
The acronym for Moving Pictures Expert Group, MPEG is an international standard for video compression and desktop movie presentation. A special viewing application is needed to run MPEG files on your computer.
OS (Operating System)
An operating system is software that manages computer resources and provides an interface used to access those resources. An operating system processes system data and user input, and allocates system resources as a service to users and programs running on the system. An operating system performs basic tasks such as controlling and allocating memory, prioritizing system requests, controlling input and output devices, computer networking and managing files.
URL
This is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator, this is the unique identifier, or address, of a web page on the internet i.e. www.yourdomain.com
Search Engine
Search Engines are computer programs used to search and catalog (index) the millions of pages of websites to allow users to quickly find information/site without knowing the specific address of a particular site. Popular search engines are Google and Yahoo.
Server
A server is simply a computer that contains files - it serves files, i.e. other computers request files and the server delivers the requested files to those computers. Websites for instance, are stored on web servers, and each time you go to a site your computer, via the browser, requests the server for the particular page. The server then delivers (serves) the file to your browser.
SPAM
Although SPAM is technically something else, it usually refers to unsolicited email. Unsolicited email is any email message received where the recipient did not specifically ask for it, usually in the form of advertisements. It can also be referred to as Junk Mail - much like you may receive through your letterbox at home.
Web Page
A single document on the internet that is specified by a unique address or URL and that may contain text, hyperlinks, graphics or videos (or any combination of these). for instance the home page of your website might be www.yourdomain.com/index.html - the actual web page will be called index.html
