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Web Glossary Seriously though, we want you to better understand what happens when you surf the Internet and when you have a website. We enjoy teaching as we go. We work well with clients that are web-knowledgeable and those who don't want to know about the Internet's behind-the-scenes workings. After all, that is what getnoticedonline.comSM is here for! If you don't find a web site-related term that you are looking for please contact Ricky Lark, Ph.D., and we'll update this page with your phrase. ALT-attribute -- Part of the image source tag in HTML. This image source tag should always be included in all of your image sources for two reasons: (1) if any of your visitors choose not to view graphic images on your web pages, the alternative text will be shown; and (2) if your visitors use Internet Explorer as their browser and they run the mouse over any graphic image, they will view the text in your ALT-attribute. Animated GIF -- A GIF graphic file consisting of two or more images shown in a timed sequence to give the effect of motion. Animation -- The creation of a timed sequence or series of graphic images together to give the appearance of continuous movement. Can happen on a web page due to an animated gif (see, above) or an image made by the Flash program (see F). Bandwidth -- The amount of information your connection to the Internet can carry. On average, typical telephone lines can carry 1K of information per second. Banner -- A graphic image that is placed on web sites as an advertisement. Banners are commonly used for brand awareness and generating sales. Bitmap Image -- Stored as a specific arrangement of screen dots, or pixels. Web graphics are bitmap images. A graphic defined by specifying the colors of dots or pixels which make up the picture. (Also known as raster graphics). Common types of bitmap graphics are GIF, JPEG, Photoshop, PCX, TIFF, Macintosh Paint, Microsoft Paint, BMP, PNG, FAX formats, and TGA. Bookmark -- Like a paper bookmark is used to make a page in a book, electronic bookmarks are used to bring you back to a web site or other site you may want to view again. The Netscape browser lets you bookmark any site and save the bookmarks in a file you can recall at any time. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the term "favorite" instead of bookmark for the same concept. Broken Links -- A link on a website page takes you to another page (on the same website or on another website). A broken link is a problem: the link only leads to an error page that says "The page cannot be found" (a 404 error page). Website viewers and search engines frown upon websites with broken links. Browser -- A software program that allows you to search for and display a Web page. Some popular browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape Navigator and Opera. Burner -- A CD-ROM drive on your computer that can be used to copy or “burn” information to a CD or DVD disk. CD-ROM -- Defined as compact disk, read-only memory, this disk can store up to about 600 megabytes of information - about 700 floppy disks’ worth of data. Check Box -- An online form (example below):
By clicking a mouse on the boxes, Web users are able to select multiple services. A check box differs from a radio button, which can only accept one checked item at a time. Creative -- Standard term for a banner advertisement; can refer to the design or format of a banner. Also refers to the process of creating a design. Dedicated Line -- A dedicated line is a permanent connection to the Internet using an individual, separate phone line Domain Name -- A Web name that is referenced to an IP address (see IP Address). Rather than typing in four long numbers to designate an address, domain names were created to make the task easier. Many names end in “dot-com” (.com) although there are several others such as .org, and .net. In addition, there are an abundance of two letter country codes such as “.ca” for Canada and “.ie” for Ireland. e-commerce -- Electronic commerce or e-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services over the Internet. FAQ -- Frequently Asked Questions - Lists of common questions that every newcomer asks when first coming to a Web site. Flash -- Vector graphic animation software from Macromedia (now Adobe) that allows Flash graphics to look the same across all browsers, as long as the plug-in is installed. One of the advantages of Flash animations is their relatively fast download time. Flash Drive -- a compact, portable storage device able to contain more document and image files than a floppy disc, a CD, or even a DVD. Font -- A font is a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set, and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys. For example, Times New Roman Bold Italic is one font, and Times New Roman Bold is another font. Times New Roman is a single typeface. Forms -- HTML tags that define and label text-entry boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, and/or drop-down menus to create simple on-screen forms for collecting information from the viewer. Frames -- provides the ability to break a web page into multiple, separately scrollable areas. Because some search engines cannot follow links in a framed web site, it is recommended that text be provided in a NOFRAMES-tag which provides a link for search engines to index the Web site. Freeware -- Software distributed for free on the web. FTP -- File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows user to copy or send files (HTML-documents, graphic images, spreadsheets) from one computer to another via the Internet. We have more information about FTP access to a web server. getnoticedonline.comSM -- A company that provides healthcare website solutions. gif -- Graphics Interchange Format (pronounced either “jiff” or “gif”). One of two popular file types used for graphics in Web sites (see also jpg) whose extension ends in .gif. Typically, a gif file is used for logos and graphics with only a few colors. H Home Page -- The page through which a Web site’s visitors enter. The home page is usually named index.htm, home.htm, or sometimes default.htm (the pages could be named *.html instead of *.htm, too). Host -- The computer(s) that is directly connected to the Internet. All files for Web sites on the Internet are stored on host computers. HTML -- Hyper Text Markup Language (pronounced using each letter “H-T-M-L”). The language that is used to design Web sites. Hyperlink -- A hyperlink (also called a link) is an electronic connection between one web page to either (1) other web page(s) on the same web site, or (2) web pages located on another web site. More specifically, a hyperlink is a connection between one page of a hypertext document to another. Image Map - A single graphic image containing multiple, clickable links. Information Page -- A static web page designed, coded, and written primarily for a target audience but formatted for optimal search engine and directory positioning. IP Address -- A numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 161.58.215.166 could be an IP Address. (see also URL) J Java -- A programming language (created by Sun Microsystems) that allows small applications to be downloaded into your computer for playback. Java can be used for such simple applications as animation to more complex applications such as a calculator. JavaScript -- A scripting language developed by Netscape. JavaScript can make Web pages more animated and dynamic in terms of graphics and navigation. Javascript examples: mouseovers and drop-down menus. jpg -- Also known as JPEG files (pronounced jay-peg). One of two types of graphic files normally used in designing Web sites (see also gif). JPG uses a special compression technique that is well suited for photographs and other color intensive graphics on Web sites. Landing Page -- This refers to the first page that the search engines bring a visitor to the website. It is more common that a landing page is not the home page. This means all web pages must have logical and consistent navigation so any visitor can land on any page and still be able to find how to contact the company, to learn more about the services, etc. List -- Text categorized by being bulleted, numbered, or unnumbered. The default list bullets and numbers are black with no special effects.
M Masthead -- A masthead is a graphic image placed on top of a web page that tells end users what page they are on. Masthead images can contain photos, text, shapes, and/or image maps. Meta Tags -- These description tags are hidden behind each web page; hence they are generally more for search engines to read than for humans to ever see. There are generally several different meta tags: the page title, the keyword list, the description of the page, and the authors of the page. Keyword phrase meta tags once helped websites get noticed online; at best they are now ignored and, at worst, they can even hurt a website now. See our page on Search Engine Strategies for more information. Modem -- (modulator/demodulator) The hardware required to connect telephone lines which are essential for dial-up connections to the Internet. Mouseover -- A popular special effect for web graphics, generally programmed in JavaScript. Changes switch color or a graphic image when user places cursor over it. Mouseovers may also trigger navigation changes (see Rollover) and pop-up windows. Natural Listing -- The website links that appear in the "natural" or "organic" listing on a search engine page. These are numbered 1-10 on page 1, 11-20 on page 2, etc. Appearing in the Natural Listings occurs through good search engine optimization practice (see SEO, below). The other way to appear in a search engine result is in the "Sponsored Links" portion of the page; this Pay Per Click strategy(see PPC, below) is more expensive method to stay in front of the search engine user. Online -- If you are connected to the Internet, you are online. Online advertising is done exclusively on the web or through e-mail. Online Marketing -- Online advertising done exclusively on the web or through e-mail. Various types of online marketing include:
Organic Search Engine Listing -- There are two types of listings in search engine results. One type is known as the "organic" or "natural" listing and it is found on the left side of the page. These listings are free (there is no cost to show up here) but to be found requires a lot of careful search engine strategy; it is very competitive to do well and rank at the top of the Organic listings. The other type of listing is what is on the right side of the page: the paid advertisements (or pay-per-clicks, below). See also SEO - Search Engine Optimization - which is described below. Pay-Per-Clicks -- This second choice of being found in search engines (the first is Organic Search Engine Listing, above) means that you set up an ad account with a company so a phrase you want to be known for is linked to your site. You competitively bid on the phrase against others. Each time someone clicks on the link in the search engine (they appear on the right side of search results) your account is charged for the link - hence the name, pay-per-click. When you have reached they maximum of your account for the month your link disappears from the right side of the page. You want to make sure it is always there in the free Organic listings on the left side for this reason. See also SEM - Search Engine Marketing - defined below. PDF -- Portable Document Format. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user’s computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe's own web site. Plug -- A software extension that provides added capabilities to the browser, for purposes such as viewing, hearing, or saving specially formatted files. PNG -- Portable Network Graphics format (pronounced "ping"). PNG is used for lossless compression and displaying images on the web. The advantages of PNG are that it supports images with millions of colors and produces background transparency without jagged edges. The disadvantages are that PNG images will not show up on older browsers, and still can be comparatively larger in file size than GIFs. Portfolio -- In the Web design business, a portfolio is an example of work that a Web designer has created. A portfolio can be either a notebook with shots of the Web sites or an on-lone portfolio with links to Web sites a designer has created. PPI -- Pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch (ppi). Query -- A search request submitted to a database (such as the search engine and directory databases) to find a particular piece of information or all records that meet the search criteria. R Radio Button -- In an online form, radio buttons look like this: When you click a radio button only one selection is available. A radio button is different from a check box, which can accept multiple checked items at a time. Rollover Buttons -- An image that changes appearance when the user moves the pointer over it or clicks it. To see an example, put your mouse over the Contact Us link at the top of this page. S Search Engine -- A generic term used to describe applications that find words and phrases on the Internet. SEM -- Search Engine Marketing which sometimes is known as PPC - Pay Per Click. An account is set up with a search engine to be the highest bidder for a series of phrases, as many as the marketing budget allows. A good return is a conversion of 1% of those who click on the link to come to your website. If they don't stay you still pay the search engines for sending you traffic. Click-fraud is illegal but it can happen; this is when a competitor clicks on a link to cause the wasting of marketing money. This is a service we do not offer. See also PPC - Pay Per Click - which is described above. SEO -- Search Engine Optimization, which is work done to make any website or web page more likely to get traffic from search engines and their users; also, an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimizer (the careful work done by someone to enhance traffic from search-engine users). SEO work gets a website page listed on the left side of a search engine results page - which studies show is where 80% of the people using search engines look. Getting your site listed in this "natural" or "organic" part of the page takes expertise but, once you're listed, doesn't cost anything to stay there - if you follow the right guidelines. getnoticedonline.comSM puts good search engine strategy to work anytime we update our client's website. See also Organic Search Engine Listing - which is described above. Server -- A specialized computer that keeps your web services available 24/7. There are different servers for our clients working together behind the scene: website servers, e-mail servers and database servers. A lot of care goes into having a web server: uninterrupted power source (with a generator as a back-up for long-term power loss), firewall protection, anti-worm protection, quick access of the text and images, etc. Our client's websites are excellently maintained and constantly monitored for quality. Spider/Robot -- A software program that search engines use which visits every site on the web, follows all of the links, and catalogs each text of every web page that (a) contains text, and/or (b) it is able to be visited or crawled. T Thumbnail -- A small version of a graphic image. These can be a small version of a picture of a product for a shopping cart item. The image below is a thumbnail image of a web page:
U URL -- (Uniform Resource Locater) - A term used for a domain name or a web address, such as http://www.getNOTICEDonline.com. The URL usually includes the domain name, possibly some directories and filename. Let's describe this page's URL address as an example: http://www.getNOTICEDonline.com/web-glossary.htm
W Web Page -- A single document on the Internet. Each Web page has its own URL or Web address. Webmaster -- The individual who designs a Web site. Also in charge of adding and modifying Web pages, making sure the servers are up and running, checking and analyzing the statistics for the site, repairing or removing links that are no longer active, and much more. Web Site -- A compilation of Web Pages, scripts, and other things on the Internet. A Web site can be as small as a single page or as large as many thousand of pages. The site typically begins with a home page. XZ XHTML -- Stands for Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language and is a hybrid of XML and HTML. Web pages designed in XHTML should look the same across all platforms. Zip Drive -- a large capacity floppy disk drive that accepts large disks that can hold almost seventy times more than a standard floppy. Zipped File -- a compressed file on a PC. Compressed files are smaller and, so, easier to e-mail than their original files. It usually is best to put all files into one folder and then zip the folder to compress it. Contact gNo | About gNo | FAQs | Business Partners | Web Glossary | Newsletter | Home Website Packages | Targeted Clients | Web Site Enhancements | Graphic Services | Why gNo | Portfolio |
