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Glossary of Terms

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Back End: "Behind" the front end, this is the code, database, and site architecture invisible to a user that "powers" a website.

Bandwidth Transfer: Measure of how many files downloaded from a website during a specified period of time. "Files" include web pages, images, PDF files, audio and video clips. Here's a formula for calculating approximately how much bandwidth transfer your site will require: Average number of pages viewed during any given visitor's visit x Average size of each page on your site x Number of visitors per month = Total Bandwidth per month.

Database: A database is often referred to as an electronic file cabinet. A database is a store or a house for the organization of related data. These pieces of data are separated out into separate fields, or cells (think of a spreadsheet) that can be pulled together or accessed according to a user's needs.

Dedicated Hosting: This term refers to a web hosting environment where only one website exists.

Discussion Board: A forum on a Web site for the discussion of a specific topic or set of related topics

Domain Name: This is a name that identifies one or more IP addresses (such as 3210consulting.com).

Dynamic Website: A website that provides for interaction. Ordinarily, there is a database that acts as the engine behind a dynamic website. So, often, you will hear a dynamic website termed a "database-driven" website. A dynamic website requires programming.

E-Commerce: E-Commerce is the act of conducting transactions over a secure website, or accepting payment for products and services over a website.

Front End: This is a website's visible side, or "user interface".

Graphical Design: Graphical Design can be defined a number of different ways. Basically, graphical design is the visual design and layout displayed in a website, brochure, logo, or other production medium.

HTML: Stands for Hypertext Markup Language. Refers to the format a webpage needs to be in to be accessed or browsed on the Internet. HTML is not a programming language but a markup language that employs a set of tags to display text and images in the format and style you see on any give web page.

Homepage: The homepage is a very specific web page within a website: the first page a user is presented with when he or she visits a website.

Internet Service Provider (ISP): An ISP is company that provides your company or organization with a connection to the Internet. Connections to the Internet can come in the form of a dial-up connection, DSL, Cable, T1, and T3.

Listserv: A listserv electronic bulletin board delivered to its subscribers in email format. Any message posted to the listserv is broadcast to all subscribers via email.

Megabyte: Measurement of data storage. A megabyte (or MB) is equal to 1,000 kilobytes (Kb). A gigabyte (or GB) is equal to equal to 1,024 megabytes. For perspective, the average size of one web page within a website is about 50-100 Kb, or 1/20- 1/10 of a megabyte.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Online advertising payment model in which a business is charged everytime a user clicks through to its website from an online advertisment for that company.

Personalized Email Addresses: Email address that contains the name of your company (or organization or firm, etc). Example: bob@acme.com

Programming: Programming Refers to the different languages used to translate business logic into instructions that computers can understand. Take for example a travel website that shows you all of the flights between Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois this afternoon between 2 pm and 4 pm. A programming language is used to translate a user's request and return results based on his or her request. Programming languages include Java, JSP ASP, Cold Fusion, C++, and Cobalt.

Search Engine: Search Engines are software programs that "crawl" the Web in an effort to index and organize the billions of websites on the Web.

Search Engine Optimization: Online marketing technique that targets keywords and phrases related to a website, and aims to rank that site high in the search engines when a user searches on those keywords and phrases.

Shared Hosting: Shared hosting refers to a web hosting environment where many websites reside on one server connected to the Internet. Each site "sits" on its own partition, or section of the server to keep it separate from other sites.

Shopping Cart: This is a term used in relation to e-commerce. Technically, it's the designated place within an e-commerce website that lists the items you have selected to purchase.

Static Website: A website that does not provide any interacticity between it and its users. The text and the images on any given page of the site are "hard-coded" and will not change from visitor to visitor. It is a common misconception that static websites are somehow unsophisticated, or not up-to-date, technologically. That is not true; some of the most sophisticated sites on the Web are static. Whether your site is static or dynamic entirely depends on your business objectives online. A static or "brochureware" website, as they are often called, might fit your goals online, and therefore is the best solution for your business.

URL: This acronym stands for Unified Resource Locator. It is the location for any page, image or other file on a website.

Website: A website collection of pages of text, images, and other files (such as audio or video clips) that make up a company or organization's presence online. This is not to be confused with a web page, which is one single page within the collection of pages that make up a website.

Website Address: A website's address is its location on the World Wide Web.

Website Hosting Provider: Website Hosting Providers provide your company or organization with server space to house your website on the Internet. Hosting providers monitor your website and make sure it is "up" and accessible to the general Internet public.

Website Navigation: Refers to a site's internal organization. Specifically, it is the avenues or paths a suer can take to browse through a website.

Website Statistics Reports: These reports allow you to monitor traffic to your website; they provide invaluable marketing and demographic information about your website users. Website statistics reports include information such as:

• Domain name from which your visitors are coming
• Length of time visitors spend on each page
• Pages visited most frequently
• Number of unique visitors over a specified period of time
• Number of repeat visitors over a specificed period of time
• Pages users exit from most frequently
• Key phrases visitors typed into search engine to find your site

Website Storage: Amount of space or storage that a website hosting provider allocates to any given website.