NOCTI Web and Web Design-Common Website Terms
OPERATING SYSTEM
(computer science) software that controls the execution of computer programs and may provide various services
ELEMENT
A HTML ____________________ is everything from the start tag to the end tag. Using the p tag (<p>) as an example: <p>This is a paragraph</p> the <p> ___________________ has a start tag <p> and an end tag </p> with the __________________ content being 'This is a paragraph'. The <p> _________________ defines a paragraph in the HTML document.
CSS3
A Style Sheet Language used for describing the look and formatting of a document
HIT
A ________ is a request for a single file from your web server. This means one page can actually generate multiple _________s, as each page generally has more than one file (an html or other base file, a css file, multiple images, etc.) and each one is requested from the server whenever the page is loaded. Some marketing people like to quote this to unknowing consumers as the number makes their site sound like it"s getting a whole lot more traffic than it actually is.
DOMAIN
A _________________ is a person or organisation's unique space on the internet. In layman's terms, it is commonly used to mean the name of your website.
HEXADECIMAL
A base-16 numbering system used to define colors online. _______________ numbers include the numerals 0-9 and letters A-F. __________________ numbers are written in three sets of pairs. Because screen colors are RGB (Red, Green, Blue), the first pair defines the red hue, the second pair defines the green hue, and the third pair defines the blue.
ASCII
A code that represents English characters as numbers, ranging from 0 to 127. Commonly used by computers and browsers, to transfer data from one computer to another computer (like a server). In terms of transferring data from a computer to a server (called "uploading"), you would need to use either _________________ or Binary, depending on the type of file being transferred.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
A company that provides customers access to the Internet.
MAILSERVER
A computer that distributes email. Simplest is to think of it as an internet version of your local post office.
SHAREWARE
A copyrighted software that can be sampled before it is purchased.
WORM
A destructive computer program that bores its way through a computer's files or through a computer's network.
web page
A document stored on the World Wide Web.
PARKED DOMAIN
A domain name that sits on the same server space as another. If someone types in the address of either the main domain or the ________________ domain, they will arrive at the same website.
CMS (Content Management System)
A dynamic website that is normally database driven and which enables the owner/user to manage the content of their own website (make changes) without needing to know any coding at all.
PLUG IN
A hardware or software application that adds a specific feature to a browser.
XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language)
A hybrid between HTML and XML specifically designed for Net device displays. XHTML is a markup language written in XML and is a stricter and cleaner version of HTML.
HYPERLINK
A link from a hypertext file or document to another location or file, typically activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image on the screen
JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
A lossy compression technique for color images.
CONVERSION
A marketing term that refers to how many website visitors convert to buyers. If 1 out of every hundred visitors to a site end up buying something, there is a 1:100 (or 1%) ____________________ rate. Ultimately this is what website marketing is all about because it is pointless getting thousands of visitors if none are buying your product, your services, your ideas or whatever it is you are selling (every website is selling something, even if the only payment is an ego-boost to the site owner).
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
A markup language that is designed to carry data instead of indicating how to display it.
web traffic
A metric for measuring website success that tallies the number of unique users who visit a site or the number of page views that a site receives.
Keyword/Keyword Phrase
A single word or combination of words that a searcher might type into a search field.
LAN (Local Area Network)
A network of computers and other devices that is confined to a relatively small space, such as one building or even one office.
IP address
A number that uniquely identifies each computer or device connected to the Internet.
BINARY
A numbering system that consists of only two numbers, 0 and 1. Everything that you type or input into a computer is converted into a unique combination of the zeros and ones.
SCRIPT
A piece of code that creates or enables a specific function on a website. The possible uses are endless, as are the different types of _______________ that can be used, written in a variety of languages, including JavaScript.
SUBDOMAIN
A portion of a URL that usually indicates a specific subdivision or server within a large site.
Browser
A program that accesses and displays files and other data available on the Internet and other networks.
PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor)
A server-side X/HTML-embedded scripting language for developing dynamic Web sites.
COOKIE
A small piece of information that certain websites store on your computer when you visit them. ________________ are normally harmless and the reasons for using them vary. Sometimes it is to make sure that their website loads quickly when you next visit, by drawing the saved information from your own computer rather than from the website itself. Another use is to track visitors to see how often they come, what they do when they come and other information to help with marketing.
SEARCH ENGINE
A software program you can use to find Web sites, Web pages, and Internet files.
WWW (World Wide Web)
A system of interlinked hypertext documents contained on the Internet
BETA
A term used for software that is in a "live" testing phase. People can use it but can expect some hiccups.
GIF
A type of file used for images, especially animated graphics and line-drawn images (as opposed to photographs). A ______ image can be saved with a transparent background, making it ideal for graphic overlays.
BROADBAND
A type of internet connection that is a wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals and traffic types. It is used to mean any high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than dial-up access over traditional analog or ISDN PSTN services.
PERMALINK
A unique URL that points to the permanent location of a single blog post and its associated comments and TrackBacks.
Internet Explorer
A web browser created by Microsoft in 1995. It is used to view information on the World Wide Web.
DATABASE DRIVEN
A website in which the information is not stored on the page, but in a database. Every time someone visits a particular page, the information is drawn from the database in order to display it on the page. Information can therefore be easily cross-referenced and the same information applied in many different ways, using formulas and different variables.
META TAG
An HTML coding statement that describes some aspect of the Web page content.
ATTRIBUTE
An ___________________ supplies additional information within an element. They come in name/value pairs and are always inside the start tag.
optimize
An act, process, or methodology used to make a design or system as effective or functional as possible within the given criteria and constraints.
Bcc (blinndd carbon copy)
An email feature in which you send someone and email and their email address does not show in the "To" field of the email.
CC
An email feature. Use this to send a copy of an email to one or many other people at the same time that you are sending it to the main recipient/s.
SEARCH ENGINE LISTING
An online advertisement appearing in a list of websites generated by a search engine in response to a keyword(s)
BLOG
An online journal or diary and a very popular current method of sharing your thoughts with the world. It is also very popular as a marketing tool.
ASP.NET
An open source web framework, created by Microsoft, for building modern web apps and services. It is cross platform and runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, and Docker.
IFRAME
Defines an inline sub window (frame)
WEBMAIL
Email that you can check from any computer anywhere in the world using software on a server.
Markup Tags
Embeds formatting information into a document to instruct an interpreter how to render text.
FAVICON
Favicons are tiny (generally 16×16 pixels, though some are 32×32 pixels), customizable icons displayed in the web address bar in most browsers next to the web address. They're either 8-bit or 24-bit in colour depth and are saved in either .ico, .gif or .png file formats. The favicon used by Thinking IT is the head logo.
BROWSING
Going to different websites on the internet and looking around. A bit like window shopping, but on the internet instead of in a mall. Think of going into a bookshop and looking at different books, it's the same thing. - Taking a casual look around for anything that may be of interest.
TIMEOUT
If you try to connect to any server on the internet - to view a website or collect email - and it takes too long, you will have a ________________________. It purely means it has taken too long, so the process was aborted. This is often what has happened when you get an error while trying to send or receive email, or when you try to visit a website and instead get a page that tells you the site cannot be found. Often just trying again immediately fixes the problem.
HOST / HOSTING
In order for you to have an email address or a website, a computer somewhere, with all the necessary software, has to provide you with 3 things: an IP (domain) address, physical space to store the information and bandwidth that accommodates the flow of information that is taking place on your behalf. The company that provides you with these facilities is your ____________ and you will pay them a fee for _______ing your site and or email address.
HTML5
It is the fifth and current version of the HTML standard, can be used as an alternative to Flash media
DIRECTORY or SEARCH ENGINE DIRECTORY
Much like the Yellow Pages, a directory is a place where information about hundreds, thousands and millions of websites is stored to allow people to easily and quickly find information and/or resources. Yahoo is an example of a search engine directory, Trades Check for example is a directory website for people wanting to find local licensed tradesmen.
SITEMAP
Overview of a web site and all the links and pages within it.
chat
Real-time typed conversation that takes place on a computer.
BOUNCE RATE
Refers to website's percentage of people who leave the site from the same page they entered the site, without clicking through to any other pages. This can be a good indicator of how good a website's navigation is, as well as an indicator of the quality of the site's content.
ACCESSIBILITY
Relates to web design/coding standards and refers to how easy it is for everyone to use your website, including people who are visually impaired or in any way physically handicapped, or limited by older or less common computers and software.
FREEWARE
Software that is made available at no cost whatsoever. Often includes advertising for the provider and is sometimes used to entice a user to purchase the unbranded version with no advertising. __________________ from an unknown or questionable source should be avoided as these programs can contain viruses or adware (see "adware" above)
SERVER SIDE
Something that operates on the "server" computer (providing the Web page), as opposed to the "client" computer (which is you or someone else viewing the Web page). Usually it is a program or command or procedure or other application causes dynamic pages or animation or other interaction.
WEB STANDARDS
Standards are specifications recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium for standardizing website design. The main purpose of _______ ___________________ is to make it easier for both designers and those who create web browsers to make sites that will appear consistent across platforms, although browsers such as IE - Internet Explorer are slow to add the latest standards for website design.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Style sheet language that provides the formatting and "look" of a Web page or document written in a markup language.
HYPERTEXT
Text that has been embedded with instructions to take a web page viewer to additional information.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The Internet's system for converting alphabetic names into numeric IP addresses.
DOCTYPE
The _____________________ declaration specifies which version of HTML is used in a document. It has a direct effect on whether your HTML will validate.
browser cache
The collection of HTML pages and images that is stored locally by a browser and used to quickly load pages that have been previously viewed without waiting for them to be downloaded again.
The internet equivalent to post and mail, ____________ is an encoded message that is sent instantly to someone else's computer. It is however a "best attempt" facility and not foolproof, largely because of the complexity of the internet itself and the vast number of things that can cause the process to stall or fail.
BANDWIDTH
The maximum rate of data transfer across a given path. An analogy would be a freeway. The wider the freeway, the more traffic (users) it can handle. The narrower it is, the less people can use it at once (without problems). When a website gets a lot of visitors, it will use a lot of __________________________.
Microsoft Windows
The most common operating system for IBM and IBM-compatible PCs.
DOMAIN REGISTRATION
The process of registering a name for your website so that users do not have to go through the trouble of remembering an IP Address. This is the registration of a human readable site name.
EMAIL CLIENT
The software program that you use in order to send and receive email from your home computer, tablet or smart phone.
FTP CLIENT
The software program that you use to upload your website to a host server.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The standard coding language used to construct World Wide Web documents.
ANCHOR TEXT
The text a link (hyperlink) uses to refer to your web page. These make a difference in your search engine results.
ADDRESS BAR
The white bar towards the top of your computer screen. It will normally have something typed in it that starts with "http://" This is where you type in the address of a website that you want to visit.
root access
This means that you have access to your hosting space at the highest level. To explain further: the information on the server is stored in different folders, arranged in a hierarchical order. The main folder in which all the other folders and sub-folders for your account are kept, is the root folder. If you go into your account on the server and can only see the main content folders, then you do not have ___________ access.
SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY
This relates to how well a site has been put together. These websites are ones that search engines can easily read and find all the links on AND which search engines "like" because it is properly optimised and not breaking any of their rules.
BELOW THE FOLD
This term is a carry-over from newspaper publishing days. It means content was on the bottom half of the page, which could not be seen when the paper was folded and sitting on a newspaper stand.. In web design terms, it refers to the content that is generally going to be below the point first viewable to the average website visitor in their browser (in other words, viewers would have to scroll down to see the content).
FIXED WIDTH LAYOUT
This type of layout has a set width (generally defined in pixels) set by the designer. The width stays the same regardless of screen resolution, monitor size, or browser window size. It allows for minute adjustments to be made to a design that will stay consistent across browsers. Designers have more control over exactly how a site will appear across platforms with this type of layout.
CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
This type of system is a back-end tool for managing a site's content that separates the content from the design and functionality of the website. Using this can make it easier to change the design of a site independent of the site's content or pages. It can also make it easier for pages and images to be added to the website for people who aren't programmers, saving on the cost of hiring a programmer because you can add/edit/delete content yourself.
SEARCH RESULT
When someone searches for something using a search engine, the list of websites and links that the search engine responds with is the _____________ _____________. The aim of any website is to appear high in the _______________ ______________.
BOUNCE
When you send an email to someone and it comes straight back to you with an error message, it is said to have ______________________. It's like the internet version of "return to sender" except it is a computer or piece of software automatically sending it back to you, not a person.
STABLE RELEASE
While BETA software is software that is in the final testing phases, a _______________ ________________ is when the software has passed the beta testing phase and is considered safe for general use.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
_______ is the address of a Web page on the World Wide Web.
FONT FAMILY
___________ _____________ is a group designation for defining the typefaces used in CSS documents. This CSS property generally lists multiple fonts to be used, and usually ends with the generic font category (such as "serif" or "sans-serif").
BACKLINKS
______________________ are links from other website pages to yours. They are used to increase a site's popularity with search engines and to get more people to visit your site.
SERVER
a computer that provides client stations with access to files or printers or other shared resources to a computer network
RECIPROCAL LINKS
a listed, live connection to a different website, which in turn displays a similar link to the first website
WEBSITE
a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web.
TROJAN HORSE
a program designed to breach the security of a computer system while ostensibly performing some innocuous function. Named after the popular story from ancient Greek history.
META DATA
a set of data that describes and gives information about other data.
computer virus
a software program capable of reproducing itself and usually capable of causing great harm to files or other programs on the same computer
Intellectual property
a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
aggregators allowing Web users to create their own content assembled from the Internet's limitless supply of material
PPC (Pay Per Click)
an interactive advertising model where an advertiser only pays for clicks on an ad not ad impressions
JAVASCRIPT
an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers.
SEARCH ENGINE RANKING
evaluates variables that search engines use to determine where a URL appears on the list of search results
UPLOAD
to transfer an image, document, or file, from your computer to a website
DOMAIN NAME EXTENSION
tells users what type of organization uses the address (.com .gov .edu .mil .org .biz .info)
DOMAIN NAME
text version of an IP address
PROPAGATION
the action of widely spreading the existence of a new website or server on the Internet so that users are allowed to navigate to the site through all of the routers on the internet.
copyright
the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. "he issued a writ for breach of copyright"
Above the Fold
the placement of the most important elements near the top of a web page so that they are visible without requiring the user to scroll. The term comes from the Newspaper industry.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
the protocol used for transmitting web pages over the Internet
LANDING PAGE
the web page that a person reaches when clicking on a search engine listing or ad
DOWNLOAD
to transfer a file from the Internet or other computer to your own computer
spam email
unwanted, promotional email