Glossary of Terms (A-E F-L M-Z)

Accessibility

In the context of a Website, accessibility refers to the degree that a Website can be accessed by people with disabilities.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that can be transferred in a given time, usually measured in bits-per-second (bps). It determines how much data can flow through your site. A full page of English text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move about 57,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video would require roughly 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression.

Bookmark

To mark a document or a specific place in a document for later retrieval. Nearly all Web browsers support a bookmaking feature that lets you save the address (URL) of a Web page so that you can easily revisit the page at a later time.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface)

A set of rules allowing a user's Web browser to communicate with a program on the Web server. For example, after submitting a Web form the data from that form is passed through the CGI to a program on the server. This program processes the data and then e-mails the data from the form to an appropriate recipient.

Cookies

A cookie is a text-only string placed in a file on your computer's hard disk that identifies a return visitor to a Website. They can also be used to "remember" user-selected preferences, such as login or registration information for a particular Website. Cookies are generally harmless, and many popular e-commerce sites require your Internet browser to allow them to set cookies in order to make a purchase.

Cookies are usually set to expire after a predetermined amount of time and are usually saved in memory until the Browser is closed down, at which time they may be saved to disk if their expire time has not been reached.

Counter

A Counter shows you how many page views or hits occurred on a certain Web page on your Web site.

CSS

Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) is a technology used to control the presentation (appearance of text and other elements) of a Web page. CSS is typically used to provide a single library of styles that are used over and over throughout a large number of related pages in a Website. A CSS file might specify that all numbered lists are to appear in italics. By changing that single specification the look of a large number of documents can be easily changed.

Disk Space

Your Website disk space consists of HTML files, graphics, audio clips, e-mail, and all other files that make up your Web site. The amount of disk space you need depends on what your Website is used for. If you plan to only publish text (1MB of space is equal to approximately 100 pages of text) you don't need a lot of space. But most Websites include graphics, and, as your online business grows, you may also include interactive customer features such as forums which use significantly more space.

Data Transfer

Data Transfer is the amount of data transmitted over an Internet connection in a given time. It is used up by traffic to your Website and also by sending and receiving e-mail. For example, if someone views a 1MB Web page on your site, 1MB of data transfer is used. If 10 people view it, then 10MB of transfer will be consumed. If you send an e-mail with a 2MB attachment it will use 2MB of data transfer. The amount of transfer that you require while choosing a host depends on two factors:

1. The size of your site and
2. The popularity of your site.

Flash Web sites and Virtual Reality (VR) sites require the most transfer of all.

Design

The aesthetic and navigational architecture of a Website.

DNS -- (Domain Name System)

The Domain Name System is the system that translates Internet domain names into IP numbers. A DNS Server is a server that performs this kind of translation.

Domain Name Extensions

Network Solutions offers a variety of domain name extensions. Protecting brand identity has become very important, so often customers will register multiple extensions and variations of their domain names. Here are the most frequently registered extensions and their common usage, although it must be noted that any extension can be used for any purpose:

Extension	Common Usage
.com	Commercial, but is commonly used for everything
.net	Internet administrative site, but is commonly used
.org	Organization
.info	Information
.biz	Business
.us	United States
.name	Personal Web sites
.ws	Western Samoa, but is often used for Web Sites
.bz	Belize
.vg	British Virgin Islands
.cc	Cocos (Keeling) Islands
.ms	Montserrat
.gs	South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands
.tc	Turks and Caicos Islands
.tv	Tuvalu, but often used for television
.uk	United Kingdom
.de	Germany
.eu	European Union
.be	Belgium
.cn	China
.tw	Taiwan
.at	Austria
.nz	New Zealand
.mx	Mexico

Domain Names

A domain name is also called a Web address. A domain name is used as an address for your Website and e-mail, just like www.OhioWebWeaver.com and Webmaster@OhioWebWeaver.com.

Domain Pointer

A domain pointer is a domain name that points to your main Website address. This means that, for example, OhioWebWeaver.net and OhioWebWeaver.org can point to the same location as your main Web address (OhioWebWeaver.com).

Electronic Commerce/E-Commerce

Refers to the ability to sell products through your Website

E-mail

E-mail is short for electronic mail. It consists of messages, often just text, sent from one user to another via a network.

E-mail Address

This refers to an electronic mailing address to which e-mail may be sent and received.

Extensions

See Domain Name Extensions.