Explanation of Web and Internet Terminology

When investigating website design services there is often a lot of technical language used which can be hard to understand. This list of web and Internet related terminology will help to explain some of the more commonly used terms and acronyms. For a more in-depth explanation of some of these terms you may search on www.wikipedia.org. For further general information about the web and Internet a good place to start is www.learnthenet.com.

Bandwidth:
The greater the bandwidth the more information that can be transferred at one time. It’s a bit like your garden hose – the fatter the hose the more water can flow through it. The term bandwidth also broadly includes throughput, meaning the amount of information sent.

Broadband
Broadband is becoming more and more popular. In a nutshell it’s like getting a thicker ‘hosepipe’ (see bandwidth) to connect to the Internet with. It makes using the Internet up to 10 or 20 times faster than with a standard dialup modem. Dialup modems normally use your phone line, preventing voice calls whenever you are on the Internet, whereas broadband connections allow you to use your phone simultaneously.

Browser
Software for viewing web pages. Browsers (or Internet Browsers) are often free, either to download or from install from CDs. The most popular browser is made by Microsoft and is called Internet Explorer. If you have a PC it will already be on your computer. Other web browsers include Opera, Safari and Firefox.

Cyberspace
The term is used to describe the Internet and other computer networks.

Dialup Modem
This is a connection from your computer using a modem over standard telephone lines. A modem is simply a device to let your computer talk over a phone line.

Download
The process of copying a file from the Internet onto your computer. For example, you can download a Word file to your computer so that when you disconnect from the Internet you will still be able to access the file as it is now copied to your computer's hard drive.

Email
Similar to normal post there is a ‘from address’ and a ‘to address’ but rather than a postman everything is handled electronically.

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions.

Firewall
Used to stop unwanted access to either a computer or a network. If you are using a PC, particularly if you are using broadband it is recommend you install a Firewall. A free version of ZoneAlarm is available to download at www.zonelabs.com.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol. A method of transferring files from one computer to another.

GIF
Acronym for Graphic Interchange Format. Images come in a variety of formats. GIF is one of the main image formats for use on the web. GIF is particularly good for logos and line drawings. Photographs are better as JPEGs.

Home Page
Generally the first web page you come to in a website (e.g. the Welcome page)

HTML
HyperText Markup Language. Most web pages are written in HTML.

Hyperlinks See Links.

Internet
Lots of computers connected together by wires, satellites and radio links etc. Whenever you are surfing the web the computer you are using is connected to the Internet.

JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group. One of the main image formats for use on the web. Photographs are normally best stored as JPEG images for use on the web.

Links
Also known as hyperlinks. Connects you from where you are on the web to somewhere else. For example, it may connect you to another website or to a person’s email address. When you click on a menu and it opens another page you have clicked a link.

QuickTime
QuickTime is a movie format developed by Apple. You can download the free QuickTime viewer at www.apple.com/quicktime.

URL
Acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. Addressing system used on the Web and other Internet resources. An address such as "http://www.google.co.uk" is a URL. It is perhaps easier to say ‘web address’.

Virus
A program that copies itself across the Internet, especially via email (or by other means, e.g. floppy disk). These programs can do annoying or nasty things to your computer. If you use the Internet you should use a virus killer program. Two examples of commercially available programs are McAfee VirusScan (www.mcafee.com) and Norton AntiVirus (www.norton.com).

Web
Also known as the World Wide Web (WWW). Often used informally to mean the collection of computers connected to the Internet.

Webmaster
Person in charge of running a website.

Web Page
A single page on the web. A collection of pages is referred to as a website.

Web Server
A computer permanently connected to the Internet which stores and runs a website. When a visitor requests a page the web server sends it to them.

Website
Also written ‘web site’. One or more web pages. Just like a book has pages with text and pictures, so can a site.

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