Web Term Glossary

For the technologically challenged... Tired of techies using words you don't understand? Our glossary will help you decode!

Alt tags: Alternative labels or "tags" for images on your Web site. They are really helpful when images are slow to load, so that you can tell what's there before it appears!

Browser: A software program used for searching and viewing various kinds of Internet resources such as information on a web site. The most popular Internet browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Domain name: The unique name that identifies an Internet site. The domain name of this site is www.beantownweb.com. It's another name for "web address." Every Web site has a unique domain name. You will have to register a domain name if you don't already have one. We can help you with this. It usually costs less than $10 per year.

Dreamweaver: A program by Macromedia used to design Web pages.

Flash: Another program by Macromedia used to design animations for Web pages.

GIF: GIF stands for graphics interchange format. It's a compressed graphics format that lets you download and view graphics very quickly on a Web site. GIF graphics are commonly used on line to display anything that isn't a photograph, like simple cartoons, or line drawings.

JPEG: JPEG is a standardized image compression mechanism and stands
for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the original name of the
committee that wrote the standard. JPEG graphics are often used to display actual photographs, naturalistic artwork, etc.

Host/Hosting Company: Once we design your site, it has to "live" somewhere. You will have to contract a hosting company to house your Web site. If you don't have one already, we can recommend one to you.

Link/Hyperlink/Hotlink: These are all words for the same thing! A link on a Web page will lead you to related information if you click on it with your mouse.

MB: Abbreviation for megabytes, a measurement of computer memory. When looking for a host for your site, I recommend one that gives you at least 500 MB of space.

Photoshop: A program by Adobe used to create, alter, and update graphics.

Server: (see also Host) This is the computer where your Web site lives. Typically, it is located at a Web hosting company.

Template: Beantown Web sets up most Web sites in templates. If you look at the pages throughout this Web site, most of the information on the top and side of the page remains the same, as do the colors. That's because all of these pages are in the same template. It is the content in the middle that changes. The template is the most time-consuming part of designing your site, as it must be perfect since it will be used for all pages.

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): Like a domain name, a URL is an Internet address (for example, http://www.beantownweb.com, usually consisting of the access protocol (http), the domain name (www.beantownweb.com), and optionally the path to a file or resource residing on that server (www.beantownweb.com/about).