Access Number
The telephone number dialed your computer's modem which enables communication with an online service or ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Anti-Virus Program
Software that monitors a computer for viruses and other malicious scripts and eliminates them before damage occurs.

Banner Ad

An advertisement placed on a web page, which utilizes a graphic.  There can be many sizes of ads, but they are usually 468 x 60 pixels in size.  Often these banners are animated.

Bandwidth
A measurement of how much information (measured in bytes, megabytes or gigabytes) can be transmitted at a given time over the Internet.

BBS
Bulletin Board System. A website service that usually provides information, software, and technical support on a focused topic, sometimes called a message forum.

Bookmarking
A way of storing pointers to your favorite Websites in your browser for later retrieval.

BPS
Bits Per Second. This is the measurement of the speed at which data can be transmitted over a telephone or network line.

Browser
An application that displays a Web page. Also known as a Web browser.  Internet Explorer and Netscape are the most popular browsers.

CGI

Common Gateway Interface is a programming language which allows special server functions to be conducted on a website.

Copy Writing

Not to be confused with "copywriting".  This is the creation of written materials, such as advertising text, site content, and printed information.  Basically, the text of your website.

Chat
Live communication over the Internet Relay Chat service or an online service. As one person enters text it appears on the other person's screen in "real time", or almost instantly.

Client/Server
A relationship between programs running on separate machine in a computer network. The server is the provider of services, while the client is the consumer of the services.

Domain Name

The identity of your website on the internet.  Typically domain names end in .com, .org, .biz, .net, .us etc. Your domain name denotes the name of a specific Internet area controlled by a company, school, individual or organization.

Email
Electronic Mail. Text messages and/or graphics sent through a network to specified individual or group. Email messages can also carry attached files.

FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions. A FAQ is generally a list of questions and answers about a specific subject. .

Flash

A special technology developed by Macromedia which allows fast, quick-loading animations with special effect capabilites to be placed on web pages.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol. The Internet protocol that allow the viewing, downloading, and uploading of files on remote computers.

Graphic

An image, logo, button or banner used in web design.

GIF
Graphic Interchange Format. A bit-mapped color graphics file format that is the preferred one to use if you want to put a graphic (as opposed to a photo) on a Web page.

Gig
Approximately one billion bytes, or one thousand megabytes.

Hosting

The long-term storage of a website on a server on the internet, so that any user may access it at any time via the world wide web. Typically, the client must pay a monthly charge for hosting to a hosting company.

HTML

Hypertext markup language; the basic language used to create web-pages, to create hyperlinks, to load images, and to embed special functions.

HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The Internet protocol that the Web uses to send information to the client, so the client browser can view Web pages.

Icon
A small abstract graphic representation of an object or idea.

Interface

The method(s) through which a user retrieves information from a computer or system.

IP Address
The number that identifies your machine as unique on the Internet. Without it, you can not use any Internet protocols.

ISP
Internet Service Provider. This would be the company that provides direct access to the Internet.

JavaScript

A programming language, developed by Netscape, which allows extended functions within HTML documents, such as animation, pop-up windows, alert buttons, and forms.

Jscript

A programming language, developed by Microsoft, which is designed to mimic the functions of JavaScript. In certain cases, Jscript and JavaScript code are incompatible.

JPEG
Joint Photographic Expert Group. A file format using a compression technique to reduce the size of a graphics file by as much as 96 percent. JPEG is the preferred file format to use if you want to put a photograph on a Web page.

Link
A word or phrase emphasized in a hypertext document that acts as a pointer to related information. Links in a Web browser are usually underlined and are a different color than the rest of the text.

Mailing List
Discussion groups over the Internet that link a group of people together with common interests. If you belong to a mailing list, you receive every message posted to that list via email.

Modem
A devise that translates computer signals to analog signals suitable for send across phone lines.

PDF
Portable Document Format. A standard used by Adobe Acrobat to display any sort of document on any computer. The Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded as freeware. Click here to download it.

RealAudio
A helper app that allows you to download sound files over Web pages in real-time. The player can be downloaded as freeware.

Search Engine
A utility that locates resources via searches for keywords and phrases. Click here for a large list of search engines.

Server

A computer connected to the internet, an intranet, or a local network from which files can be retrieved or exchanged via another computer. For our purposes, server refers to a computer connected to the Internet upon which a website and all related documents are stored.

Search Engine
A utility that locates resources via searches for keywords and phrases. Click here for a large list of search engines.

Shareware
Software distributed via the honor system. You download shareware from the Internet, try it out, and if you keep it, are expected to pay a shareware fee.

Shockwave

A special technology developed by Macromedia which allows the streaming of content.

Spam
Unsolicited email messages or Newsgroups postings, usually advertising a product.  WE HATE SPAM!  Don't you?

Streaming

The "broadcasting" of video and audio over low-bandwidth connections on the internet.

Transparent GIF
A GIF that has one of its colors set to be transparent. When displayed against a background tile or color, the image will appear to float above it.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator. Describes the location and access method of a resource on the Internet. This is also known as the "Web site address."

Web design

The theoretical layout of graphics, text, and images which will eventually be developed into an actual website.

Web Development

The actual creation of a website, from HTML coding to placing it on a server.

World Wide Web
A collection of electronic documents loosely knit by a concept called "hypertext." Documents connect to each other by clickable "hyperlinks." You need to run a browser program to access the Web.