Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

Affiliate Marketing
A risk-free form of advertising in which a company pays its affiliate partners a commission for sales and/or leads generated through their internet marketing activities.

Affiliate Manager
Common job title for the person that manages an Affiliate Program. Typical activities of an Affiliate Manager include, managing regular day-to-day correspondence with affiliates, manually reviewing and approving affiliate applications, recruiting new affiliates, motivating existing affiliates, and assisting in the development and design of links, banners and marketing material for the affiliate program.

Alias
An alternative name for an object.
For example, an e-mail alias for the e-mail address support@webbloom.com could be alias@webbloom.com. Any e-mail sent to alias@webbloom.com will actually be sent to the mailbox at support@webbloom.com because it is an alias and not an actual mailbox.

Auto-responder
A mail auto-responder is an automatic reply that is sent out whenever a selected mailbox receives a message.

A common use of an auto-responder is to send a vacation message to anyone sending an e-mail to your mailbox, notifying them that you will be out of the office until a specified date.

B

Backbone
A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a major pathway within a network. The term Internet backbone is often used to describe the main network connections composing the Internet.

Bandwidth (Traffic or Data Transfer)
This refers to the total amount of data that can be transmitted in a month. This usually refers to images, text, or anything else that the web server must transfer to the user's web browser.

1 GB (gigabyte) of data is approximately 100,000 hits assuming an average of 10 kilobytes per hit.

If the total size of each page view is 50 kilobytes then 1 gigabyte of data transfer would be approximately 20,000 page views.

Biometric hand scanners
This biometric method is based on the distinct characteristics of the hands; these include external contour, internal lines, and geometry of the hand.

They work by comparing the image of the hand with the previously enrolled sample. The user enters his identification number on a keypad and places his hand on a platter. A camera captures the image of the hand and then software analyzes it.

BPS (Bits-Per-Second)
A measurement of how fast data is moved from one place to another. A 28.8 modem can move 28,800 bits per second.

Browser
Client software that is used to look at various kinds of Internet resources. Examples include Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator.

Byte
A unit of storage capable of holding a single character

C

CGI (common gateway interface)
CGI is a programming language that communicates with the web server.

Usually a CGI program is a small program that takes data from a web server and does something with it, like putting the content of a form into an e-mail message, or turning the data into a database query.

Cookie
A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file called cookie.txt. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

The main purpose of cookies is to identify users and possibly prepare customized Web pages for them. When you enter a Web site using cookies, you may be asked to fill out a form providing such information as your name and interests. This information is packaged into a cookie and sent to your Web browser which stores it for later use. The next time you go to the same Web site, your browser will send the cookie to the Web server. The server can use this information to present you with custom Web pages. So, for example, instead of seeing just a generic welcome page you might see a welcome page with your name on it.

Cost per Click (CPC) Advertising
Ad placements where a cost is associated with every click the ad generates. Many search engines, including Google, Yahoo, AOL and MSN, offer this form of advertising to gain additional exposure on their search pages.

D

Database
A database stores large amounts of information. When we speak of databases for web hosting we are usually talking about web sites that need to add, delete, and update large quantities of information via the web.

Domain Name
The unique name that identifies an Internet site.

Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific and often is a company name or description of the company. The part on the right is the most general and is called a top-level domain, or TLD.

Common TLD's are com (for "commercial") , net, and org (for "organization").

DS-3
Refers to a circuit that transmits 45,000,000 bits per second.

E

E-Commerce (Electronic Commerce)
Refers to the general exchange of goods and services via the Internet.

E-mail (Electronic Mail)
Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses using a Mailing List.

E-mail Encryption
It is common practice to have users fill in sensitive data on a secure web page (see SSL) and then have the contents of this form emailed to you. However, the email itself is still open to malicious attacks. This is where email encryption becomes necessary.

Email encryption will allow you to have sensitive data, such as credit card information, emailed to you in an encrypted form. WebBloom Designs simplifies this process by providing an email encryption script, similar to FormMail, which will take the contents of a form and automatically encrypt them for you.

F

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A very common method of moving files between two Internet sites.

FTP is a special way to login to another Internet site for the purposes of retrieving and/or sending files. There are many Internet sites that have established publicly accessible repositories of material that can be obtained using FTP, by logging in using the account name anonymous, thus these sites are called anonymous ftp servers.

G

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format)
A type of image file. GIF files are graphics or pictures, often used on Web pages.

This file format is best suited for simple graphics with minimal shading or color variation or graphics which require transparency due to its limitation of 256 colors.

For compressing a photo or similarly complex image, the JPEG file format is preferable.

Gigabyte (GB)
One billion bytes.

H

Hit
As used in reference to the World Wide Web, 'hit' means a single request from a web browser for a single item from a web server.

So, in order for a web browser to display a web page that contains 3 graphics, 4 'hits' would occur at the server: 1 for the HTML page, and one for each of the 3 graphics.

Home Page
Refers to the main web page for a business, organization, person or simply the main page out of a collection of web pages.

Hosting Provider
A Web host is in the business of providing server space, Internet connections, web services and file maintenance for web sites controlled by individuals or companies that do not have their own web servers.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The coding language used to create Hypertext documents for use on the World Wide Web.

HTML looks a lot like old-fashioned typesetting code, where you surround a block of text with codes that indicate how it should appear, additionally, in HTML you can specify that a block of text, or a word, is linked to another file on the Internet

HTML files are meant to be viewed using a World Wide Web Client Program, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Explorer.

HTTP (Hypertext Transport Protocol)
The protocol for moving hypertext files across the Internet

It requires a HTTP client program on one end, and an HTTP server program on the other end. HTTP is the most important protocol used in the World Wide Web.

I

IP Number (Internet Protocol Number)
A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 64.49.223.150

Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number. Most machines also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember that can be used in place of an IP number.

Internet Backbone
The main network connections that make up the Internet

Web sites hosted with WebBloom Designs are connected directly to multiple Internet backbone providers including:

1 OC-12 and 1 OC-3 line with Qwest (a leader in reliable and secure broadband Internet based data communications)

1 OC-12 line with AT&T (runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network)

1 OC-3 line with UUNET (a global leader in Internet communications solutions)

1 DS-3 line with Time Warner (the world's leading media company)

1 DS-3 line with SBC

J

JavaScript
A scripting language developed by Netscape that interacts with HTML source code, allowing for interactive web sites (not to be confused with Java).

JavaScript is run on the clients browser, which allows it to retrieve information about the browser and react to mouse movement and clicks. This make JavaScript ideal for things such as "rollovers" (actions that occur when the mouse is rolled over a particular area), and detecting browser properties.

JPEG or JPG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
A type of image file. JPG files are graphics or pictures, often used on Web pages.

This file format is best suited for complex graphics due to its ability to use millions of colors.

For compressing relatively simple images or images which require transparency, the GIF file format is preferable.

K

Kilobyte (KB)
1,024 bytes.

M

Mailing List
A system that allows people to send e-mail to one address, whereupon their message is copied and sent to all of the other subscribers to the mailing list.

Megabyte
A million bytes. 1024 kilobytes.

N

Network
Any time you connect two or more computers together so that they can share resources, you have a computer network.

Connect two or more networks together and you have an Internet.

O

OC-3
Refers to a circuit that transmits 155,000,000 bits per second.

OC-12
Refers to a circuit that transmits 600,000,000 bits per second. An OC-12 line can handle over 400 times more data than a T1 line.

P

Page View
The accessing of a web page.

A page view differs from a hit by counting only the number of times a page has been accessed, whereas a hit counts the number of times that all the elements in a page, including graphics, have been accessed.

Parking (Domain Name)
Parking is the process by which someone selects a domain name, and "parks" it by registering the domain name under someone's name servers. This allows the person to own the domain name without having to worry about creating and hosting a site for the domain name.

Parking a domain name alone will result in no service (this includes web hosting and e-mail) for that particular domain name. A parked domain name may be "unparked" at anytime.

Perl (Practical Extraction and Report Language)
Perl is a programming language especially designed for processing text.

Because of its strong text processing abilities, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for writing CGI scripts.

PHP (Personal Home Page or Hypertext Preprocessor)
PHP is a scripting language used to create dynamic web pages.

Unlike JavaScript, PHP is run on the server, which allows it to interact with databases and information on the server. This makes PHP ideal for tasks like, returning the results of an SQL query.

POP (Post Office Protocol)
A protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. Most e-mail applications (sometimes called an e-mail client) use the POP protocol, although some can use the newer IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).

R

Register (Domain Name)
Since every domain is unique, registries have been set up to assign domains to individuals and organizations. When a domain is registered with the appropriate registry, that domain is assigned and becomes no longer available for anyone else to use.

Typically, there are registration and renewal fees (local registry fees) associated with the right to use a domain.

Router
A special-purpose computer (or software package) that handles the connection between two or more networks.

Routers spend all their time looking at the destination addresses of the packets passing through them and deciding which route to send them on.

S

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The process of optimizing a web site for specific keyword phrases to encourage a better position when these phrases are part of a Web search.

Security Certificate (SSL Certificate)
A chunk of information (often stored as a text file) that is used by the SSL protocol to establish a secure connection.

Security Certificates contain information about who it belongs to, who it was issued by, a unique serial number or other unique identification, valid dates, and an encrypted 'fingerprint' that can be used to verify the contents of the certificate.

In order for an SSL connection to be created both sides must have a valid Security Certificate.

Shopping Cart
A program designed to handle the e-commerce section of a Web site. Shopping cart software lets users browse for and purchase products online.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol)
The main protocol used to send electronic mail on the Internet

SMTP consists of a set of rules for how a program sending mail and a program receiving mail should interact.

Spam or Spamming
An inappropriate attempt to use a mailing list, or USENET or other networked communications facility as if it was a broadcast medium (which it is not) by sending the same message to a large number of people who didn't ask for it.

SQL (Structured Query Language)
A specialized programming language for sending queries to databases.

SSI (Server Side Includes)
Commands that can be included in web pages that are processed by the web server when a user requests a file.

A common use for SSI commands is to insert the date or last modified date on a file.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)
A protocol designed by Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across the Internet. SSL is used mostly (but not exclusively) in communications between web browsers and web servers.

URL's that begin with "https" indicate that an SSL connection will be used.

SSL provides 3 important things: Privacy, Authentication, and Message Integrity. In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate, which each side's software sends to the other. Each side then encrypts what it sends using information from both its own and the other side's Certificate, ensuring that only the intended recipient can decrypt it, and that the other side can be sure the data came from the place it claims to have come from, and that the message has not been tampered with.

Storage Space
The amount of server disk storage allocated to your account. This space can be used to store HTML and graphics files, programs or scripts, mail messages, compressed files, or other files that make up your web site.

T

T1
Refers to a circuit that transmits 1,536,000 bits per second.

U

UNIX
A computer operating system. UNIX is designed to be used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user).

It is the most common operating system for servers on the Internet Linux and FreeBSD are free implementations of UNIX

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that is part of the World Wide Web. A URL looks like this: http://www.webbloom.com.

W

WebBlossom Packages
A complete web solution for small business which includes a domain name, web site, and web hosting for only $50 per month.

WebMail
WebMail, unlike normal e-mail, can be accessed anywhere in the world through a web page using an Internet browser. This means you can send, view and organize e-mails on any computer with an Internet connection making WebMail an ideal choice for people who want to keep in touch while traveling.

Web Host
Every web site you visit must be located on a web server, which consists of a computer, server software, and a connection to the Internet. A web host provides this by renting space on their web servers.

Web site Statistics
Web sites hosted with WebBloom Designs receive daily statistics of their web site traffic. Some of the more important statistics included are hits and page views.

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