Web Glossary

WWW.

World Wide Web. We're all connected now.
It's up to all of us to use it for good.

Link/Hyperlink

Links are what make it a network. A link is anything you click on to take you somewhere else on the web. This could be another page on the site you're on, another site, or even making a movie or an image appear.

FTP

File transfer protocol - transferring files from your computer to the web. When your site is ready to be online, this is the method by which you get it up there.

Domain

Your domain name, also known as the URL, is your official web name, always starting with, http (hypertext transfer protocol) and ending with the appropriate extension; .com, .net, .org, .edu, etc. (.com is for commerce, .net  - network, .org - organization...)

Host

You purchase a domain name (like mintzwebdesign.com), but you need a host to get it online. They have the servers that hold your information, and through which you put it online.

HTML

Hypertext markup language - the basic web language. You may be looking at images and text, but the computer is reading html in order to send it to you.

Upload –– Download

Uploading a file is simply putting it online, usually via FTP  (file transfer protocol)
Downloading a file (or files) is transferring a file from the internet to your 'local' computer.

Designer –– Developer

Designer – The designer works with you to conceptualize your website, so that it is engaging and truly reflects you and your organization. The designer will also 'build' the site.
Developer – A developer is master of the code, especially when it gets complicated.

Navigation –– Menu

Navigating through the woods gets you from one place to another.
Navigation on the web is the same principal, only a lot more complicated.
The balancing act of showing where everything is, in which category, and how to easily get from here to there is often a delicate one.
When it's done right, the visitor will dive right in.

File Extensions

A file extension is what comes after the "dot" in the title of a document or image. It may not sound like much, but your document may not open with out the proper extension. There are many other image extensions, but .gif, .jpg and sometimes .png are the only ones that go on the web.

.gif and .jpg

These are the two most commonly used, 'extensions' that are used for images. An image won't get on the web unless it has an appropriate extension.
GIF stands for graphic interface format, but the easiest way to remember is that a gif is usually a simple image, and mostly flat solid tones.
Photographs are almost always .jpg's. It captures the graduated tones.

Keywords

Keywords are very important if you want to get found by your intended visitors. Google, etc. uses words to place you on their lists. A keyword is a word or phrase that your visitor puts into the search box. So, when you are developing your site, you put yourself into the 'shoes' of your intended visitor, and use the words that they may be using to search for you.

Analytics

There are other analytics out there, but Google has the most used, and easuest to use one. It's some code that your webmaster adds to your site, and it gives you information about the 'traffic' you're getting.

Search/Search Engine Optimization

Searching is what a viewer does when they want to find something online, by entering words into a search engine like google. When you are searching, you will use the words most likely to find what you are looking for.
Search Engine Optimization is technique of developing a site using the words that will be searched for to find what you have to offer.You want it to show up on the optimal (first) page of the kind of search that would be done for your business.
Here's the crucial factor in the search conundrum:
You don't need to be found by everyone in the world. (most of us don't, anyway) The important factor is being found by the people who want to find you, and by those who you are looking to attract.

Social Media

Creating online networks with people whoo you want to work with, play with, etc.
The big guys at this point are twitter, facebook, and linkedIn
Twitter is known as micro-blogging. You have followers, and follow others. 'Tweets' are the 140 characters you type in, generally offerring helpful information regarding your area of expertise, often including links to websites that people like.
Facebook is used by millions of people to connect and share photos, etc.
LinkedIn is specifically for business online networking.

Blog, or Web log

Does everyone have one or does it just seem like it?
Can be an online diary of sorts, it can also be interactive, in that you can write and get responses from your readers. The most popular online programs for this are wordpress and blogspot. 
Here's mine.

Wordpress/CMS

Wordpress is a blogging application, and it is also a Content Management System. It holds and catalogs all of your input into the site. Another popular blogging platform is typepad.

Meta Tags

A website is actually written in code, and there are specific parts for specific functions. There are many aspects to SEO (search engine optimization) most of which depend of 'keywords', the words you use, and the order in which they are used. Meta tags are some of the keywords used in the code. The 2 main ones are: "description", and "keywords".
The keywords are the words that you think your user will use to search for you. They should be as specific as possible. 'shoes' is not a good keyword, because it is so unlikely that such a broad category name would lead someone to your boutique.

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