.COM:
The top-level domain originally intended for "commercial"
entities, but anyone can register a .com domain. This
is the most recognized top-level domain worldwide.
Domains that are purchased that end in .com are generally
worth more in value that .net or .org.
.NET: The top-level domain originally intended for
internet or computer related domains, but any person
can register a domain with a .net extension.
.ORG: The top-level domain originally intended for
non-profit organizations, but anyone may now register
a domain ending in .org.
.EDU: The top-level domain created for four-year,
degree-granting colleges and universities. Only colleges
and universities can register .edu domains.
.GOV: The top-level domain created for agencies and
branches of the United States Federal Government.
The General Services Administration (GSA) handles
the registration of .gov domain names.
.MIL: The top-level domain created for United States
military entities.
Administrative Contact: The administrative contact
is an individual authorized to interact with the domain
registrar on behalf of the domain name registrant.
The administrative contact should be able to answer
questions about the domain name's registration and
the domain name registrant.
Alias: Alternate name.
Applet: An applet is an embedded program on a web
site. Applets are usually written in the coding language
called Java. They are mainly used for creating a virtual
or 3-dimensional object that may move or interact
with the web site. It is a small executable module,
that normally doesn't have the complete features and
user interface of a normal application. Java is the
language most commonly associated with applets. An
applet is like a small piece of executable code that
needs a full application to contain it. The applet
runs inside of the application in a "sand box"
or "virtual machine," which is a set of
computer resources and instructions that make up an
environment for the applet's execution.
ASP (Active Server Pages): Active Server Pages enable
web developers to make their sites dynamic with database
driven content. The code is mainly written in VB Script,
and it is produced on the server of the web site instead
of the browser of your web site visitors. The server
reads the ASP code and then translates it to raw HTML.
This means that the web site owner doesn't have to
worry about the visitor having the right tools to
view the web site's dynamic content. The only downfall
to ASP is that since it is run from the server, it
takes longer for the pages to load because there are
more steps involved in translating the code.
Audio Streaming: The process of providing audio content
on a web site. This takes up a nice amount of bandwidth,
especially if you get a lot of visitors at your site.
Some hosts do not allow audio or video streaming because
of this. If you are going to want audio on your site,
you should make sure that your host supports audio
streaming first. This is usually stated in their plans.
Auto Responder: An automated program that acknowledges
receipt of an e-mail message, and then sends back
a previously prepared email to the sender, letting
them know it was received or that certain actions
are being taken. Most of you probably already have
a basic idea of what this is when you go on vacation
and you create an auto response at your work to let
everyone that emails you know that you will be away
for the next week. Autoresponders are frequently used
to handle requests for additional information or to
confirm sales or other online transactions. Once you
configure your autoresponder, it sends e-mail with
no further action required on your part, making your
web site interactive around the clock.
Backbone: In the general sense, this means the main
network connections that comprise the Internet.
Backups: Web hosts back up data on their servers.
Many host packages offer backups every 24 hours. This
is supposed to prevent the loss of data should something
happen to the server.
Bandwidth: This is the amount of data that is sent
through a connection during a set period of time.
It is usually measured in bits per second. If you
have a large web site, with many visitors, you will
need a lot more bandwidth than someone with a one
page web site that gets 2 visitors a month. Some hosting
plans offer unlimited bandwidth, but most have limits
or will just make you pay for extra bandwidth because
if a site is clogging their servers with visitors,
they want to get compensated for that.
Billing Contact: The billing contact is the person
designated to receive the invoice for domain name
registration and re-registration fees. The billing
contact must be a reliable, trustworthy source that
will pay the re-registration dues on time. If you
decide to register your domain through a host where
THEY fill out the information, please make sure that
they specify YOU as administrative and billing contacts
and not THEM.
Browser (Web Browser): It is software used to locate
web pages on the WWW and then display them on your
computer monitor. Once connected to the Internet,
your browser fetches documents from various web servers,
translates the HTML, and displays the results for
you.
Catch-all Email Account: A lot of hosts offer a Catch-all
Email account. This means that anything@yourdomain.com
will go to you. This way, you can have Sales@abc.com,
Support@abc.com, WebMaster@abc.com, and so on - with
all of it going to the root email account. This also
helps when a user makes a typo in the email address,
as long as they get the domain correct.
CGI: (Common Gateway Interface): A CGI is a program
that tanslates data from a web server and then displays
that data on a web page or in an email. CGI involves
the transfer of data between a server and a CGI program
(called a script). This allows HTML pages to interact
with other programming applications. These scripts
make web pages interactive. Page counters, forms,
guest books, random text/images and other features
can be driven by CGI scripts. Some servers have pre-installed/pre-defined
CGI scripts, meaning that the scripts are already
installed on the server for you to use on your site.
Some servers permit user-defined or custom CGI scripts,
which means the site owner creates his/her own CGI
script and runs this custom made script on the web
site. Not all servers allow user-defined (custom)
scripts for security reasons..
Chat Server: The web host will allow you to develop
a chat room or other type of chat service for your
visitors. Be sure to check with the web host company
about the details of the chat services offered. Some
servers permit you to configure the service, and others
pre-configure everything for you while others do not
allow chat rooms at all.
Click Through: This term is used to describe the
ratio of clicks to impressions on an advertisement,
usually a banner ad. If a banner has been shown 100
times and 3 people click on it, it will have a 3%
click through ratio.
Cold Fusion: An application which simplifies database
queries by allowing for a simpler programming language
to handle functions between the user's browser, the
server, and the database.
Co-location: Basically this is just owning a server
but having it at another location for the use of their
internet connection. This is great for people who
want to own their own server, but do not want the
hassle or security risk of maintaining that server
in their environment.
Control Panel: An online package of tools permitting
easy site management and editing.
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.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): Used to add more functionality
to simple HTML pages. Internet Explorer 3.0 and up
support a good portion of CSS, while Netscape 4.0
and up supports a small amount of CSS - a fully compliant
browser does not exist yet.
Database Support: General way of saying the server
supports various database functions. Some commonly
used database programs are MySQL, Access, Oracle,
and FoxPro. Databases can be very difficult to configure
properly. Before you sign up with a web host, first
inquire if the host can support your database needs.
Data Transfer: This is the amount of data that is
transferred from an account as visitors view the pages
of the web site. If you have a web site with lots
of video, audio, and images that gets many visitors
per day, you would have to make sure that you choose
a host that will allow large amounts of data to be
transferred. If you choose a host that only allows
200 MB of data transfer per month, and your site transferred
500 MB per month, then the host may stop half of your
visitors from viewing your site and you could lose
potential customers. Your best bet is to try to find
a host that offers unlimited data transfer or at least
a Gig of transfer. A gig is more than enough for most
web sites. As a general rule, 500 MB of data transfer
is equivalent to 20,00o page views.
Dedicated Servers: A more expensive type of account
in which the web hosting company provides you with
an ENTIRE set-up of server hardware for your use.
This usually means a much faster loading time for
your site because the entire computer is "dedicated"
to running the server software. This is different
from most other hosting accounts in which your web
site will share space on a server with many other
web sites, called a virtual server.
DNS Parking: DNS service for a domain is provided
without there being a web site for that domain.
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 the part on the right is the most general. A given
machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given
Domain Name points to only one machine. For example,
the domain names:
webhostsonline.com
database.webhostsonline.com
can all refer to the same machine, but each domain
name can refer to no more than one machine.
It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but
not be connected to an actual machine. This is often
done so that a group or business can have an Internet
e-mail address without having to establish a real
Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet
machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed
Domain Name. Also, just to note, the .com extensions
are worth more in value because they are the most
widely used and the most well known. It is also a
smart marketing decision. If your ebusiness should
ever move up to television and/or radio advertising,
and even Internet advertising, most of the general
Internet public remembers .com extensions. And if
they don't remember the extension at all but they
do remember the domain name, they will more than likely
type the .com in their browser. Technically, the domain
name is a name that identifies an IP address. To most
of us, it simply means www.yourname.com. Because the
Internet is based on IP addresses, not domain names,
web servers depend on a Domain Name System (DNS) to
translate domain names into IP addresses. Simply stated,
domain names allow people to find your web site by
name rather than by numerical address.
Domain Name System (DNS): A distributed database
of information that is used to translate domain names
into Internet Protocol (IP) numbers (usually looks
something like 123.456.789.101). In other words, computers
need numbers in order to function. The computer itself
does not care whether you are ebay.com or yahoo.com.
It has no idea how to find the name, it needs a number
that identifies that name. So when you buy a domain,
say www.yourname.com, it is nothing until you get
it hosted somewhere and until that host assigns a
number to your domain
E-Commerce: Seems to be an overused term. It usually
refers to doing business on the WWW. E-commerce packages
offered by web host companies often include a shopping
cart (lets shoppers select purchases), secure server
for credit card transactions, etc. Other options are
often included, such as software to develop an online
product catalog and marketing services.
E-Mail: Electronic mail permits the sending of primarily
text-based information and html across the Internet.
E-Mail Alias: Also called a forwarding account (see
below). Allows you to appear to have an e-mail address
on a certain domain, yet in reality the e-mail is
forwarded to your real e-mail account. It allows you
to have your e-mail automatically forwarded to any
e-mail address you specify. This is a great way to
get your mail when you're out of town, etc.
E-Mail POP Account: An actual e-mail account on your
web host's e-mail server. POP stands for Post Office
Protocol.
Encrypted Password: A password that has been scrambled
to protect it from being discovered and used by someone
other than the person to whom it belongs.
Exposure: Term used to describe when a banner advertisement
is loaded on a web page and displayed to a user. Also
refered to as Impression.
Finger: An Internet software tool for locating people
on other Internet sites. Finger is also sometimes
used to give access to non-personal information, but
the most common use is to see if a person has an account
at a particular Internet site. Many sites do not allow
incoming Finger requests, but many do.
FP (Frontpage) Extensions: This simply refers to
Microsoft Front Page server extensions. The FP2K indicates
that the server supports the latest version of the
program, MS Front Page 2000. These extensions can
be thought of as "mini programs" that allow
features of a web site created with MS Front Page
to operate smoothly. It is possible to use MS Front
Page to create a web site and host that site on a
server that doesn't offer FP extensions, however some
of the powerful features of the program cannot be
used in these web sites. See Microsoft's Front Page
site for more information.
Front Page: Front Page is an HTML editor made by
Microsoft. It is commonly used to create web pages.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol): It is a way of uploading
and downloading files across the Internet. Most web
sites are uploaded to the Internet by means of an
FTP program. This is how the web site you create on
your computer at home is transferred (uploaded) to
the Internet. Some software, such as Microsoft Front
Page, does not require use of an FTP program but the
use of most any other HTML editor requites the use
of and FTP Program. There is a free FTP program called
WS_FTP and you can download it at download.com. 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.
Gigabyte (Gig): Equivalent to approximately 1000
megabytes.
Host (Name Server): When you hear the term "host"
in the Internet world, it is referring to an Internet
company that has the required servers and software
to connect domain names to (IP) Internet Protocol
numbers so that your site can be viewed by the public
when they type your domain in their browser window.
Basically this is where you house your site, and you
usually have to pay a monthly or annual fee for this
service. There are free hosts, but in most cases,
in order to use their services you must put one of
their advertisement banners on your site, and most
of them limit what you can do with your site. Sometimes
it is better to pay $8/month for a host because it
gives you more freedom and is ad free with the exception
of the ads you post yourself.
HTML: Stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. This
is the code that web pages are written in. The next
time you visit a web site, go to View > Source
on your browser to take a look at what the coding
of a web site looks like.
HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol): The protocol
for transfering hypertext files across the Internet.
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
(WWW). You see it everytime you type a web site in
your browser http://...
Hypertext Link: A way to embed a URL into an object
(such as text or an image) so that when the object
is clicked, the browser retrieves the file specified.
When you click them, you are taken to other files
or another portion of a same file or to another website.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): A protocol
for retrieving e-mail messages from an e-mail server.
Some versions allow you to search your e-mail messages
for keywords while those messages are still on your
server. Then you can decide which messages you choose
to download to your computer.
Impression: Term used to describe when a banner advertisement
is loaded on a web page and displayed to a user. Also
refered to as Exposure.
Internet: A global network of millions of connected
computers.
Internet Protocol (IP) Numbers (IP addresses): A
unique number used to specify hosts and networks.
Internet Protocol (IP) numbers are used for identifying
machines that are connected to the Internet. They
are sometimes called a dotted quad and are unique
numbers consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, They
would look something like this 123.456.789.101. Every
machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP number
- if a machine does not have an IP number, it is not
really on the Internet. Most machines also have one
or more Domain Names that are easier for people to
remember.
ISP (Internet Service Provider): A company or institution
that provides access to the Internet in some form,
usually for money. They will usually allow users to
dial up through a modem, DSL, or cable connection
to view the information on the internet. Access is
via SLIP, PPP, or TCP/IP.
InterNIC: InterNIC was the name given to a project
that provided domain name registration services in
com, net, org, and edu. Now that the project has ended,
other companies can now offer domain registration.
Companies such as Network Solutions and Register.com
now do what InterNic used to do.
IRC (Internet Relay Channel): A massive network of
text-based chat channels (chat rooms) across the world.
Java (Java Script): A programming language developed
by Sun Microsystems. Originally was named OAK. Small
Java applications are called applets. It is a scripting
language which enables web designers to add dynamic,
interactive elements to a web site.
Mailing lists: Many web host providers offer software
to assist you in operating a mailing list. This software
usually includes automated subscription requests and
subscriber database management.
Megabyte: Approximately a million bytes or 1024 kilobytes.
MS-SQL: This means that the server offers the components
you need to use Microsoft SQL database in your web
site. Other databases of importance are MySQL, ODBC
and Oracle.
MySQL: MySQL is a database server. It is commonly
coupled with PHP to provide a way for users to access
data stored in the database from the web. It is commonly
found on Unix servers.
Name Server: Also called a host or a name server.
A computer that has both the software and the data
needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol
(IP) numbers. Most name servers have names like NS1.whatever.com.
NIC Handle: A unique identifier, which can be up
to 10 alpha-numeric characters, assigned to each domain
name record, contact record, and network record in
Network Solutions' domain name database. Note that
NIC Handles are specific to Network Solutions and
is not a term used for Registrars in general.
NT servers Servers: Computers that run Microsoft
NT server software as their Operating System.
Operating System: A program on your computer which
runs your other programs and your hardware. It's what
makes everything work from the data you enter on your
keyboard to the output you see on your monitor. It
organizes your programs and data files, and manages
your disk drives and peripheral devices. Windows,
DOS and UNIX are examples of operating systems.
PERL (Practical Extraction and Report Language):
A popular programming language which has strong text
processing capabilities.
PHP: PHP is another scripting language. Like ASP,
it's commands are embeded within the HTML of a web
page. The commands are executed on the web server,
making it browser independant. The web browser only
sees the resulting HTML output of the PHP code.
POP (Post Office Protocol): It's a method of retrieving
e-mail from an e-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). There are two versions of POP. The
first, called POP2, became a standard in the mid-80's
and requires SMTP to send messages. The newer version,
POP3, can be used with or without SMTP. The newest
and most widely used version of POP email is POP3
email. You will see the term POP3 in most of the web
hosting plans available today.
PPP (Point to Point Protocol): A method of connecting
a computer to the Internet.
Primary Server: The designation of "primary"
means that this name server will be used first and
will be relied upon before any of the other name servers.
Protocol: The format by which data is transferred
between two computers.
Real Audio/Video: A RealServer stream, which allows
a web site owner to broadcast audio and video. Site
visitors can experience this audio and/or video by
installing a simple plug-in into their browser. To
find out more, please visit Real.com.
Redundant Internet Connection: The web host company
has more than one main connection to the Internet,
ensuring that if one becomes non-functional, Internet
connectivity remains intact via the other main connections.
Registrant: The individual or organization that registers
a specific domain name. This individual or organization
holds the right to use that specific domain name for
a specified period of time, provided certain conditions
are met and the registration fees are paid. This person
or organization is the "legal entity" of
that web site.
Registration: The process through which individuals
and organizations obtain a domain name. Registration
of a domain name enables the individual or organization
to use that particular domain name for a specified
period of time, or as long as the required fees are
paid.
Registration Fee: The charge for registering a Web
Address or domain name.
Registration Forms: Forms that are used to submit
and process registration requests. These forms, which
include the Domain Name Registration Agreement, Contact
Form, and Host Form, are used to register new domain
names, new contacts for domain names, and new hosts
(name servers) as well as to update domain name, contact,
and host records. There are both Web versions and
plain text (ASCII) versions of the forms.
Re-registration: The process of renewing a domain
name's registration for a specified period of time.
This is accomplished by paying the re-registration
fee which covers the amount of years you are renewing
the domain for.
Resellable Space: Your web host provider will allow
you to sell all or portions of of the web space (which
you are paying for) to others who want web space.
Many web hosting companies have reseller programs.
Resolve: The term used to describe the process by
which domain names are matched with corresponding
Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. "Resolution"
is accomplished by a combination of computers and
software, which use the data in the Domain Name System
to determine which IP numbers correspond to a particular
domain name. Basically, it is translating a number
to the name you see in your browser for the web site
you are visiting.
Root server: A machine that has the software and
data needed to locate name servers that contain authoritative
data for the top-level domains.
Script: List of commands that can be executed without
user interaction. Sometimes used as another term for
macro or batch file.
Second Level Domain: In the Domain Name System (DNS),
the next lower level of the hierarchy underneath the
top level domains. In a domain name, that portion
of the domain name that appears immediately to the
left of the .com, .net, .org, etc...) For example,
the webhostsonline.com would be the second level domain
for this web site. The top-level domain is .com.
Secondary Server: The name server will be used as
a backup for the primary name server in the event
that the primary server becomes unavailable.
Server: A computer, or software package, that provides
a specific kind of service to client software running
on other computers. The term can refer to a particular
piece of software, such as a WWW or HTTP server, or
to the machine on which the software is running. A
single server machine could have several different
server software packages running on it, thus providing
many different servers to clients on the network.
More specifically, a server is a computer that manages
network resources. For example, a network server would
manage network traffic. A file server would store
and serve files.
Server Logs (Traffic Logs): This is raw statistical
data stored on the server. It contains information
such as how many visitors accessed certain pages of
your site, what web sites referred those visitors
to your site, and the domain name of the visitor.
This information is very useful in determining which
sections of your web site are more heavily traveled
and what sites are referring traffic to yours.
Shell Account: Something experienced computer users
often request. Permits you to edit your files online
in real-time, rather than making changes to your site
offline and then uploading the changes.
SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocol): A way of connecting
a computer to the Internet.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol): The main protocol
used to send electronic mail on the Internet. Most
Internet email is sent and received using SMTP. SMTP
consists of a set of rules for how a program sending
mail and a program receiving mail should interact.
SPAM (Electronic Junk Mail a.k.a. UCE (Unsolicted
Commercial Email)): Often used to refer to the practice
of sending out massive amounts of e-mail promotions
or ads which the recipient has not asked to receive.
It is a waste of people's time and network bandwidth
and is simply illegal in some part of the world.
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. The command takes
the form <!--#include virtual="/path/to/file"-->.
A common use for SSI commands is to insert a universal
menu into all of the pages of the web site so that
the menu only has to be changed once and inserted
with SSI instead of changing the menu on every page.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): A protocol designed by
Netscape Communications to enable encrypted, authenticated
communications across the Internet. It 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 de-crypt
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.
Statistics: Many servers take the information from
your server/traffic log and compile it in a user-friendly,
easy-to-read format for you to analyze trends about
your web site.
Support: Telephone or e-mail technical support provided
to a web hosting company's customers. When there's
a problem with your site or your e-mail, you want
to be able to get an answer promptly by e-mail or
on the phone.
T-1: A connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000
bits-per-second. At maximum theoretical capacity,
a T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds.
That is still not fast enough for full-screen, full-motion
video, for which you need at least 10,000,000 bits-per-second.
T-1 is the fastest speed commonly used to connect
networks to the Internet.
T-3: A leased-line connection capable of carrying
data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. This is more than
enough to do full-screen, full-motion video.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol):
This is a set of communications protocols to connect
hosts on the Internet.
Telnet: The command and program used to login from
one Internet site to another. The telnet command/program
gets you to the login: prompt of another host.
Technical Contact/Agent: The technical contact is
the person or organization who maintains the primary
domain name server. The technical contact should be
able to answer technical questions about the domain
name's primary domain name server.
Third Level Domain: The next highest level of the
hierarchy underneath the second level domains. In
a domain name, that portion of the domain name that
appears two segments to the left of the top-level
domain. For example, the your in your.domain.com.
TLD (Top Level Domain): This is the suffix on a domain
name, such as .com or .org or .edu. It is the highest
level of the hierarchy after the root. That portion
of the domain name that appears to the far right such
as the com in webhostsonline.com.
UNIX: A computer operating system designed to be
used by many people at the same time (it is multi-user)
and has TCP/IP built-in. It is the most common operating
system for servers on the Internet.
Unlimited Hits: This indicates whether or not you
will incur additional charges from your web hosting
company for high levels of traffic at your site. Make
sure you understand clearly how much traffic you are
allowed to receive monthly before additional charges
are assessed against your account.
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 (WWW). Think of it as
a unique address for each of your files in your web
site. A URL looks like this:
http://www.icanx.com/index.htm
The most common way to use a URL is to enter into
a WWW browser program, such as Internet Explorer,
Netscape, or Lynx.
Video Streaming: The process of providing video data
or content via a web page.
Virtual Server: A web server which shares its resources
with multiple users. It's another way of saying that
multiple web sites share the resources of one server.
Web Design: Some servers offer to create your web
site in addition to hosting it on their server. Be
sure to check about the extent of their expertise,
and ask to see sites they've created.
Web Page: A document on the World Wide Web, identified
by an unique URL.
Web Server: A computer that serves up (delivers to
your computer) web pages. Web hosting companies offer
virtual servers and dedicated servers.
Whois: A searchable database maintained by Registrars
which contain information about networks, networking
organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated
with them for the com, org, net, edu, and ISO 3166
country code top-level domains. Also, the protocol,
or set of rules, that describes the application used
to access the database.
WWW (World Wide Web): A portion of the Internet designated
to support documents in HTML format.
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