Sometimes web-speak and design/publishing terms can sound a little daunting and confusing, especially to the uninitiated. I’ve gathered a short list of some of the terms that might be most helpful to understand when beginning a new project. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Give us a shout, maybe we can help you.
Ad Impression – A single appearance of an advertisement (like a clickable banner or Google text ads) on a website.
Acrobat Reader – Sometimes called “Adobe” or just “Acrobat,” A free stand-alone application or web browser plug-in from Adobe that allows users view a PDF file in its original format and appearance.
Bandwidth – Measures the amount of information that can be transmitted over a network, usually measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). Simple HTML web pages do not require a large amount of bandwidth, but full-motion video requires more. The more users clicking on your site, the more bandwidth you will use.
CMS – CMS stands for Content Management System, just fancy web-speak for an application built behind the scenes of a website that allows an administrator to log in and edit designated text and images and other components. A CMS can be a highly customizable tool to manage web content and is especially useful for people who would like to add and edit their websites on a regular basis.
Directory – A website that catalogs the Internet by categorizing and ranking other websites using human editors. These editors screen and subjectively place websites based on the quality of content at the time of review.
Domain name – An individual’s or company’s unique address (www.alysondesign.com) on the Internet. A domain name is made up of an identifying name followed by a period and a multiple-letter extension such as .com, .org, .net, .edu or a country code such as .ca or .uk. Usually a company is paid to host your domain name for a period of years, often (but not always) this company will host the website as well.
Flash (.fla) – Technology that falls in the category of “rich media.” If it moves in ways more sophisticated than a slide projector might produce, then it’s probably Flash based. Adobe, makers of Flash, claim that approximately 96% of Internet users have installed the Flash plug-in (required for display).
JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) – A type of graphic file that is optimum for displaying images on screen. This file type does not allow animation but provides the greatest detail for art and photos in a relatively small file size.
Keyword – Specific words and phrases that are one of the many criteria used by search engines to categorize web site content.
Opt-in – A way of qualifying list subscribers who explicitly requested to be added to an email list.
Opt-out – A way of qualifying list subscribers who did not explicitly request to not be added to an email list.
Rich Media – Loosely defined, any use of web technology that incorporates streaming video, audio or animation.
