- Blog – A blog (a contraction of the term “Web log”) is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.
A blog can be a part of the main site or simply a link to another site that maintains blogs. Having a regularly updated blog on a relevant subject can increase search ratings.
- Browser – A program that allows you to view web pages. Browsers convert coded languages like HTML to readable text and images. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari are all browsers. Browsers, especially Internet Explorer render web pages in their own way and with different browsers, the goal should be to have a good design and user experience even if it looks a bit different in different browsers. Do websites need to look exactly the same in every browser?
- Color Palette – Typically sites are designed with a small number of coordinating colors. These are often based on the existing company colors. http://paletteman.com/ or http://kuler.adobe.com are excellent sites to view web safe colors and play with possible combinations.
- Content Management – A content management system (CMS) is a way to have the client/owner of the website be able to alter and or add content to their site without having to know how to code. Complex content management systems such as Joomla, Drupal or WordPress require that the software be installed on the host first and the site is then built within it’s templates. Simpler solutions such as Contribute or SnippetMaster can add editable regions to a page after it’s been built.
- CSS – Cascading Style Sheet. Another coding language that allows the style (font, colors, placement of images and text) of a web page to be separated from the content of a page. This allows for faster downloading of pages among other things. CSS and HTML work together.
- Database – A collection of data in tables that relate to each other. A customer list or product inventory are typical uses of databases. Sites can connect to and display data from databases in a variety of ways.
- Domain Name – The address of where the website is located. The domain name it typically purchased and then renewed each year. It does not have to have www at the beginning, but must have a .com, .org etc. at the end. A single site can have more than one domain name pointing to it, or have different domain names pointing to different pages. When domain names are purchased, the vendor provides the DNS address of where the name is and login information to be able to re-direct where that name points to. This is critical information that should be recorded and saved.
- Dreamweaver – A program to build web pages. Web pages can be built in any text editor, Dreamweaver is a commonly used WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor that allows the designer to see the rendered page while they are working on the code. Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver are now all part of the Adobe Creative Suite.
- Dynamic – Typically web pages are classified as static or dynamic.
Static pages don’t change content and layout with every request unless a human (web master or programmer) manually updates the page.
Dynamic pages adapt their content and/or appearance depending on the end-user’s input or interaction. i.e. Logging into a bank site and seeing your accounts only.
- Ecommerce – The buying and selling of products and services over the internet. Sites can have very simple ecommerce set up by having a “buy now” button from Paypal or Google, or be very complex by having a full blown shopping cart. There are many companies out there offering complex turn-key shopping carts for a monthly fee.
- Flash – A program that creates animation. Entire sites can be built in Flash, or just an opening page or header can be in Flash. It is one way to build video and audio into a site. The Flash player must be installed on the user’s local machine for them to see any Flash elements. Current search engines cannot read Flash files.
- FTP – File Transfer Protocol. When files from a computer need to be transferred to a web site host, this is done through an FTP program. There are many good free programs that can be used (Filezilla, FireFtp, etc.) The ability to transfer files is also built into programs like Dreamweaver. To do the transfer, an FTP address, login and password are required. (See Hosting)
- Hosting -The computer where the files for the website live is the host. Hosting is typically purchased through a web hosting company. The level of service and control required determine the cost. Domain names and hosting can be purchased from the same company, but it is not required. When hosting is purchased, login information is provided so that files can be uploaded and edited on the site. This is critical information that should be recorded and saved.
- HTML -Hypertext Markup Language. The primary language that web pages are built in.
- IP -Internet Protocol. Every site on the internet, every device on a network is assigned an IP address in a series of numbers. (12.123.450.101) Domain names translate to IP addresses.
- ISP -Internet Service Provider. The company that provides Internet service to your home or office, i.e. Comcast or AT&T.
- MySQL -MySQL is an open source relational database management system.
- Photoshop -An Adobe softeware program to manipulate digital photographs and create art. Many designers will build a mock up of a web page in Photoshop.
- PHP -Hypertext Preprocessor. Server-side HTML embedded scripting language. It provides web developers with a full suite of tools for building dynamic websites. PHP is often used as the link to a MySQL database to display data in a variety of ways.
- SEO -Search Engine Optimization. A variety of ways to increase the visibility of a site in the search engines like Google or Yahoo. Good updated relevant content, clean coding, hidden (Meta) tags, relevant links to other sites and submissions to DMOZ and other search engines are all basic ways to have a site ‘optimized’. There are many service providers out there that specialize in taking optimization further for a fee.
- Template (skin) – A master page used to produce web pages. Sites can be designed with one or many master templates, i.e. the home page may have a different layout from the following pages. A site can also be designed with several ‘skins’ to reflect a special event or season. There are many pre-designed templates available for the major content management systems like WordPress & Joomla.
- Wireframes -A website wireframe is a basic visual guide used in web design to suggest the layout of fundamental elements in the interface. Because of this they are often completed before any artwork is developed. When completed correctly they will provide a visual reference upon which to structure each page. Wireframes are typically used to assist with the design of large complicated sites and not always necessary for the development of smaller sites.
