Dictionary of Web Terms

February 10th, 2008

Feel free to republish this article with a link back to this page. Thanks!

The web dictionary is a continually updated tool.

If you require a definition, have a suggestions, or spot a silly mistake then I would love to hear from you: email me

Atom

Very similar to RSS. The only difference between the two is information provided. In addition to the info provided by RSS, Atom gives readers: a subtitle, author email address, ect. Despite the extras, a majority of people use RSS.

Blogging System

Or blogging software, is used for simplifying the process of blogging. It provides a CMS, easily accessed site statistics, etc. Many blogging systems are open-source, or free. Try Wordpress or Movable Type.

CMS

Or Content Management System. It is a collection of tools (similar to something like MS Word) that allows you to easily create, modify, organise and remove website and blog content, without knowledge of XHTML.

CSS

Otherwise known as, Cascading Style Sheet. Most dynamic websites use this. It is a behind-the-scenes document with a list of style instructions that links to the XHTML site.

(Previously the style was written using XHTML, so each time you wanted to use a color or font-type, you needed to write the XHTML tags for it, but CSS means you now only need to write the instruction once!)

FTP

Or File Transfer Protocol. It is a standard way of transferring files from computers to the Internet. Most people use a freeware like Filezilla, which you can download free.

Javascript

Javascript is a computer and programming language that is very similar to Php. Most dynamic websites use it in some way.

The script runs of your visitor’s PC or MAC. Whereas, Php runs of the website server (making it slightly more stable).

Php

Php is a computer and programming language that is very similar to Javascript. If you use a blogging software, chances are you use php. It helps to make very dynamic website.

Php runs on the website server, rather than the website visitor’s PC or Mac.

Some people think this makes it better, because the creator has more control.

Root Directory

An overly simple explanation for this is: it is the file in your blog that has a URL similar to this - www.yourblogname.com without additional /something/somethings.

It is usually a file called httpdocs or httpsdocs or public_html.

RSS

Really Simple Syndication - a way of providing information in a simple stream for readers to access easily. So I can receive by email, for example, post updates without all the other junk on website.

RSS can provide readers with an article’s title, description, published date, author, a link to the article, and the article itself.

RSS is usually administered by a RSS aggregator and received by the subscriber in a RSS reader, or by email.

Atom is an alternative to RSS.

RSS Aggregator

A RSS aggregator is a software that senses new or updated material and makes it easily accessible to RSS subscribers in a simplified format.

A good free RSS aggregator is Feedburner.

RSS Reader

Is a program of choice that subscribers choose to read your RSS feed. Here are some examples of RSS readers: Google Reader; FeedDemon; Newzcrawler.

Spyware

Spyware tracks your system and your activities on your computer. Spyware is often not harmful, and comes in the form of cookies.

It can, however, slow your system down so make sure to regularly clean your Internet cookies.

Occasionally, you do get malicious spyware. If you suspect your system of being infected the best freeware anti-spyware software at the moment is AVG.

Virus

A malware that infects your computer. It can slow down your system terribly. Thankfully there are many free Anti-viral software available. Lilly Mouse uses AVG.

XHTML

Or Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language, is modern version of HTML. This is a computer language that pretty much all website are built using.

It is language that is interpreted similarly by all browser (whether your are using Explorer or Firefox) - although some browsers interpret the language slightly differently, which results in one website looking different depending on the browser you are using.

If you are designing a blog or website, it is important to check that it looks okay in most browsers. This is time consuming. Browser Shots is free engine that provides thumbnails of how your blog will look in the many browsers available.

The web dictionary is a continually updated tool.

If you require a definition, have a suggestions, or spot a silly mistake then I would love to hear from you: email me