Webmaster's Encyclopedia - Web Design Terms Explained

The Internet newbie (new user) must learn a new language. Here are some Internet terms often used but less-than often explained.

Browser - A software program for accessing text, graphics and other data store on the World Wide Web.

Domain Name - strings of letters used to name organizations and computers and addresses on the Internet.

Dreamweaver - Macromedia Dreamweaver is software from a company called Macromedia used to build and manage websites and Internet applications.

FTP - File-Transfer-Protocol. This defines the rules governing the way files are transferred across the Internet over phone lines from one computer to another. FTP also is often the name of a file-transfer program, through Web browsers can download files from websites.

Fireworks - Macromedia Fireworks is a bitmap graphics editor developed by Macromedia built to allow web designers the ability to manipulate web graphics.

Flash - a graphics animation program by Macromedia.

Front Page - Microsoft FrontPage is a WYSIWYG HTML editor and web site administration tool from Microsoft for the Windows operating system.

Graphics Editor - a computer program that allows users to compose and edit pictures interactively on the computer screen and save them in one of many popular "bitmap" or "raster" formats such as TIFF, JPEG, PNG and GIF.

Home Page - A starting point for a service or an entity on the World Wide Web that usually features a combination of text, graphics, sound and video that contain hyperlinks to other Web pages.

HTML - Hypertext Markup Language. The set of rules for creating Web documents that determines how information is shown on-screen.

HTML Editor - A HTML editor assists the user in writing HTML code for web pages

HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This defines the rules for requesting and sending information over the Web. Your Web browser sends out requests for information, and Web servers you connect to must respond with the data you requested.

Hyperlinks - Objects (text or graphics) on a page that transport you to other areas, either within a homepage or to another location, when you click them.

IP Address - When you log on to the internet, your computer is assigned an address by your ISP. This address identifies your computer from the other computers on the internet.

ISP - Internet Service Provider, like AOL or Net Zero.

Javascript - computer programming language

Newbie - One that is new to something, especially a novice at using computer technology or the Internet.

PHP - computer programming language

Photoshop - Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editor published by Adobe Systems. It is the market leader for commercial image manipulation.

Server - A computer offering network services, such as storing contents of Web pages for browsing by anyone connected to the Internet.

WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

Web Designer - one who designs websites for a living.

Web Hosting - a business providing hardware and services to store, maintain, and present Web sites and provide Internet connection to those sites.

World Wide Web -The name given to the interconnected system of computers that provide information using the HTTP and HTML protocol. Because Web servers link to other Web servers, the result can be visualized as a "web" of connections between all the servers around the world.