Glossary

.NET

.NET is a set of Microsoft software technologies for connecting information, people, systems, and devices. It enables a high level of software integration through the use of Web services, small, discrete, building-block applications that connect to each other as well as to other, larger applications over the Internet.

Accessibility

Accessibility refers to ensuring that Content is accessible, ie. ensuring that Content can be navigated and read by everyone, regardless of location, experience, or the type of computer technology used. Accessibility is most commonly discussed in relation to people with disabilities, because this group are most likely to be disadvantaged if the principles of accessible Web design are not implemented. Failure to follow these principles can make it difficult or impossible for people with disabilities to access Content. Creating accessible Content should be an integral part of the Web design philosophy, and accessibility features should be incorporated into all aspects of the design process. Designing for accessibility is as much a strategic issue as a purely technical one.

Active Server Pages

Active Server Pages, introduced by Microsoft in the mid-1990s. This a the standard programming system for Internet applications hosted on Windows servers. It's technology enables HTML pages to be dynamic and interactive by embedding scripts.

Administration System

A secure area of your web site that you can access with a username/password pair. This area of your website will give you an easy graphical interface that allows you to update the text and/or images of your website. That means you do not need to known anything about web programming or scripting languages, ftp protocols or any of the other issues involved with websites. Just simply log in, type up your changes in the friendly "microsoft word like" interface and view your changes instantly in your web sites... the same changes all your site visitors will see!

Basic Computer Knowledge

Basic computer knowledge refers to someone with minimal computer skills, such as only having the ability to use a mouse and keyboard.

Bespoke

Bespoke indicates that a tailor made service has been uniquely provided.

Bounce Backs

Bounce Backs are failed email messages that are returned to the sender.

Branding

Branding is a marketing concept indicating the creation of a greater awareness of your company's services and its products.

Business to Business

B2B stands for "business-to-business," as in businesses doing business with other businesses. The term is most commonly used in connection with e-commerce and advertising when you are targeting businesses as opposed to consumers.

Business to Consumer

B2C stands for "business-to-consumer," as in businesses doing business with consumers. The term is most commonly used in connection with e-commerce and advertising when you are targeting consumers as opposed to businesses.

Click throughs

click throughs or "click," commonly used to count the number of visitors who click on the banner (or marketing link) and are transferred to the advertiser's site. The percentage of click throughs to banner views can also be measured as Click Through Rate (CTR).

Coldfusion

ColdFusion is a programming language based on standard HTML that is used to write dynamic webpages. ColdFusion enables you to incorporate live data into dynamically created web pages. . ColdFusion is the industry's leading cross-platform Web application server. With ColdFusion, Web developers can quickly develop and deliver a new generation of large-volume, transaction-intensive Web applications for everything from e-commerce to business automation and more.

Content Management Systems

This is a tool used to assemble and aggregate your online content. It can be browser-based, or via your workstation. It provides you with the power to change or update a website without affecting the overall design or structure. This decentralized approach saves you money and time.

Database

A database is a collection of data, typically organized to make common retrievals easy and efficient.

Database Driven

Database driven refers to a dynamic structure whihc retrieves information out of a database

Dedicated IP Addresses

The unique numeric identifier of every computer connected to the Internet. Each IP address consists of a four number pattern separated by periods (XX.XX.XX.XX). Each number must be between 0 - 255. IP adresses work with DNS servers to direct and route requests through the Web. Although home users have IP addresses, the process is normally transparently handled by the ISP.

e-commerce

electronic commerce, also e-business, a term for all kinds of business that are established electronically especially over the Internet. This includes both electronic sale (internet shops) and B2B transactions.

Electronic Bill Presentment And Payment

Short for electronic bill presentment and payment, the process by which companies bill customers and receive payments electronically over the Internet.

Flash

Flash, a popular authoring software developed by Macromedia, is used to create vector graphics-based animation programs with full-screen navigation interfaces, graphic illustrations, and simple interactivity in an antialiasing, resizable file format that is small enough to stream across a normal modem connection.

Hacking

Hacking is unauthorised access to a computer, its files and programmes. 'Hackers' hack for a multitude of reasons including; their own amusement, challenge or sometimes financial, ideological or commercial gain.

Hits

The number of times your site's server has been "hit" by a request for a web page or a graphic image.

Hosting

Your web site must physically reside on a computer that's connected to the internet. Hosting is the process of a company providing a place on their servers which are connected to the internet.

Information Architecture

Information Architecture (IA) is the organization of a website's structure and content to gain maximum results

Keyword

A word that is entered into a search form of an Internet search engine, to search the Web for pages the keyword is related to.

MS SQL

MS SQL or MySQL is a relational database management system, which stores data in separate tables adding flexibility, as well as speed.

Multimedia

Multimedia describes any application that uses multiple media (graphics, text, animations, audio, video). However, multimedia is primarily thought of as any application that uses high-bandwidth media (audio and video).

Navigation

The means by which a user can navigate the content of a page or site. Navigation usually consists of a collection of links consistently placed in the sturcture of the website.

Post Office Protocol

Post Office Protocol is the most common protocol used to retrieve e-mail from a mail server. Most e-mail applications or e-mail clients use the POP protocol.

Real-Time

The term "real-time" means to incur immediately. For credit card processing, this means that the validity of a customer's credit card, as well as their available credit limit can be checked immediately before processing is accepted.

Return on investment

Acronym for return on investment, a method to assist management decision making by evaluating the return on various investment alternatives.

Search Engine Optimisation

A form of online marketing, search engine optimization (or search engine marketing) is the process of organising a sites structure and information to help gain top positioning for relevant words and phrases.

Search Engines

Search engines are the sites that collect the data from the internet so that sites, information and content can be found more easily.

Secure Socket Layer

Secured Sockets Layer is a protocol that transmits your communications over the Internet in an encrypted form. SSL ensures that the information is sent, unchanged, only to the server you intended to send it to. Online shopping sites frequently use SSL technology to safeguard your credit card information.

Small to Medium Enterprises

Small and medium sized enterprises are defined by the European Commission as independent enterprises that have fewer than 250 employees, and an annual turnover not exceeding ¬40/£25 million.

Spam

The Email equivalent of junk mail. The term is used in particular, to describe the practice of sending the same message to a number of unauthorised email addresses. Under new US legislation SPAM can carry a jail sentence.

Text readers

Text and Screen Readers are software programs that read all the text in any given document or application and often include other assistive features such as word prediction and spell check. Those with a reading disability, or in-adequate vision most often use them.

Usability

Usability is a generic term that refers to design features that enable something to be user-friendly.

Video Streaming

A method for transferring video such that it can be processed as a firm and continuous stream. With streaming, the client can start presenting the data before the whole file has been transmitted.

Visits

Term used to indicate how many times a Web page has been visited by people on the Internet.

Webmaster

The webmaster is the individual responsible for the implementation and administration of a website. Sometimes called Web administrators, webmasters normally have very broad responsibilities which may include designing an information architecture, designing and developing web pages

XML

The Extensible Markup Language is the universal format for structured documents and data on the Web