Web Glossary

Web Glossary

January 6th, 2011 | Filed under Blog,Web Design

Some answers to commonly asked questions about web related terms:

  • CMS: Content Management System. This is the facility to manage the pages, documentation and appearance of a website. Popular CMS’s include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal etc.
  • HTML and XHTML: is a programming language synonymous of the web. HTML is an acronym of Hypertext Manipulation Language.
  • PHP: is an advanced dynamic content generating programming language that is typically used in CMS websites and e-commerce. PHP is an acronym for PHP Hypertext Preprocessor.
  • JQuery: is a form of the javascript programming language that allows user interaction (UI) without the need for Flash animations.
  • mySQL and SQL: are coding languages that enable a webpage to directly (or indirectly) add or retrieve information from a database. SQL (pronounced “sequel”) is an acronym for Structured Query Language. mySQL differs in that it is structured to allow multi-user access to a number of database. Facebook, WordPress and Drupal use mySQL in connecting to its databases.
  • Flash: is normally used for animations and can contain moving images, sounds or interactive forms. This is steadily becoming replaced with JQuery applications as it is not easily optimised for search engines.
  • Web design: is typically a ‘front-end’ skill that determines the look and appearance of a website.
  • Web development: is typically a ‘back-end’ skill that determines the functionality, structure and infrastructure of a website.
  • Server: A server is normally a computer or series of computers that act as a central point in a network and that allows for internet access, file and print sharing, and access to other computers around the network.
  • Hosting: is a computer that houses a particular website and makes it accessible to the World Wide Web (www).
  • Domains: are the addresses given to websites, e.g. www.imp-ressions.co.uk, where imp-ressions.co.uk is the domain name.
  • CSS: is an acronym for a Cascading Stylesheet. A CSS controls the display of a website including font types (style, bold, normal, italic etc), font sizes, margins, placement of text boxes, images and the general appearance with backgrounds etc.
  • Web browser: is a program that allows web pages to be accessed and displayed on a PC by users. The most popular browsers include Internet Explorer (51% market share), Mozilla Firefox (31%), Google Chrome (8%), Apple Safari (5%) and Opera (2%).
  • Open Source: is software that is free and allows users to customise, change and improve it. It has been developed in the public domain in a collaborative manner rather than by a company entity, whch explains why it is free of charge. Mozilla Firefox and WordPress are examples of popular open source software, whereas Internet Explorer is produced by Microsoft and is not open source.
  • Web 1.0: describes the web in its early days with read only web pages, web portals of information and focus on web views and advertising.
  • Web 2.0: describes the progress of the internet that has the development of shared content, social networking and social bookmarking, the read-write web and blogging.
  • Web 3.0: describes the future progress of the internet that is leading to ‘me-onomy’ where the web becomes intelligent to provide meaningful, related and location specific information that focussed on personal preferences and user engagement.