Web Development Terms

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Accesskeys

An HTML attribute implemented to provide keyboard shortcuts to specific parts of a page or to follow certain links.

Americans with Disabilities Act

A 1990 United States law which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.

AJAX

AJAX is an acronym for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. It’s a method to utilize the abilities of Javascript, the Document Object Model, and XML to create interactivity on the web.

Alt Text

The alt attribute is used to provide text which can be displayed as an alternative to an image or embedded object on a web page.

Apache

A web server program which is widely used across the internet. The Apache server is Open Source Software, which has greatly helped to spread the use of the server program.

Applet

A small Java® program which allows a Web page to display animation, calculators, sound effects or other interactive functions.

Assistive Technology

Technology meant to provide help in performing a task, whether general or specific.

Bandwidth

The rate at which information travels through a network connection, usually measured in bits per second, kilobits (thousand bits) per second, or megabits (million bits) per second.

Bookmark or Add to Favorites

A file within an internet browser in which an Internet user can save the addresses of interesting or frequently used Web sites, so that they are readily available for re-use.

Bookmarklet

A bookmarklet is a piece of Javascript which is embedded in a browser bookmark and can be used as a shortcut to perform a wide variety of complex tasks.

Browser

A program that allows a user to find, view, hear, and interact with material on the World Wide Web.

Canonicalization

The process of establishing a single URL as the location of a web document. Ensuring that although you may be able to arrive to a page via multiple paths or addresses, there is only one final address which will be resolved by the server.

Client Side

Client side means an action which is performed by the browser on the computer being used to access a web page.

CMS

CMS stands for Content Management System. A CMS is a software application designed to store, manage, and format web information.

Cookie

A cookie is a small text file sent to a web user’s computer by a website. A cookie can be used to identify that user to the website on their next visit.

Content

All of the viewable information on a given web page. Includes all text, files and graphics in a given page.

Copy

The actual text of a specific web page and all written information.

CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet. This is a document format which provides a set of style rules which can then be incorporated in an XHTML or HTML document.

Digital Imaging Services

A term to describe the process of creating, photographing, restoring and manipulating digital images.

Disability

Any impairment (physical or mental) which can make routine tasks more difficult or impossible.

Discoverability

The ability of any feature to be found in the context in which it’s needed.

DOM

The Document Object Model is a representation of the structure of a web document which provides a means for scripts such as Javascript to manipulate the content and layout of the page.

Document Type Definition

A short statement at the beginning of an HTML or XHTML page which informs the user agent what set of rules should be applied on a page.

Domain Name

Domain names are the alphabetic names used to refer to computers on the Internet. A Web site address, including a suffix such as .com, .biz, .org, .gov, or .edu. The suffix indicates what type of organization is hosting the site.

Download

To transfer (copy) files from one computer to another.

DSL

Digital Subscriber Line – A means of accessing the Internet at very high speed using standard phone lines.

E-mail

Messages sent through an electronic (computer) network to specific groups or individuals.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions – Pages which list and answer the questions most often asked about a Web site, newsgroup, etc. The FAQ page often provides useful information for a new user of a Web site, mailing list, discussion group, or product.

Focus

The state in which a page object receives the attention of the user or user agent. In most contexts, focus applies only to form fields and anchor elements.

GUI – Graphical User Interface

A graphical user interface is the visible aspect of a website or program which allows a visual user agent to interact with the site.

Home Page

The first page on a Web site, which introduces the site and provides the means of navigation.

Hosting Service Provider

A company that sells space for files and web pages on their servers for direct access to the Internet.

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language – The coded format language used for creating hypertext documents on the World Wide Web and controlling how Web pages appear.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol – The standard language that computers connected to the World Wide Web use to communicate with each other.

Hyperlink

An image or portion of text on a Web page that is linked to another Web page, either on the same site or in another Web site. Clicking on the link will take the user to another Web page, or to another place on the same page.

Images

Photographs, logos, and similar graphic files that will be manipulated to be web ready for display on a web page.

Information Architecture

Covers the navigation structure, organization, and labeling of information. A solid Information Architecture is the key to an effective website.

Internet

A global connection of computer networks, also referred to as the “Net,” which share a common addressing scheme.

Intranet

A private network inside a company or organization, which uses software like that used on the Internet, but is for internal use only, and is not accessible to the public.

ISP

Internet Service Provider – A company that sells direct access to the Internet, most often through dialing a local phone number. Unlike some online services, ISPs provide little or no proprietary content or online services.

Java®

A computer programming language invented by Sun Microsystems.

Javascript

Perhaps the most ubiquitous scripting language on the web, Javascript is a client side programming language which can be used with almost all user agents.

JAWS

JAWS is one of the most common screen readers available, created by Freedom Scientific. JAWS stands for Job Access With Speech.

Keyword

A word that is entered into the search form or search “window” of an Internet search engine to search the Web for pages or sites about or including the keyword and information related to it.

KPI

Key Performance Indicators as related to web analytics (web metrics) are the predefined measurable qualitative and quantitative data sets that help website owners measure the success of their internet marketing actions such as; page views, page views per visit, unique visitors, returning visitors, popular pages, keyword analysis, referring sites, abandonment, visitor paths through the site and entry and exit pages.

Metatags

Words and code embedded in the HTML code of a webpage, provide useful information that are not defined by other HTML elements. Their function is to provide information about a document and about a document’s content. Search engines use this information to categorize, prioritize and rank websites.

MySQL

MySQL is an open source database software based on the SQL vocabulary which can be employed in combination with most server-side languages, but which is most commonly employed with PHP.

Navigation

A system of hyperlink paths set up on a Web page to enable visitors to find their way around the website.

Open Source

Open source software is a licensing model for software which gives free access to the source code of the software to allow interested parties to modify or contribute to the software as they see fit.

PageRank (Google)

Relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at considerably more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; for example, it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important.” Using these and other factors, Google provides its views on pages’ relative importance.

Perl

Perl is one of the earliest server side scripting languages.

PHP

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular general-purpose server side scripting language which can be embedded into HTML to create a wide variety of mini-applications, but can also be used to build large-scale complex applications.

Pop-Ups

Term for unsolicited advertising that appears as its own browser window.

Publishing

Once all the web pages for a web site are completed they need to be published (uploaded and/or delivered) to a server to be viewed at your domain name.

Rich Media

Refers to advanced internet technology involving interactivity, animation, or other special effects.

ROI

Return On Investment – ROI is calculated by considering the financial benefit for the desired period divided by the initial financial investment amount.

RSS

Variously defined as RDF [Resource Description Framework] Site Summary (a composite acronym), Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary, RSS is an XML format for sharing web content to other programs or web sites.

Scent

A usability term which describes the ability of a document to clearly indicate it’s purpose and guide the user towards a mutually desired outcome.

Screen Reader

A type of assistive technology which users synthetic language to read digital documents to the blind.

Search Engine Friendly

A “Search Engine Friendly” web site has taken steps to ensure that no barriers to search engines are blocking access for web crawlers to web content.

Search Engines

Search Engines are basically huge databases containing website info.

SEM

Search Engine Marketing – Once all the web pages of a web site are published they should be promoted (marketed). Submitting the website to search engines is one example of promoting (or marketing) your web site.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization – Search engine optimization describes a part of the process to making certain a website appears to its best advantage in search engine results pages.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page – . This is the page that users see after typing their search query into a search engine.

Server

A special computer connected to a network that provides (serves up) data. A Web server transmits Web pages over the Internet when it receives a Web browser’s request for a page. A server can also be called a host or node.

Server Side

Server side describes scripting which is performed on the server, before a page is delivered to the user agent.

Spam

Unsolicited “junk” e-mail sent to large numbers of people to promote products or services. Also refers to inappropriate promotions to search engines.

Splash Page

Splash pages consist of a large graphics or a Flash animations for your home page—after that, you get to enter the site.

Spider

A software program that “crawls” the Web, searching and indexing Web pages to create a database that can be easily searched by a search engine.

Tabindex

Tabindex is an HTML attribute which defines the sequence in which anchor links should be followed when using the keyboard “tab” key to navigate a page.

Text-Aware

A device which is “text-aware” is able to communicate information expressed in text to the user of the device.

TrustRank

TrustRank requires human investigation and link analysis to discern reputable web pages deploying ethical linking techniques from ‘spammy’ web pages seeking to earn higher rankings in the SERP’s by manipulating linking practices in an effort to deceive search engines.

Upload

Copying or sending files or data from one computer to another.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator – The World Wide Web address of a site on the Internet.

Usability

A correlative to accessibility, usability is the principle that information or applications should not only be possible to access, but should also be easy to understand and use.

User Agent

User agent is the generic term used to describe any device which might access a web page.

User Agent Accessibility Guidelines

A set of guidelines which describe how user agents (visual browsers, screen readers, etc.) must be developed in order to properly provide for accessibility needs.

Web Accessibility

The principle that all web users should have access to information available on the internet.

Web Accessibility Initiative

A body from the World Wide Web Consortium dedicated to discussing and setting standards for web accessibility.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are a set of guidelines intended to help web content authors prepare their content for use by people with disabilities.

Web Designer

- One who designs web sites. Web designers like graphic designers are primarily concerned with the layout, schemes and aesthetic values of a web site.

Web Developer

One who specializes in the development of Web sites. Web developers handle all programming aspects of creating a Web site including HTML programming, creating and/or manipulating graphics, MetaTag development, copy writing, creating the navigational structure and related links, and everything else that goes into building a Web site.

Web Site

A collection of “pages” or files linked together and available on the World Wide Web

White Paper

A white paper is often a paper (article) written by a lead designer to explain the philosophy and operation of a product or service in a marketplace or technology context.

WWW

World Wide Web

World Wide Web Consortium

The World Wide Web Consortium is a non-profit organization founded by Tim Berners-Lee which is responsible for setting the standards for common web creation and access methods.

XHTML

XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language) is a combination of XML and HTML which provides developers with a language which uses the HTML specifications within the constraints of the XML format.

XML

XML, or Extensible Markup Language, is a generic format intended for maximum flexibility to provide information in a wide variety of structural formats.

XSL

XSL, or Extensible Stylesheet Language, is a language which describes the formatting and presentation of XML content.

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