Glossary of Web Terminology
Access Provider: The organization that lets you have access to the Internet (see also ISP).
Acrobat: Short for Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free program. Acrobat allows you to change large files (such as Microsoft word files, forms) into a downloadable file format called PDF (portable document format) so that users who don't own the software that created the file can still read it.
Bandwidth: Transmission capacity of a network connection.
Bit: The smallest unit of computer data.
Blog (or weblog): An online journal or series of articles. The UUA publishes a number of blogs.
Bookmark: A browser feature that allows you to save a link to a web page. Also known as "favorites" in Internet Explorer.
Bounce: The return of an email because it couldn't be delivered to the specified address.
Browser: A software program on your computer that allows you to surf the Web.
Cache: Area in the memory of your hard drive where the browser stores web pages and page elements. Depending on your browser settings, changes to pages may not appear unless you use the "refresh" or "reload" button on your browser. Pages and page elements may also be cached at a server level, which can delay changes being viewed. This can be problematic if the user's Internet Service Provider (ISP) uses this function.
Content Management System (CMS): An application (program) that resides on a server and allows for efficient management of website information within a consistent template design. Content authors can manage the creation, modification and removal of content without needing the expertise of a Web professional.
Content Editor: The individual who makes changes on a web page using the CMS.
Cookie: A small piece of information the server sends to the end-users' computer via the browser. Cookies contain information such as login or registration information, online shopping cart information, user preferences, etc. This information can be retrieved by other web pages on the site, so that this material can be customized.
Discussion Forum: Web pages that enable people to post questions or comments and replies to other people's posts, organized into topical groups. Discussion forums on UUA.org enable participants to receive email notifications of new posts or replies on the entire forum, or specific topics or posts.
Domain Name: The unique name that identifies a website (Example: UUA.org, google.com).
Drupal: A popular open source CMS.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions: a collection of commonly asked questions and answers on a particular subject.
Firewall: A combination of hardware and software that protects a local network by allowing only certain information to be viewed outside the local network and/or certain information to come inside the network.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol: a tool for transferring files through the internet from one computer to another.
Hit: A single request from a browser to a server. Web pages can contain many “hits” on a single page, (such as multiple graphics) as well as the basic content.
Home Page: The main page of a website.
Host: The server on which a website is located.
IP Address: The numerical equivalent of the location of the computer, in the form 184.108.40.206.
ISP: Internet Service Provider: the service that a user employs to connect to the internet, such as AOL (America Online), Earthlink, Mediacom, etc.
Intranet: A small private network of computers that operates the same way the internet does, but is for internal use only—not viewed by an external audience.
Joomla: A popular open source CMS.
Link: Marked text or graphic on a web page that takes the user to another place. Also known as a hyperlink.
Network: A group of computers that is connected together so they can share resources and data.
Open Source: Applications or programs in which the code is freely shared among developers and users, rather than kept a proprietary secret.
Plugin: An add-on component that allows a web browser to utilize a special program or interface.
Theme or template: A packaged design and layout for your website that works with WordPress or some other CMS. The UUA offers a WordPress Theme for Congregational Websites.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator: the address of a web page as viewed in your browser.
WYSIWIG: "What You See Is What You Get," often used to describe programs that allow you to create pages without knowing how to code them for the Web.
Web page: One single document on the Web.
Web server: A computer with a permanent connection to the internet that stores websites.
Webinar: Online seminar, usually via a web-based videoconferencing site.
Website: A group of web pages.
WordPress: A popular open source CMS.