Web Terms

Acrobat - Part of a set of applications developed by Adobe to create and view PDF files. Acrobat is used to create the PDF files, and the freeware Acrobat Reader is used to read the PDF files.
Animated GIF - A GIF graphic file, which consists of two or more images shown in a timed sequence to give the effect of motion.
Animation - Timed sequence or series of graphic images or frames together to give the appearance of continuous movement.
Anti-Aliasing - Smoothing or blending the transition of pixels in an image. Anti-aliasing the edges on a img makes the edges appear smooth, not jagged.
ASP (Active Server Page) - A dynamically generated web page, generally using ActiveX scripting. When a browser or a search engine spider requests an ASP page from a server, the server generates the web page with HTML code and gives it to the browser or spider.
Bandwidthb - The amount of information your connection to the Internet can carry. On average, typical telephone lines can carry 1K of information per second.
Banner - A graphic image (static, animated, or rich media) that is placed on web sites as an advertisement. Banners are commonly used for brand awareness and generating sales.
Bookmark - Just as a paper bookmark is used as a reminder of the page you are on in a book, electronic bookmarks are used to bring you back to a web site or other site you may want to return to. The Netscape browser lets you bookmark any site and save the bookmarks in a file you can recall at any time. Microsoft Internet Explorer uses the term "favorite" instead of bookmark for the same concept.
Browser - The software used to view, manage, and access web pages by interpreting hypertext and hyperlinks. The two most common browsers are Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Web pages often appear differently depending on the brand and version of the browser intended to view them in.
Check Box - In an online form, check boxes look like the following:
I would like information on: Logo designsWeb graphics

If you click your mouse on the boxes, you will be able to select multiple services. A check box is different from a radio button, which can only accept one checked item at a time.
Compression - A method of packing data in order to save disk storage space or download time. JPEGs are generally compressed graphics files. Compression is a technique to make a file or a data stream smaller for faster transmission or to take up less storage space.
Cookie - A cookie is a message given to a web browser (such as Netscape or Explorer) by a web server. The purpose of cookies is to identify web site users/visitors and possibly prepare customized web pages for them.
CSS - Abbreviation for Cascading Style Sheet, a feature of HTML developed by the W3C. With Cascading Style sheets, both web designers and end users can create style templates (sheet) that specifies how different text elements (paragraphs, headings, hyperlinks, etc.) appear on a web page. Currently, not all browsers express CSS formatting in the same manner.
DHTML - Stands Dynamic Hypertext Mark-up Language. DHTML is an HTML extension that allows web pages to react to the end users' input, such as displaying a web page based on the type of browser or computer end users are viewing a page with.
Directory - A directory (such as Yahoo, commonly mistaken for a search engine) depends on people for listings. The main difference between a search engine and a directory is that a directory does not make use of a spider or robot. One of the defining characteristics of a directory is that it is usually divided into categories.
DNS - Stands for Domain Name System. The DNS translates URL text addresses (such as grantasticdesigns.com) into a numeric Internet address (such as 201.214.12.6).
Doorway Page - Web pages created specifically for search engine positions. Also known as gateway page or a bridge page.
Drop-Down Menu - In an online form, a drop-down menu (also known as a pull-down menu) looks like the following:

If you click your mouse on the arrows, you will be able to select a product or service. Drop-down menus are commonly used for web site navigation.
Error 404 - This error message means Page Not Found (on a server).
Export - To save a file in a different format (that of another program). For example, many Adobe Photoshop files are exported to become GIF or JPEG files.
E-Zine or Ezine - Stands for electronic magazine and is a name for a web site which is either (a) modeled after a print magazine or (b) a magazine that is only available online or through email.
Findability - A term used in online marketing that describes a web site's ability to be found easily via the search engines, directories, and other online resources.
Flash - Vector graphic animation software from Macromedia that allows Flash graphics to look the same across all browsers, as long as the plug-in is installed. One of the advantages of Flash animations is their relatively fast download time.
Font - A font is a complete set of characters in a particular size and style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set, and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys. For example, Times NewRoman Bold Italic is one font, and Times NewRoman Bold is another font. Times NewRoman is a single typeface.
Forms - HTML tags that define and label text-entry boxes, check boxes, radio buttons, and/or drop-down menus to create simple on-screen forms for collecting information from the viewer.
Frame - In animation, a frame is a single graphic img in a sequence of graphic images.
Frames - In HTML, providing the ability to break a web page into multiple, separately scrollable areas. Because some search engines cannot follow links in a framed web site, a good web designer will contain text in a NOFRAMES-tag and provide a link for search engines to index your site.
Freeware - Software distributed for free on the web.
FTP - Stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP allows you to copy or send files (HTML-documents, graphic images, spreadsheets) from one computer to another via the Internet.
GIF - Stands for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF images are the most widely used graphic format on the web. GIF images display up to 256 colors.
Graphic Backgrounds - The bottom-most layer on a web page, usually with either a design or color that highlights the above copy. A small graphic can be tiled to create a background texture for a web page.
Hexadecimal - A numbering system which uses a base of 16. The first ten digits are 0-9 and the next six are A-F. Hexadecimal numbers are used to color web pages. For example, the hexadecimal equivalent for the color white is #FFFFFF.
HTML - Abbreviation for Hypertext Markup Language; a cross-platform text-formatting system for creating web pages, including copy, images, sounds, frames, animation and more.
Hyperlink - A hyperlink, more commonly called a link, is an electronic connection between one web page to either (1) other web pages on the same web site, or (2) web pages located on another web site. More specifically, a hyperlink is a connection between one page of a hypertext document to another.
Hypertext - Hypertext is any text that can be chosen by a reader and which causes another document to be retrieved and displayed.
Image Map - An image map is a single graphic containing multiple, clickable hyperlinks.
Information Page - A static web page that is designed, coded, and written primarily for a target audience but formatted for optimal search engine and directory positioning.
Interlace - Storing partial data from a single illustration in multiple sequences. The purpose of interlacing is to have a partial image initially appear on screen rather than having to wait for the image to appear in its entirety. With interlacing, equally spaced sets of lines from the original image are stored together, and these sets appear one on top of the other in sequence.
Interstitial - An interstitial is a web advertisement that appears in a separate browser window, other than the target web page.
Java - Java is a programming language, created by Sun Microsystems, which allows small applications to be downloaded into your computer for playback. Java can be used for such simple applications as animation to more complex applications such as a calculator.
JavaScript - JavaScript is a scripting language developed by Netscape. JavaScript can make web pages more animated and dynamic in terms of graphics and navigation. One of the most common graphic JavaScript effects is called a mouseover, and Javascript navigation is commonly created using drop-down menus.
JPEG - Abbreviation for Joint Photographic Experts Group. File format for full-color and black-and-white imgs. JPEG images allow for more colors than GIF images and are usually smaller in size.
K - In computer terms, stands for Kilobyte.
Kerning - The horizontal spacing between the letters in a word.
Leading - The vertical spacing between lines of text.
List - Text that is categorized, be it bulleted, numbered, or unnumbered. The default list bullets and numbers are black with no special effects. To make a bulleted list using graphic designs as bullets, web graphic designers use a table format.
Lossless Compression - In graphic design, lossless compression refers to a data compression technique where the file quality is preserved and no data is lost. Lossless compression is commonly used on GIF images, but can only reduce file size to about half of its original size. Lossy compression, by contrast, eliminates some data can further decrease file size.
Lossy Compression - A term coined by graphics programmers to refer to a technique of shrinking file sizes by giving away some precision of detail. JPEG is an example of a file that is compressed this way. By reducing the so-called quality of a picture when you save it, you can make the file size smaller. Many photos can take of loss of fine detail before it becomes noticeable on a web page.
Masthead - A masthead is a graphic design placed on top of a web page that tells end users what page they are on. Masthead images can contain photos, text, shapes, and/or image maps.
Meta-tag - Meta-tags are HTML tags that can be used to identify the creator of a web page, what HTML specifications a web page follows, the keywords and description of the page, etc. The most common use of a meta-tag in online marketing is the keyword and description tags, which tell the search engines that index meta-tags what description to use in their search query results.
Mouseover - A popular special effect for web graphics, generally programmed in JavaScript, that changes switches color or a graphic design when you place your cursor over it. Mouseovers can also be used to trigger navigation changes and pop-up windows.
Multimedia - A form of communication combining text with graphics, page layout, video, audio, animation, and so forth.
Netiquette - Accepted, proper behavior on the Internet. The term especially applies to email and newsgroup posts
Newbie - Someone who is new to the web, a newsgroup or e-mail, or any other Internet application.
Online - If you are connected to the Internet, you are online. Online advertising is done exclusively on the web or through e-mail.
Online Marketing - Online advertising is done exclusively on the web or through e-mail. Various types of online marketing include:
- affliliate programs
- search engine optimization
- banner advertising
- directory enhancement
- posts to moderated discussion lists, newsgroups, and forums
- email advertising
- online press releases
Opt-In - An email marketing term in which the email recipient specifically requests receiving email related to a specific topic of interest
PDF - Stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user is computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe's own website.
PHP - Abbreviation for Hypertext Pre-Processor.
Plug-In - A software extension that provides added capabilities to the browser, for purposes such as viewing, hearing, or saving specially formatted files. Most plug-ins are available via the creator's web page for downloading.
PNG - Stands for Portable Network Graphics format, and is generally pronounced "ping." PNG is used for lossless compression and displaying images on the web. The advantages of PNG is that it supports images with millions of colors and produces background transparency without jagged edges. The disadvantages are that PNG images will not show up on older browsers, and still can be comparatively larger in file size than GIFs.
PPI - Stands for pixels per inch. PPI specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch. (For information on output device measurements see dpi.)
Post - A post is a single message sent to a newsgroup or message board.
Query - A search request submitted to a database (such as the search engine and directory databases) to find a particular piece of information or all records that meet the search criteria.
Quick Time Video - Quick Time Video is the Apple technology that allows video, digitized sound and music, 3D, and virtual reality to be viewed on your web site. It's available for Macintosh and Windows-based computers.
Radio Button - In an online form, radio buttons looks like the following:
Would like information on our graphic services? Yes No
RGB - Stands for the colors Red-Green-Blue. In web design and design for computer monitors, colors are defined in terms of a combination of these three colors.
Rich Media - Typically, a web site or banner ads that use technology more advanced than standard GIF animation. Rich media banners include: Flash, Shockwave, streaming video, Real Audio/Video, pull-down menus, search boxes, applets that allow for interactivity, and other types of special effects.
Royalty-Free Photos or Images - Photos, graphic images, or other intellectual property that are sold for a single standard fee and may be used repeatedly by the purchaser. Typically with royalty-free clauses, the company that sells you the images still owns all of the rights to the images, and they are allowed for use only by the purchaser (i.e., the same images cannot be used by another company or individual without repurchase).
Search Engine - A search engines is a program that searches documents (i.e. web pages, which are HTML-documents) for specified keywords and returns the list of documents. A search engine has two parts, a spider and an indexer. The spider is the program that fetches the documents, and the indexer reads the documents and creates an index based on the words or ideas contained in each document.
SEO - Stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a process to get a higher ranking in search engines.
Spider/Robot - A software program that search engines use which visits every site on the web, follows all of the links, and catalogs all of the text of every web page that contains text, and it is able to visit or crawl.
Thread - A series of messages related to the same topic in a discussion group or newsgroup, such as an original post and related follow-ups.
Thumbnail - A small version of a graphic image.
Traffic Node - A group of information pages on a web site.
URL - URL is the abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator and is an address referring to a document on the Internet. In other words, it is the address of an individual web page element or web document on the Internet. The syntax of a URL consists of three elements:

the protocol, or the communication language, that the URL uses.
the domain name, or the exclusive name that identifies a web site.
the path name of the file to be retrieved, usually an HTML document.

The http:// is the protocol.
The www.companyname.com is the domain name.
The index.html is the path name.

Video - A series of framed images put together, one after another, to simulate motion and interactivity. A video can be transmitted by number of frames per second and/or the amount of time between switching frames. The difference between video and animation is that video is broken down into individual frames.
Web Site - A web site is a collection of electronic pages generally formatted in HTML(Hypertext Markup Language) that can contain text, graphic images, and multimedia effects such as sound files, video and/or animation files, and other programming elements such as Java and JavaScript.
XHTML - Abbreviation for Extensible Hypertext Mark-up Language and is a hybrid of XML and HTML. Web pages designed in XHTML should look the same across all platforms.

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Web Terms