Basic Terminology for Building a Website

Last updated: April 21, 2014

Server – a computer on a network that manages network resources; Web servers “serve” up pages when requested.

Client – an application that runs on a personal computer or workstation that relies on a server to perform some operations.

Host – provide the infrastructure (servers and networking) for a Web site.

Quota – amount of disk space you have on your account.

ISP – Internet Service Provider: organization that provides access to the Internet, and other services, such as email.

HTML – Hypertext Markup Language: code “rendered” by a browser to display Web page.

XML – Extensible Markup Language: Mark-up that enables transmission and interpretation of data between applications or organizations.

FTP – File Transfer Protocol: FTP software is used to transfer files between computers on a network.

HTTP – Hypertext transfer protocol: allows Web browsers and Web servers to communicate.

CSS – Cascading style sheets: documents that define elements and control how pages are displayed.

.JPG – Type of graphics file, usually used for photographs or images with many colors.

.GIF – Type of graphics file, usually used for illustrations or images with few colors.

.PNG – “New” type of graphics file, similar to GIF (except it’s license-free).

WYSIWYG editor – A “What You See Is What You Get” editor is software that allows you to create Web pages without knowing

HTML Editor – Software that allows you to create Web pages without knowing HTML