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| Active Server Pages (ASP) | A technology developed by Microsoft that uses the server to run scripts, then passes the output back to the browser. |
| Application Service Provider (ASP) | An organization that provides some type of application functionality and hosting in addition to Internet access for a Web site |
| ActiveX Controls | Web component that can be used to enable interactive content on the Web |
| Aggregator | Client software or a Web application that collects syndicated Web content in a single location for easy viewing. |
| Architecture Specification | A specification that indicates the way that the site will be structured and ways that users will navigate it |
| Asymmetrical Balance | Balance that is created when a single object on one side of the page is balanced by a number of smaller (or more lightly colored or weighted) objects on the other side. |
| Authentication Information Storage | Provides the ability for the browser to manage and store user names and passwords |
| Blackballing | SEO term; a practice in which a search engine eliminates a page or domain from consideration in search engine ranking |
| Black-hat SEO | SEO term; the use of techniques that are considered by search engines to be flawed or unethical. Includes keyword stuffing, cloaking, invisible text (wording that only crawlers can see) and doorway pages (pages that are highly optimized, but which redirect users to other sites). |
| Blacklist | Also known as blackhole list. A published list of IP addresses known to be sources of spam. |
| Blog | A collection of personal thoughts posted on a public Web site |
| Branding | The practice by which a company tries to create an image of itself in the minds of the public with the hopes that consumers will purchase its products or services. |
| Browser-safe Colors | There are only 216 colors means they will look the same no matter which browser or which platform you view them on; any color which is not one of these 216 runs the risk of being dithered, and may not look originally as you intended. |
| Brute-force Attack | Occurs when someone tries any of various techniques to hack straight into a server, usually without any specific knowledge or information about the server, and often with the help of scripts written for this purpose. |
| CAPTCHA | A method that attempts to ensure that a user is a real person and not a spam bot or crawler. |
| Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) | Multiple and overlapping style definitions that control the appearance of X/HTML elements. |
| Clickthrough Rate | SEO term; a measurement of how successful a campaign has been, in terms of Web hits |
| Cloaking | SEO term; the practice of showing one site to crawlers and another to individual users; used by spammers, and is considered an illicit practice |
| Closing Phase | Final phase of a Web development project; team will evaluate the project schedule, budget, scope, resources, and assignments to determine the aspects of the project that worked well and the changes that should be implemented in the future. |
| Color | Conveys a visual tone or message, and provides a consistent look and feel. |
| Color Depth | Color information that is measured in bits and determines how many colors each pixel can display; higher bit values (aka bit depths) result in more intense and realistic colors; as color depth increases, so does file size |
| Color Transition | Describes the way in which adjacently placed colors blend together or stand apart from each other. |
| Common Gateway Interface (CGI) | A simple protocol that can be used to communicate between X/HTML forms and an application. CGI permits Macintosh, PC and UNIX computers to post data to or retrieve data from an |
| Composition | Placement or arrangement of visual elements on a Web page; involves what draws the viewer’s eye into the page, or where the viewer “enters” the page, and deals with how to lead the eye through the page. |
| Concatenation | Linking two or more units of information, such as strings or files, to form one unit. |
| Conceptualization | Process of developing the vision and strategy for the Web site |
| Content Specification | A specification that indicates the general types and topics of content that the site will include, such as text describing the company, product descriptions and images, shipping information, and FAQs. |
| Conversion | SEO term for leading users to a specific result |
| Cookies | Information sent between a server and a client to help maintain state and track user activities; can reside only in memory, or be placed on a hard drive in the form of a text file. |
| Copyright | Owners have right to reproduce their work for the purpose of sale and to prevent others from copying or re-using their material |
| Crawlers | SEO term; automated applications that regularly scan Web pages and search for content; also called spiders or bots. |
| Database | Provides information storage where the information can be retrieved, in whole or in part, by a program designed to accept requests from users |
| DBMS | Database management system – an application that allows users to manipulate information in a database |
| Denial of Service (DOS) | False requests to server overload it to point it is unable to handle valid requests; an attack on a server that consumes all of the server’s available network bandwidth and thus causes a loss of server to users |
| Deprecated Tags | Tags that have been replaced by other HTML elements |
| Design and Analysis Sub-phase | A sub-phase of the Executing phase and (design) starts with the designer(s) creating quick design sketches that show a variety of ways that the information architecture can be implemented; (analysis) process of testing concepts for achieving the site vision; allows you to determine whether modifications must be made to the design before the next phase. |
| Design Specification | A specification that is used to plan the general look and feel of the site, including fonts, colors, and images that will be used; discovered and recorded during the requirements gathering phase of the project. |
| Dictionary Attack | A type of brute-force attack in which the attacker runs a program that repeatedly enters passwords from a long list of common passwords, hoping that one will work and admit access |
| Dithering | The ability for a computer to approximate a color by combining the RGB values. |
| DNS | Domain Name Server - Server that resolves domain names into IP addresses (in other words . . . it takes the www.nhswebdesign.com and returns 12.42.192.73) |
| Document Object Model (DOM) | Provides a language-neutral way for programs to access and modify the content, structure and style of XML, and more specifically X/HTML, documents. |
| Document Type Declaration | (<!DOCTYPE>) tag - A declaration of document or code type embedded within an HTML, XHTML, XML or SGML document; identifies the version and nature of code used. Denoted by the <!DOCTYPE> tag at the beginning of the document. |
| Document Type Definition (DTD) | A set of rules contained in a simple text file that defines the structure, syntax and vocabulary as it relates to tags and attributes for a corresponding document. |
| Download Controls | Determines how the browser processes downloads (e.g., default locations, security settings, etc.). |
| Dynamic HTML (DHTML) | Set of technologies that allows the Web author to create more interactive pages; foundations are within X/HTML, yet allows X/HTML elements to be manipulated through the use of a scripting language |
| Embedded Audio | Refers to the way the audio is offered; if you supply an audio file in a Web page in a way that it automatically downloads and starts playing when the page is accessed, then the audio is considered embedded |
| Empty Tags | Tags that contain the relevant information within the tag boundaries but enclose no document text; example: <br /> and <img /> |
| Encryption Engine | Includes applications and certificates that enable encryption in the browser; most Web browsers support various versions of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS); these are required for conducting secure transactions. |
| Ethics | A set of standards governing the conduct of members of a profession; establish basic values for responsible actions and practices within a professional community |
| Evolution Sub-phase | A sub-phase of the Executing phase that is the process of refining and updating the site design; depends on the feedback from stakeholders and the results of your testing; ongoing in Web development. |
| Executing & Controlling Phase | During this Web project phase, the work is performed, progress is monitored, and corrective action is taken as needed; actual work of designing and creating Web site takes place. |
| Eye-tracking | A technique used to study the ways that people focus on Web pages; tracking the motion of the users’ eyes when they visit Web sites |
| Fair Use | Allows the reproduction or quoting of copyrighted works for certain purposes such as criticism or education, is unique to the United States |
| File | Set of records in a database |
| Font | Conveys a visual tone or message, provides a consistent look and feel, and enhances readability. |
| Frame | A Web page that defines a set of frames in which other Web pages are displayed. |
| Frameset | Allows multiple pages to be displayed simultaneously; a scrollable region in which pages can be displayed |
| FTP | Protocol used to transfer files between computers; an Internet protocol used to transfer files between computers; allows file transfer without corruption or alteration. |
| Functionality Specifications | A specification that indicates the functions or activities that the site should be able to perform; example – ecommerce site including a search feature, shopping cart, credit card processing, etc. |
| Get/Put | FTP Commands |
| GIF | Lossless graphic that is limited to a display of 256 colors; type of graphic that allows for animation and transparency. |
| Glyph | An element in writing |
| Graphic Designer | Person responsible for creating a consistent and visually appealing look for a Web site. |
| Greenfield | A project that lacks any constraints imposed by prior development. |
| GUI | Graphical User Interface – a program that provides a graphical navigation with menus and screen icons |
| Hexadecimal Color Values | Color codes values that range from 00 to FF; correlates to the base-10 values but is stated in hex (base-16) values; 00 represents no presence of color and the value FF represents maximum presence of a color; example: #FFFFFF |
| HTML | Hypertext Markup Language which is the traditional authoring language used to develop Web pages for many applications |
| HTML Interpreter | AKA user agents; programs such as Firefox and Internet Explore that process HTML pages and render them to the user as text pages formatted in accordance with the embedded instructions |
| HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol - set of rules for exchanging files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on WWW; it is a protocol controlling the transfer and addressing of HTTP requests and responses; stateless protocol which means that it transmits information without first establishing a connection between two parties |
| HTTP Server | Commonly known as a Web server; serves X/HTML documents over the Internet, intranets, extranets, local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). |
| Hyperlink | Highlighted or underlined text in a Web page that, when clicked, links the user to another location or Web page; embedded instruction within a text file that links it to another point in the file or to a separate file |
| Image Resolution | The amount of data stored in an image file, measured in pixels per inch (PPI) or dots per inch (DPI). |
| Image Slicing | Technique used to help shorten download time of large images (such as image maps); involves dividing images into several smaller images. |
| Information Architect | Person responsible for translating customer requirements into a blueprint for site development; may include planning the site’s navigation and determining whether database integration is needed. |
| Information Technology | Group of people with more technical jobs involved in Web development, such as programmers, database administrators and networking professionals. |
| Inheritance | The principle of passing on style definitions from parent elements to child elements. |
| Inline Style | A style attribute added directly within HTML tags. |
| Instant Messaging | A computer-based method of communication in which users can type and view messages sent to one or more recipients, and view the responses immediately. |
| Interactivity | The ability for software to respond differently to the user’s actions; the systems response is to directly communicate to the user. |
| Initiating Phase | Sets the foundation for a Web development project; starts when a customer expresses a need for a Web site; consists of: conducting a needs analysis; determining project objectives, assumptions, and constraints; and developing a Statement of Work (SOW) |
| Interpreter | Reads and processes programming languages such as Java and JavaScript; most browsers have several interpreters installed by default. |
| Intranet | A Web site that can only be accessed from within a company’s network by internal employees; used by management to share information with employees. |
| ISP (Internet Service Provider) | organization that maintains a gateway to the Internet and rents access to customers on a per-use or subscription basis |
| Issues Log | Documents problems that need to be escalated to managers or executives outside the Web development team for resolution. |
| JPG | Graphic that is can contain up to 16.7 million colors (24 bits) and work well for photographs. |
| Keyword Density | SEO term; how often a keyword is used on a page |
| Keywords | SEO term; words that search engines have identified as important enough to index on their sites. |
| Leading | The amount of vertical spacing between lines of type |
| Licensing | One-time fee that allows you to use an image multiple times for multiple purposes. |
| Logo | Provides branding and site navigation |
| Mailing List Server | An e-mail server that regularly sends e-mail messages to a specified list of users; can collect and distribute messages from an authorized group of participants, called a listserve group. |
| Manual Link Checking | Process of reviewing every page on your site and clicking each link to verify that it still points to the correct location |
| Marketing Professionals | People responsible for developing the strategy for communicating a company’s message, image, and brand identity; involved in developing the site’s look and feel, as well as its content. |
| Markup Languages | Designed to instruct computers how to process data; generally referred to as tags, and the process of marking up a document is sometimes called tagging |
| Measure | The width of a body of type; three basic units: one point, one pica, one em |
| Metadata | Data about other data; provides a description or synopsis of a Web page, can include keywords used by search engines, authorship of a fileand can denote |
| Metalanguage | A language for creating other languages |
| Metaphor | Suggests a likeness or pre-existing identification with other things or experiences; In site design, a site can be presented as a particular object or experience to emphasize or stylize the site’s purpose. |
| Method | An action performed by an object. |
| Mindmapping | Process that allows you to structure ideas on paper in the order your brain follows, rather than the linear process normally used when documenting ideas; process of moving ideas from thought to document |
| MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 (MP3) | Popular compression standard for audio files; retains most of the sound quality of the source |
| Mystery Meat Navigation | A Web page or GUI in which it is difficult for the user to determine the destination of hyperlinks, or in more extreme cases, to locate the hyperlinks on the page; user has great difficulty determining the site’s navigation structure. |
| Needs Analysis | The process of determining a customer’s needs by acquiring information, processing and evaluating the information, then creating a plan of action to address the needs identifies problems, challenges or needs that the project must resolve or address. |
| Non-disclosure Agreement | Designed to protect trade secrets (as well as copyrighted material) from improper use by people who are allowed to access them, such as company employees, contractors and business partners; commonly signed at the beginning and end of employment and contract relationships |
| Object | A programming function that models the characteristics of abstract or real objects using classes. |
| Off-page Practices | SEO term; creating credible, authoritative pages |
| On-page Practices | SEO term; editing pages so that they are ranked highly. |
| ODBC | Open Database Connectivity – a standard method for accessing a database regardless of which DBMS or application program issued |
| Opt-in E-mail | An e-mail list service that is created legitimately by subscribing only users who specifically request to be added to the list. |
| Opt-out E-mail | An e-mail list service that requires subscribers to unsubscribe themselves if they do not want to continue receiving messages; implied for opt-in e-mail services, although it is often used in unsolicited e-mailing lists to give the appearance that recipients requested their addition (opted in) to the list. |
| Page Rank | SEO term; describes the rank of a page on a search engine results page. This term began as a Google term |
| Patent | Awarded for practices and processes that solve a problem or embody a new way of doing business |
| Pixel | Short for “picture element.” A unit of measure that represents a minimum amount of graphical information as a single dot on a display screen. |
| Planning Phase | Project phase that addresses the specific ways that you are going to achieve the goals and objectives of your Web development project; involves identifying all the tasks required to achieve the project goals, the people who will perform those tasks, and the resources that will be required; involves estimating the time each task will take to complete and determining project tasks that are dependent upon one another. |
| Plug-in | A program installed as part of the browser to extend its basic functionality; allows different file formats to be rendered via the browser. |
| PNG | Graphics that are lossless and support transparency like GIFs and support high compression and high bit depth like JPGs. Not supported by older browsers. |
| Port | An integer from 0 to 65535 representing a particular path for information flow; a specific protocol is typically associated with a particular port. |
| Portable Document Format (PDF) | A file format that can be transferred across platforms and retain its formatting. |
| Positional Awareness | Users should never wonder where they are within the site. At all times, there should be indicators that users can reference for positional awareness; includes understanding any parent, peer or child pages relative to the current location. |
| Primary Navigation | Consists of the navigation elements that are accessible from most locations within the site |
| Production and Testing Sub-phase | A sub-phase of the Executing phase where the completed design is translated into XHTML pages, and any necessary functionality is programmed or implemented |
| Project Goals | Objectives for a Web project that specify the steps you and your Web development team will perform to satisfy the customer’s needs. |
| Project Life Cycle | The phases though which a project progresses on its way to completion that includes 5 phases: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, closing. |
| Project Manager | Person who is in charge of determining and documenting the requirements of a project, creating specifications for the project, assembling a team, and ensuring that the project stays on schedule and on budget. |
| Project Schedule | A document that lists the planned dates for performing tasks and meeting goals defined in a project plan. |
| Property | A characteristic, such as color, width or height, that the programmer stipulates in the creation of the object. |
| Public Domain | Content that is not copyrighted, or for which the copyright has expired; may be used freely by anyone for any purpose |
| Push Technology | A Web delivery format that allows Web page content to automatically download to a computer at user-defined intervals. |
| Query | Questions from the user to the database table |
| Radial Balance | Balance that is created when elements on the page radiate or spiral out from a central point; not used much in Web design |
| Raster Graphic | Graphic that uses small dots to create images and colors; includes jpg, gif, png formats. |
| Reciprocal Link | SEO term; an off-page practice wherein one site links back to another. Use of reciprocal links often lowers page ranking, because it is seen as a quick, artificial way to increase ranking. |
| Record | Includes a complete set of information such as name, email address, and phone number for one person |
| Rendering Engine | Reads the Web page and presents it to the user; reads, parses and represents HTML, XHTML, XML, images and other objects. |
| Results Page | SEO term; the page returned by a search engine |
| RGB Color Values | Colors that are formatted in base-10 numbers ranging from 0 to 255; example: <body bgcolor=”0,255,0”> |
| Rights-managed License | Allows the buyer to "rent" an image through negotiation of a specific price for a specific use |
| Root Element | The container tag that encompasses all other elements in the document (similar to the <html> tag in an HTML document). |
| Royalty-free License | Allows the buyer to use an image without having to pay a royalty each time the image is used. |
| Rule | Line that divides the page content into related sections. |
| Sandbox | A programming method wherein applications and processes are isolated from one another and from the local system; prevents a process running in a browser tab from reading or accessing information located in another tab or stored locally on the system. |
| Schema | The structure of a database system and often depicts the structure as a graphical reference; defines tables and fields, and the relationships between them. |
| SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) | Graphic format that uses XML to describe certain shapes; similar to vector graphics; best for working with two-dimensional line are and shapes. |
| Scope | The goals and tasks of a project, and the work required to complete them. |
| Scope Creep | Gradual increases in project scope that can undermine the success of a project. |
| Scripting Language | A simple programming language designed to enable computer users to write useful programs easily; allows you to interact with tags and styles; enables you to design a response or function to a user event, such as a mouse move |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | The use of specific techniques to improve the ranking of a page or site on a search engine; improves the volume and quality of traffic to a Web site based on the relevance of the site to search terms entered into a search engine |
| Secondary Navigation | Allows the user to navigate within a specific location; these links are secondary navigation elements because they are relevant to a specific page or section but not to other pages of the site, and therefore these links will not be found in other areas of the site. |
| Secure XML | XML data that is encrypted then transmitted over the Internet using digital signatures to ensure privacy and data integrity. |
| Single-browser Technologies | Technologies created by a vendor and thus functional only when that vendor’s browser is used to view the page in which they reside; limit site’s audience to users who are using one specific browser |
| Site Map | A graphical representation of a Web site’s hierarchy. |
| Site Structure | Describes how a Web site is stored on the Web server |
| Sniffer | A piece of code that the determines which browser is in use and then takes a specific action depending on the browser type |
| Social Engineering | A practice hackers use to try to trick people into revealing sensitive information; sometimes it involves the hacker posing as someone authorized to have the requested information. |
| Space (aka white space) | Separates elements on the page and reduces page element clutter |
| Spam | Unsolicited, bulk commercial e-mail that the recipients did not ask to receive; equivalent of junk mail |
| Spam Filter | An e-mail client program that identifies and filters out spam message before they reach the e-mail inbox |
| Splash Page | SEO term; The first page of a site. Often the page that has the most optimization |
| SQL | Structured Query Language – standard language for accessing information from a database |
| Staging Server | A separate server where Web sites are often developed and tested separate from the one that will host the published site on the Internet |
| Stakeholder | A person or group with an interest in a project and the power to exert influence (either positive or negative) over the project and affect results. |
| Statement | A single line of code to be executed in a script or program. |
| Statement of Work (SOW) | A contract to initiate a project; outlines the requirements for each project task to ensure that the objectives are met |
| Stock Photography | Images for which you can purchase the rights to use the images in printed material or on a Web site. |
| Stop Words | SEO term; common words (such as "a," "of," "the," "with," etc.) that are filtered out by search engines. |
| Stream | A continuous flow of data, usually sound or image files, that creates a seamless delivery of those files into a browser. |
| Streaming Audio | User does not wait to hear the file; as soon as the connection is made to the streaming audio server, a small buffer is created and the audio file begins to play. |
| Structure Sub-phase | Sub-phase of the Executing phase that involves preparing the transactional, navigational, and hierarchical construction of the Web site’s content; information architect will create overall structure of the site. |
| Style Guide | A book, manual or guide specifying rules and examples of usage, punctuation, and typography; used in preparing text for publication. |
| Style Sheet | Document structure that includes heading fonts, text layout commands, graphic object placement, and other design guidelines. |
| Symmetrical Balance | Balance that is created when all elements on one side of the page are mirrored on the other |
| Syndication | The sharing of content among different Web sites |
| Table (database) | Consists of fields (columns) and records (rows) |
| Tactic | Method used to implement your strategy |
| Tag | Special pieces of code, enclosed in angle brackets, that tell the HTML interpreter how to process or display text |
| Thread | An instruction from a running application that executes a particular task |
| Three-Click Rule | Users should not need to click more than three times during their navigation of a site to find the information they seek. |
| TinyURL | A free Web service that generates short aliases for long URLs. |
| Trade Secret | A formula, pattern, idea, process or compilation of information that provides the owner with an advantage in the marketplace and that is treated by the owner in a way that can be expected to keep the public from learning about it. |
| Trademark | A word, name, symbol, phrase, or logo used in commerce to identify the goods manufacturer and to distinguish the goods from those of other companies |
| Typography | The art of arranging and designing type and modifying type glyphs |
| URL (Uniform Resource Locator) | A text string that supplies an Internet or intranet address and the protocol by which that site can be accessed. |
| Vector Graphics | Graphic that stores the information about the image in mathematical instructions that are then interpreted and displayed. |
| Vision Statement | The fundamental framework that defines the scope and intent of a Web site; should include a measureable goal. |
| Visual Balance | Related to the size or type (image or text) of objects on a page, as well as to the darkness or lightness of colors of objects; three types: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial |
| Web Analytics | The collection, measurement, and analysis of Internet data for the purpose of understanding and optimizing Web site usage |
| Web Design Portfolio | A single Web location that allows you to show off your best work to friends, family, or potential employers; helpful tool for tracking your own progress as a Web designer. |
| Web Feed | A data format for delivering Web content that is updated frequently |
| Web services | A group of XML-based technologies and open standards that enable computers with various platforms and software to exchange data and share functionality over the Web. |
| Web Site Analyst | A person who analyzes Web site statistics to determine the site’s effectiveness |
| Web Site Designer | A person responsible for the organization and appearance of a Web site; they develop the user interface and aesthetics of a Web site |
| Web Site Manager | A person who manages a Web development team In small organizations, can do all Web development jobs Involved in standardizing the content, style, design, and development procedures |
| Web Site Specifications | Define the 1) features (design), 2) content, 3) functionality, and 4) structure (or architecture) that the site requires in order to meet the customer’s needs and achieve the site’s goals. |
| Web Site Wireframe | A sketch of the skeletal view of a site’s architecture; focuses on how the pages on the site work together to create a complete solution; allows you to confirm that the mind mapping is being applied properly. |
| Wiki Site | A collaborative Web site that uses Web-based Wiki software to allow visitors to update the site using only a browser. Useful for team collaboration, information repositories and portals. |
| World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) | An organization that develops common standards for the World Wide Web; |
| Writers and Editors | People who are responsible for writing, editing, and proofreading the content on a Web site |
| XHTML | Extensible Hypertext Markup Language - the current standard authoring language used to develop Web pages and other electronically displayed documents; requires stricter code syntax than HTML. |
| XSLT | Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation - a transformation language that formats styled XML data for document rendering. |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language - A markup language that describes document content, instead of adding structure or formatting to document content. A simplified version of SGML. |
