When you make the decision to go ahead and have a website constructed, there are lots of things to contemplate and understand. Below you will find a glossary of terms that will be very helpful as we go through the web building process.
But don't sweat the details! That’s our job.
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Individuals would have the ability to perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute with and to the world wide web and society. It is giving older people with limited abilities due to aging, access to knowledge, health care, other services and the world around them. It encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, neurological and technological. Making your online services accessible means making them available to the broadest possible range of users, including those with disabilities of all kinds.
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Animation
The optical illusion of motion created by a consecutive display of images of static elements. The technique is produced frame by frame. These frames may be generated by computers or photographing a drawn or painted image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit such as is used in claymation and stop-motion, then photographing the results with a special animation camera. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed, there is an illusion of continuous movement due to the persistence of vision. Graphics file formats like .gif, .mng, .svg and Flash (.swf) allow an animation to be viewed on a computer or over the internet.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred from one place to another. In website and webhosting terms, it is typically used to describe a monthly limit. This is different than web storage, which is the amount of space taken up by the files of a website.
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Browser
If you can read this, you're using a web browser. A browser is your way of connecting to and viewing the World Wide Web. It interprets HTML code and lets you view sites and navigate from one Internet site to another. Some common browsers today are Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, Mozilla, Netscape, Safari, and Camino.
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Broken Link / Dead link
A broken link or dead link is a link on the web that points to a web page or server that is permanently unavailable. Dead links are commonplace on the Internet, but they are considered to be unprofessional. The most common result of a dead link is a 404 error, which indicates that the page could not be found.
Cache
A cache stores information where you can get to it fast. A Web browser cache stores the pages, graphics, sounds, and URLs of online places you visit on your hard drive so that when you go back to the page, you don't have to wait for them to be downloaded all over again.
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Client Package
Information regarding client's website. This may include the following:
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Color Scheme
A color scheme is the choice of colors used in design for a range of media.
For example, the use of a white background with black text is an example of a basic and commonly default color scheme in web design. Color schemes are used to create style and appeal. Colors that create an aesthetic feeling when used together will commonly accompany each other in color schemes.
A basic color scheme will use 2 colors that look appealing together. Color schemes can also contain different shades ofa single color; for example, a color scheme that mixes different shades of green, ranging from very light (almost white) to very dark.
In order for a website to be accessible to Color Blind users, color choices must be taken into account. Color should not be used to convey meaning, such as my choice of bold in this case instead of color. Background and foreground color should contrast.
Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color.
Example: Red/Green and other color blindness disabilities
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Content Management System
A Content Management System (CMS) is a secure, private area that empowers Website owners with the ability to enter and modify their own data rather than send content to a webmaster for updating, if they choose. CMS is perfect for frequent content changes.
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Cookie
Cookies are small data files written to your hard drive by some websites when you view them in your browser. They contain information the site can use to track such things as passwords, lists of pages you've visited, and the date when you last looked at a certain page.
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CSS (cascading style sheets)
CSS has become an industry-standard as recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Style sheets allow developers to control the style and layout of multiple pages all at once, separating style and design from the content. Before cascading style sheets, changing an element that appeared on many pages required changing it on each individual page. With CSS, when you want to make a change, you simply change the style, and that element is updated automatically wherever it appears within the site.
Database
A database is used to help organize and manage information. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet with rows and columns, or it can be advanced with multiple tables all relating to one another. On the web, these can be used to store customer data, product information, and even your website's content, such as in a content management system.
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Design
The artistic process of creating a website, logo or corporate identity. It may involve both the technical aspects as well, of how a website works. Some of the features that make up design are:
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Design Process
A design process generates a conceptual solution for a problem stated in the form of requirements. A design process is usually followed by an implementation process which provides a concrete solution based on the design. In this case it is the method that takes the client and the web designer from an idea of a website to the actual creation and implementation of the site.
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DHTML
Dynamic HTML (DHTML) combines HTML, style sheets, and scripts to make web pages more interactive.
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Digital Photography
Digital photography, as opposed to film photography, uses an electronic sensor to record the image as binary data. This facilitates storage and editing of the images on personal computers. Digital cameras now outsell film cameras and include features not found in film cameras such as the ability to shoot video and record audio.
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DNS
Domain Name System (DNS) refers to the names used for accessing websites. When you visit an internet domain such as inksplashdesigns.net, the domain name system translates the names into IP addresses (a series of numbers looking something like this: 999.999.99.9). This makes it much easier to remember your favorite websites by name, rather than by number.
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Domain Name
A name that is entered into a computer (e.g. as part of a Website or other URL, or an email address) and then looked up in the global Domain Name System (DNS) which informs the computer of the IP address (es) with that name. They are sometimes colloquially (and incorrectly) referred to by marketers as "Web addresses". Domain names are hostnames that provide more easily memorable names to stand in for numeric IP addresses. Each string of letters, digits and hyphens between the dots is called a label in the parlance of the domain name system (DNS). Valid labels are subject to certain rules, which have relaxed over the course of time. Ideally, labels must start with a letter, and end with a letter or digit; any intervening characters may be letters, digits, or hyphens. Domain names are compared case-insensitively. It is now permissible for labels to start with a digit (but may not be entirely numeric), and for labels to contain underscores, but support for such domain names is uneven. These are the rules imposed by the way names are looked up ("resolved") by DNS. Translating numeric addresses to alphabetical ones, domain names allow Internet users to localize and visit Websites. Additionally since more than one IP address can be assigned to a domain name, and more than one domain name assigned to an IP address, one server can have multiple roles, and one role can be spread among multiple servers. One IP address can even be assigned to several servers, such as with hijacked IP space.
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Domain Registrar
The company that registers your domain name. We recommend 1and1.com, although you can register your site through any number of companies.
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Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is the ability to have the presentation of information on a web page, or other services, influenced by other factors. The servers that create the web page run computer programs that, according to a sequence of decisions, alter the content of the page in real-time. Dynamic content could be as simple as putting the current date in a web page. At its most complex it can identify the person using the page, and personalize the information presented to the preferences they gave to the server when they registered to receive that service. Dynamic content is usually enabled by the use of scripting languages such as CGI, Perl or JavaScript.
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eCommerce
Electronic commerce, e-commerce or ecommerce consists primarily of the distributing, buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The information technology industry might see it as an electronic business application aimed at commercial transactions. It can involve electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, e-marketing, online marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange, automated inventory management systems, and automated data-collection systems. It typically uses electronic communications technology such as the Internet, extranets, email, Ebooks, databases, and mobile phones.
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Flash
Flash refers to both the Macromedia Flash Player and to a multimedia authoring program used to create content for it as well as games or movies created using the program. The Flash Player, developed and distributed by Adobe Systems (formerly by Macromedia), is a client application available in most dominant web browsers. It features support for vector and raster graphics, a scripting language called ActionScript and bidirectional streaming of audio and video. Strictly speaking, Macromedia Flash is the integrated development environment (IDE) and Flash Player is the virtual machine used to run the Flash files, but in colloquial language these have become mixed: "Flash" can mean either the authoring environment, the player, or the application files. Flash technology has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages; several software products, systems, and devices are able to create or display Flash.
Flash is commonly used to create animations and advertisements; to design web-page elements; to add video to Websites; and, more recently, to develop Rich Internet Applications. The Flash files, traditionally called "flash movies", usually have a .swf file extension and may appear as an element of a web page or to be "played" in the standalone Flash Player.
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Font / Typeface
In typography, a typeface consists of a coordinated set of characters, designed with stylistic unity. A typeface usually comprises an alphabet of letters, numerals, and punctuation marks. In digital typography the font is the computer file that stores the vector paths, before they are rendered on a screen or a page. Vector-based digital type outlines have no reproduction size limit. A font family is a group of related fonts which vary only in weight, orientation, width, etc, but not design. For example, Times is a font family, whereas Times Roman, Times Italic and Times Bold are individual fonts making up the Times family. Font families typically contain several fonts, though some, such as Helvetica, may consist of dozens of fonts. Helvetica, Century Schoolbook, and Courier are examples of three widely distributed typefaces.
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Forms
Interactive elements which allow a user to input information to be utilized by the website. Forms can be used to gather information supplied by the user in order to help the user interact with various components within the site.
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Forums / Message Board / Discussion Group
An Internet forum is a facility on the Web for having discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of different topics. Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards, fora (proper latin plural) or simply forums.
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FTP
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used to copy files between computers over the Internet- usually from a personal computer to a web server. There are many FTP programs (sometimes called 'clients') that make this process easy.
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) is a compact file format is ideal for graphics that use only a few colors. Most color images and backgrounds on the Web are GIF files. GIF files can also be animated.
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Gigabyte
Abbreviated as GB, this is a unit of storage commonly used when describing web hosting packages. It is equivalent to 1073741824 bytes, 1048576 kilobytes, or 1024 megabytes.
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Graphics
Visual presentations on some surface such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper or stone to inform, illustrate or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other images which are not only text. Graphics is often used in combination with text and color.
Graphics can be functional or artistic. Graphics can be imaginary or representing something in the real world. The latter can be a recorded version, such as a photograph, or an interpretation by a scientist to highlight essential features, or an artist, in which case the distinction with imaginary graphics may get blurred. But in the case of the computer, it is a picture or image produced on a computer. These can include .BMPs (bitmaps), .JPGs (joint photographic experts group), .GIFs (graphical interface format), and .PNGs (portable network graphics) among others.
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Guestbook
A guestbook, in the context of an Internet Website, is a type of logging system that allows visitors to a Website indicate that they have visited. Also, it is possible in some guestbooks for visitors to express their thoughts about the site or its subject. Generally, it does not require the poster to create a user account, as it is an informal method of dropping off a quick message. The purpose of a Website guestbook is to display the kind of visitors the site gets, including the part of the world they reside in, and gain feedback from them.
This allows the webmaster to assess and improve their site. Often, e-mail addresses, the visitor's site's URLs and IP addresses are collected, and sometimes published. A guestbook is not intended to be a place for discussion. Due to this, a guestbook is different from a chat room (which is more or less realtime communication), or an internet forum (which is intended to be a location for discussions), or a blog (which is intended for regular updates and more involved exchanges).
HTML/XHTML
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the language of the web. When you visit a webpage, the browser interprets the HTML commands embedded in the page and uses them to format the page's text and graphic elements. HTML commands cover many types of text formatting (bold and italic text, lists, headline fonts in various sizes, etc), and also have the ability to include graphics and other nontext elements.
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Internet Hosting
A service that runs Internet servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content on the Internet. There are various levels of service and various kinds of services offered. The most common kind of hosting is web hosting. A web hosting service provides individuals, organizations and users with online systems for storing information, images, video, or any content accessible via the Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide data center space and connectivity to the Internet for servers they do not own to be located in their data center. Most hosting services offer a combined variety of services; most web hosting services also offer email hosting service, for example. A host can also refer to a Web hosting company. While we do not physically host sites, we manage hosting through 1and.com.
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IP Address
An Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) is a unique string of numbers that identifies a computer on the Internet. These numbers are usually shown in groups separated by periods, like this: 999.999.99.9. All resources on the Internet have an IP address.
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ISP
An ISP is your Internet Service Provider- usually a local company that acts as your front end to all that the Internet offers. Most ISPs have a network of servers (mail, news, Web, etc) attached to a permanent, high-speed Internet backbone connection.
Javascript
JavaScript is a scripting language that can be added to webpages to create interactive documents.
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JPG
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is designed for compressing either full-color or gray-scale digital images of "natural", real-world scenes. You can choose how much to compress a JPEG file, but the smaller you compress the file, the more color information will be lost.
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Keywords
A word describing a concept found in a document such as a web page, constituting part of the metadata (literally "data about data ", information about another set of data), for the document. Words which pertain to your Website and are placed in the content of your pages. Keywords are one way to generate higher placement rankings in search engines.
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Link / Hyperlink
Hyperlinks are the words or phrases, usually underlined, that you click in webpages to go to another page. They are also called anchorsA hyperlink, or simply a link, is a reference in a hypertext document to another document or other resource. As such, it is similar to a citation in literature. Combined with a data network and suitable access protocol, a computer can be instructed to fetch the resource referenced. Hyperlinks are part of the foundation of the World Wide Web created by Tim Berners-Lee. He saw the possibility of using hyperlinks to link every unit of information to any other unit of information over the Internet. Hyperlinks were therefore integral to the creation of the World Wide Web. Phrases, titles, words or images that direct visitors to another page on your site or to another website. Many sites have a "Links" page. Also, having your site listed as a non-reciprocal link on other sites can generate higher placement rankings in search engines.
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Logo
A logo is the graphic element of a trademark or brand, which is set in a special typeface and/or font, or arranged in a particular, but legible, way. The shape, color, typeface, etc. should be distinctly different from others in a similar market. A logo is an iconic symbol designed to represent a company, product or service. It also depicts an organization's personality. In recent times the term 'logo' has been used to describe signs, emblems, coats of arms, symbols and even flags.
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Marketing
Is "the process of planning and executing the pricing, promotion, and distribution of goods, ideas, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals." Another definition, perhaps simpler and more universal, is the process of moving people closer to making a decision to purchase, use, follow, refer, upload, download, obey, reject, conform, become complacent to another person's, society's or organization's value. Simply, if it doesn't facilitate a "sale" then it's not marketing.
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MySQL
MySQL is an open-source, relational database management system often used with PHP to add dynamic functionality to webpages.
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Pages / Sections
A web page is a resource on the Web, usually in written in HTML / XHTML format and with hypertext links to enable navigation from one page or section to another. Web pages often use associated graphic files to provide illustration, and these too can be clickable links. The pages on your Website are those that are listed in navigation. Often, areas of a Website are separated into sections to facilitate organization as well as the user's experience. The number of pages included varies per package, but you can add on as may as you need.
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PDF
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. This technology by Adobe allows documents to be viewed and printed exactly as intended on multiple platforms using the free Adobe Acrobat reader.
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Photos
Photos can add a lot to your site, but too many can bog down the speed of your pages and detract from your business presence. Photos may also need some retouching, resizing, and, in some cases, cutting. The number of photos included varies per package, but more photos can be added to your site for an additional fee.
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PHP
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a scripting language used to create dynamic webpages. It is often used in conjunction with a database to allow for advanced functionality.
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POP
POP is Post Office Protocol. It allows you to download your email messages from a web server, which are then deleted from the server. The latest version is POP3.
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Resolution
Resolution is a measure of graphics that is used to describe what a printer can print, a scanner can scan, and a monitor can display. In printed documents and for scanners, resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). A monitor's resolution refers to the number of pixels in the whole image, as opposed to per inch, because the number of dots per inch varies depending on the screen's physical dimensions. Common resolutions are 1,024 by 768, 1,280 by 1,024, and 800 by 600.
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Search Engine
A search engine is a program designed to help find information stored on a computer system such as the Web, inside a corporate or proprietary network or a personal computer. The search engine allows one to ask for content meeting specific criteria (typically those containing a given word or phrase) and retrieves a list of references that match those criteria. Search engines use regularly updated indexes to operate quickly and efficiently. Without further qualification, search engine usually refers to a Web search engine, which searches for information on the public Web. Other kinds of search engines are enterprise search engines, which search on intranets, personal search engines, which search individual personal computers, and mobile search engines. However, while different selection and relevance criteria may apply in different environments, the user will probably perceive little difference between operations in these. Some search engines also mine data available in newsgroups, large databases, or open directories like DMOZ.org. Unlike Web directories, which are maintained by human editors, search engines operate algorithmically. Most Websites which call themselves search engines
are actually front ends to search engines owned by other companies.
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Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about the designing and coding of a Website so search engines will rank it high for a particular set of keywords. Search engines display different kinds of listings in the search engine results pages (SERPs), including: pay-per-click advertisements, paid inclusion listings, and organic search results. SEO is primarily concerned with advancing the goals of a Website by improving the number and position of its organic search results for a wide variety of relevant keywords. SEO strategies can increase both the number and quality of visitors, where quality means visitors who complete the action hoped for by the site owner (e.g. purchase, sign up, learn something).
To find out more, read my page about SEO
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Server
A computer that delivers web pages to users. It is the "computer" where Website files (the whole Website) reside and are accessed through the Internet. A server can also be called a host or node.
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Site Map
A site map (or sitemap) is a web page that lists the pages on a Website, typically organized in hierarchical fashion. This helps visitors, and search engine robots, to find pages on the site. Site maps can improve search engine optimization of a site by making sure that all the pages can be found.
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Splash / Intro Page
A splash page of a Website is a sort of pre-home page front page, usually providing no real information. Often this page is graphics-intensive and used only for reasons of branding; sometimes it provides a choice of entry points for the site proper, for instance links to HTML-only and Macromedia Flash versions of the site.
We do not condone the use of splash pages for accessibility reasons. They can hinder access by users with disabilities.
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SSL
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. SSL is a transaction security standard that enables commercial transactions to take place over the otherwise nonsecure Internet. It uses a third-party to identify one end or both ends of the transaction, and then issues a certificate. These certificates can be used as online identification, much in the same way a driver's license can verify your identity in the physical world. When an order comes through with an attached digital certificate, the recipient can be more confident that the document is genuine.
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Target Audience
A target audience is the primary group of people that something, usually an advertising campaign, is aimed at appealing to. A target audience can be people of a certain age group, gender, marital status, etc. (ex: teenagers, females, single people, etc.) A certain combination, like men from twenty to thirty is often a target audience. Other groups, although not the main focus, may also be interested.
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Testing / Validating
Testing and validating a Website for errors can; depending on the complexity of a program, take nearly as long as the actual creation of the program.
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Thumbnail
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of pictures, used to make it easier to scan and recognize them, serving the same role for images as a normal text index does for words. Visual search engines and image-organizing programs normally use them, as can some modern operating systems or desktop environments. In practice the display size of an image in pixels should always correspond to its actual size, in part because one purpose of a thumbnail image on a web page is to reduce download time.
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URL
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a string of characters conforming to a standardized format, which refers to a resource on the Internet (such as a document or an image) by its location. For example, the URL of this page on Confidtech is:
http://www.confidtech.com/Resources/Glossary_of_Terms.html. An HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) URL, commonly called a web address, is usually shown in the address bar of web browser. The term is typically pronounced as a spelled-out initialism ("yoo arr ell").
URLs are the Internet-equivalent of addresses. An example:
http://www.mysite.com/somedirectory/index.html
First you have the protocol: http:/
then the server address or domain: /mysite.com
and finally the directory: /somedirectory/ which contains files, such as index.html
The results of User Testing are then compiled and any necessary adjustments are applied to the Website design. Testing may be performed one or more times.
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Web Content
The body of a web page. Content includes actual words, sentences, and paragraphs, selling points, graphics, animations, etc. that do not comprise the framework of the page. This is the information that changes from page to page. We advise businesses to provide their own content. You know your business the best! Confidtech will help you edit your text, and help you add content that works best for the web. Keyword-rich content is a great way to generate higher placement rankings in search engines. We will accept your copy in just about any electronic format.
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Web Maintenance
The upkeep and updating of content, pages, images or information that is displayed on your Website. This can include updates, changes and technical support. For a nominal fee, Confidtech will maintain your Website. This includes updating content and photos.
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Website
A website (alternatively, Website or Website) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet.
A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP, a protocol that transfers information from the Web server to display in the user's Web browser.
All publicly accessible websites are seen collectively as constituting the "World Wide Web".
The pages of websites can usually be accessed from a common root URL called the homepage, and usually reside on the same physical server. The URLs of the pages organize them into a hierarchy, although the hyperlinks between them control how the reader perceives the overall structure and how the traffic flows between the different parts of the sites.
Some websites require a subscription to access some or all of their content. Examples of subscription sites include many business sites, parts of many news sites, academic journal sites, gaming sites, message boards, Web-based e-mail, services, social networking website, and sites providing real-time stock market data.
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Web Standards
Web standards have been established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for creating and developing web-based content.
Thanks to Wikipedia for some of the content on this page.