Definitions Of a Few Terms Used in Website Discussions
...not too technical, for the rest of us!
CMS: Content Management System; A system of website design which approaches the process of displaying items like pictures and text from a different angle than older WYSIWYG or code-based systems. All of the content stuff (pictures, text, names, ranks, horsepower..) is stored in a database and then pulled out as needed to assemble the pages 'on the fly'. The nice thing here is that updating CMS websites is fast and easy for even a novice.
HOST: also Web-Host : The websites we find when we search the internet are actually files on a special computer somewhere in “cyberspace”. Host computers have special software that allows some people to install and remove material on websites, some to handle only special functions, and others to only view the files. Hosting usually requires a small fee per month which supports maintenance of the computers and systems required. We offer web hosting at JS Design.
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language: a system of writing down instructions to the computer as to what you want the page to contain, and how it is to be displayed. Many web pages have HTML or related forms of code like XHTML and so forth, running in the background. You can see the code for most web pages by clicking on “VIEW CODE” or “SOURCE” in your page-top menus. Editing such code can change the way pages are presented, and many WYSIWYG programs actually create HTML code in the background for you.
KEYWORDS: The terms from your business or project which help people find your website in the millions upon millions out there, are called keywords. We can post these in such a way as to get the indexing systems (see SEO below) to find you more often, and list you higher on the charts. Keywords for a shoe store might be Shoes, Loafers, Boots, Footwear, Slippers, Heals or brand names like Easy Spirit or Keds.
MegaBytes, KiloBytes, Gigabytes, Terabytes, Bytes, and more! Makes me itchy just thinking about them! The technical folks measure speed and size of storage devices in very complex jargon. For Instance, one Gigabyte is 8,589,934,592 bits and 67,108,864 bytes, and really, why would we care… unless we are computer nerds, of course. Suffice it to say, when buying storage cabinets like “hard disk drives” or computer workspace – often called desktop space, the more of these whatever-bytes you can afford, the better your machine will work for you. That’s generally all you need to know about those!
OPEN SOURCE: Some programs and systems you use everyday on your computer have the code they run on hidden, compiled, encrypted and so forth in order to make certain users pay for their work and cannot change their systems. Open source programs, websites, developing schemes are created in such a way that anyone can see the code, and modify it for their own use. Many developers now use open source systems such as Joomla to create websites. There are advantages and disadvantages to these systems. JS Design has extensive experience in this field, as well as competitive systems and methods. We can recommend the best for your purposes and needs after a short interview. Our goal, to make your site exactly what you want it to be while keeping your costs down.
SEARCH ENGINE: Search Engines are systems which locate information on the web. There are thousands! The most popular is Google.com , and even its name now is synonymous with looking up information. Even your Granny now says it when she wants to know about something – no longer “use an encyclopedia”, now “Google It!”
SEO(Search Engine Optimization): the sites we use to find things, like Google or Yahoo or Altavista, are called search engines. They look at the entire web (or some portion of it) and identify websites with indexing systems. When you type in a search-word or two, they go to work finding the best matches for you. When you have a website, we can do certain things to make your site more appealing to the search engines, and give you more traffic – potential clients or customers.
SPIDERS: The term spiders used in website development refers to programs and systems used by Search Engine companies to evaluate and index websites. The “spiders crawl” the web, looking at the new sites and make decisions based on their observations. The decisions determine where you will be placed; High on the first page of listings, low on the 4356th page, somewhere in between, or not at all!
URL (Universal Resource Locator): This is, for our purposes, the www address that will be your website, or the address of someone else’s site or page.
WEB DEVELOPER: Those who make their living building quality websites. JS Design is an expert, experienced, high-quality web developer, and more. How’s that for tooting our own horn!
WEBSITE: Your website is really a file, or a package of files, built to do the task you require, and “hosted” (saved) on a computer somewhere in the universe. The Host Computer has special software that allows some people to install and remove material on websites, some to handle only special functions, and others to only view the files. Every website is hosted somewhere.
WYSIWYG – pronounced “wizzywig”; What You See Is What You Get: Older design systems for websites, and many current systems as well, allow you to place pictures and words in the position you want them on your web page. The systems don’t always look the same, as you want them, depending upon the computer system used to look at them. Some wysiwyg systems are Dreamweaver, Front Page, more.