This short list is intended to provide a brief, simple explanation of some of the terms used when discussing websites:

Animation
A set of pictures played in series to give the impression of motion.

Anti-Virus Program
A computer program used to detect and destroy computer viruses.

Banner Ad
An advertisement placed on a web page, which acts as a hyperlink to an advertisers website.

Bandwidth
A measure of the speed that you can send data over the internet.

Bookmark
A link to another website stored by the user for future use.

Browse
Describes a users movement across the web, using a web browser.

Browser
A software program used to display web pages.

Computer Virus
A computer program that can harm a computer by displaying messages, deleting files, or even destroying the computer's operating system.

Content Management System (or CMS)
A system which allows the owner/administrator of a website to update the content (rather than the layout) of a web page. This allows non-technical users to update websites.

Cookie
A small data file from a web server stored on your computer by your web browser. The cookie is usually used to store information about your visit to a particular website and retrieved during a later visit.

Database
Data stored in a computer in such a way that a computer program can easily retrieve and manipulate the data.

Dial-up Connection
A connection to the internet via a modem and telephone line.

Domain Name Service (or DNS)
A service that runs on a web server and translates domain names into IP addresses.

Domain Name
A name that uniquely identifies a website (like: www.gingersnapper.com).

Download
To transfer a file from a remote computer (or server) to your computer.

E-mail (or Mail)
Messages sent from one person to another via the internet.

E-mail Address
The address used for sending e-mails to a person or an organization. For example myname@mycompany.com.

Flash
A multimedia format developed by Macromedia for use on the web. Flash can be used to create animations, interactive displays or even entire websites.

File Transfer Protocol (or FTP)
One of the most common methods for sending files between two computers.

Form (or HTML Form)
A form that passes user input back to the web server.

Gigabyte (or GB)
1024 megabytes. Commonly rounded down to one billion bytes.

HitS (or Page Hits)
The number of times a web page has been viewed.

Home Page
The top-level or main page of a website. This is the default page displayed when you visit a website.

Hyperlink (or Link)
A pointer to another web page that can be clicked by the user.

Internet Explorer (or IE)
Microsofts internet browser and the most commonly used browser today.

IP Address (or IP Number)
A unique number identifying every computer on the internet (like 123.45.67.123).

internet Service Provider (or ISP)
A company that provides access to the internet.

Keyword
A word used by search engines to search for relevant web information.

Kilobyte (or KB)
1024 bytes. Often called 1K, and rounded down to 1000 bytes.

Megabyte (or MB)
1024 kilobytes. Often called 1Meg, and commonly rounded down to one million bytes.

Modem
Hardware equipment normally used to connect a computer to the internet.

MySQL
A type of database software often used on the web.

Navigate
Describes a users movement across the web, using a web browser.

Netscape
The most popular internet browser after Microsofts Internet Explorer.

Opera
Another lesser used internet browser.

PDF (Portable Document Format)
A document file format developed by Adobe often used for text documents.

PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor)
A technology allowing scripts in web pages, often resulting in dynamic web pages.

Plug-In
A program added to an internet browser to handle a special type of data e.g. the Flash movie player plug-in

Search Engine
Computer program used to search and catalog the billions of available web pages. The most commonly used search engines are Google and Yahoo.

SPAM
The action of sending multiple unwelcome messages to a newsgroup or mailing list.

SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
Software to secure and protect website communication using encrypted transmission of data. This technology is most widely used when dealing with online financial transactions.

Top Level Domain (TLD)
The last part of a web address is called a TLD. For example, .co.uk or .com. The TLDs ususally provide some sort of information about the website. For instance, .co.uk indicates a UK based company. Similarly, .gov.uk indicates a UK government website.

Upload
To transfer a file from your computer to a remote computer (server).

Visitor
Used to describe a person viewing a website.

W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
The organisation responsible for managing standards for the internet.

Web Address (or URL)
The standard way to address web documents (pages) on the internet e.g. http//www.me.com

Web Browser
A software program used to display web pages.

Web Host (or Web Hosting)
A web server that offers web services like providing website space to companies or individuals.

Web Page
A document designed to be viewed over the internet.

Web Server
A computer that delivers web content to web browsers.

Website
A collection of related web pages belonging to a company or an individual.

Web Spider (or WEb-RoBOT)
A computer program that searches the internet for web pages. Common web spiders are the one used by Google to index the web.

WWW (World Wide Web or Internet)
A global network of computers using the internet to exchange web documents.