A Record (Address Record) - Part of the zone file which maps each domain name (e.g. yourname.com) to an IP Address.  For example, you can have abc.yourname.com point to one IP address, and  xyz.yourname.com point to a separate IP address.

"Above the fold" - The uppermost viewable area within a browser window, usually consisting of 600 pixels wide by 320 pixels high. This is approximately the size of a single screen that is visible to browsers without the need for scrolling, and is the area first seen when your page loads.

Access (Microsoft) - MS Access is an easy- to-use database creation and maintenance software by Microsoft (MS), and is often supported with NT hosting platforms.

ASP (Active Server Pages) - A server-side scripting language in which commands are embedded with regular HTML to provide dynamic content.  ASP is generally found on an NT server.

Backbone - A high-speed transmission line or series of connections that form a major pathway within a computer network.  The backbone carries data from smaller lines that interconnect with it.  The term is relative -- a backbone in a small network will probably be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.

Bandwidth - The total information flow of data over a given time through a connection (usually measured in bits-per-second).

Bit - Short for Binary Digit, a single digit number in base-2 (i.e., either a 1 or a 0).  Bandwidth is usually measured in bits-per-second (bps).

bps - Abbreviation for Bits Per Second.  This is a measure of bandwidth (e.g., a 28.8 modem can transfer 28,800 bits per second).

Browser - Client software that allows you to view and navigate through websites.  The browsers (such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator) read HTML webpages, and enable you to view, download, or upload files.

Byte - A set of bits (usually 8, but sometime more) that represent a single character.

Catch-all Email Account - An email account in which an email of the form, anything@yourdomain.com, will go to you.  For example, Support@you.com, Webmaster@you.com, and anything-else@you.com, will all be sent to the account (some hosts allow you to have these sent to different accounts) set up for you.

CGI - The abbreviation for Common Gateway Interface. This is an interface standard which provides a common method of running a server-side executable program, or script, from a web site to generate dynamic content.   Scripts that conform to this standard can be written in any language that produces an executable file.  They are usually written in Perl, C/C++, Python, or TCL.

CNAME (Canonical Name Record) - Part of the zone file which aliases a FQDN to another FQDN (i.e. www.yourname.com -> yourname.com).

Cold Fusion - A scripting language for advanced web development and database interfacing.

DNS (Domain Name Service) - A globally distributed network of servers that translates domain names to IP numbers.

Domain name - The unique name that identifies an Internet website.  Domain names are used in URLs (web addresses) to identify Web pages.  For example, in the URL http://www.freewebsiteproviders.com/index.htm, the domain name is freewebsiteproviders.com.

Email Forwarding - Having email automatically sent (forwarded) from one (or more) email address, to another (possibly more than one) email address that you specify.  If a person has "unlimited email forwarding", then an email of the form, anything@you.com will be sent to forwarding address.  For example, Support@you.com, Webmaster@you.com, and Anything-else@you.com, will all be sent to the account (some hosts allow you to have these sent to different accounts) specified to be sent to.

Encryption - Processing and changing data so that only the intended recipient can read it. The recipient of the encrypted data must have the proper decryption key and program to decipher the data.

FFA, or Free For All - Scripts that automatically update a links listing (these are usually submitted to by automated programs).

FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) -  Consists of a host and domain name, including the top-level domain.  For example, www.freewebsiteproviders.com is a FQDN -- www is the host, freewebsiteproviders is the second-level domain, and .com is the top level domain.

FrontPage (Microsoft) - A commercial (WYSIWYG) HTML editor made by Microsoft which is used to create, edit, manage, and upload websites.  In order to use some of the special features of the program (such as counter, forms, database, etc.), the website must be uploaded to a server which supports FrontPage (Server) Extensions.

FrontPage (Server) Extensions - A set of server-side programs and scripts which enable users of Microsoft FrontPage to use its special components, called Web Bots.  These extensions can be installed for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and on other Windows (usually Windows NT) and UNIX web servers.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - An Internet standard for sending files over the Internet.  FTP programs and utilities are used to upload (or download) webpages and other files from your hard drive to a remote server which allows FTP access.  Two commonly used FTP programs are WS_FTP and CuteFTP.

Gigabyte (GB) -1024 Megabytes (MB).  2^30 bytes, or 1,073,741,824 bytes.

Guestbook -  A script on a web page with a form which allows your website visitors to sign in and leave comments or questions.

Homepage - (1) The first web page that is displayed after starting a web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.  (2) The intended beginning page of a website on the Internet.

Host - A computer on a network which provides disk storage or services to other computers on the network.

Hosting - Every website, email, file, or online service is stored (called "hosted") on a computer (called a server) which is connected to the Internet.

.htaccess - The default name of a configuration file that contains server directives (small commands known by the server) that tell the server how to behave. A .htaccess file is used to restrict access (password-protection) to specific files and/or directories on the Internet or an intranet.

IP Number (Internet Protocol Number, or IP address) - A unique number consisting of 4 numbers (0-255) separated by periods (e.g. 215.100.197.128).  Every computer that is on the Internet has a unique IP number.  It is sometimes referred to as a "dotted quad".

ISP (Internet Service Provider) - An institution which provides access to the Internet.

Kilobyte (KB) -1024 (2^10) bytes.

Mbps - Abbreviation for Millions of Bits Per Second, or Megabits Per Second.  It is a measure of bandwidth on a telecommunications medium.

Megabyte (MB) - 1024 kilobytes (KB).  2^20 bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes.  When used to describe disk storage capacity and transmission rates, a megabyte usually refers to 1,000,000 bytes.

Message Board - A script on a web page(s) with a form that allows you to host discussions on your web site. You can make these discussions anything you want, or you can let your visitors choose the topic.  It is also called a web board or a forum.

MP3 (Mpeg Layer 3) - An audio compression standard, or file type, for encoding music.

MX record (eMail eXchanger) - Part of the zone file which specifies where the email for your domain name should go (i.e. which mail server machine should process the email for that domain).

MySQL - A simple, yet powerful, Open Source Software relational database management system which uses a subset of ANSI SQL (Structured Query Language).  For more details, see mysql.com.

Nameserver (name server or host server) - A program or computer that translates (maps) names from one form into another.  For example, Domain Name Servers (DNSs) map domain names to IP addresses.

OCx - Optical Carrier levels - Used to specify the speed of fiber optic networks.  The base rate (OC-1) is 51.84 Mbps.  OC-2 runs at twice the base rate, OC-3 at three times the base rate, etc.  Planned rates include OC-1, OC-3 (155.52 Mbps), OC-12 (622.08 Mpbs), OC-24 (1.244 Gbps), and OC-48 (2.488 Gbps).

OC-3 - Refers to a circuit that transmits 155 Mbps. This is the size of the largest Internet backbone providers networks.

Perl - A scripting (programming) language which is commonly used to write CGI programs to be run from a website.  Perl programs are text files that are parsed (run through and executed) by a program called an "interpreter" on the server.

PHP - A scripting language. The PHP scripts, or commands, which are embedded in the web page's HTML, are executed on the web server to generate dynamic HTML pages (e.g. search results from a database).

RealAudio / RealVideo - A client-server software system and file format (by Real Networks) which allows Internet users to play audio/video-based multimedia content in real-time (called "streaming") as they are being downloaded, instead of having to download the entire file before playing it.

RealMedia - RealAudio and RealVideo formats are know collectively as RealMedia.

SSI (Server-Side Includes) - Scripting commands which can be embedded within a web page and parsed by the web server. These are commonly used to include files (such as a header or footer) that are used on multiple pages; show date and time;  provide a 'back' link; or execute CGI scripts such as counters and rotating banners.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) - A transaction security standard which provides server authentication, data encryption, and message integrity.  SSL is usually used on sites that accept credit card or other private information.

T-1 - A leased-line connection to the Internet capable of transferring data at 1.544 Mbps.  At maximum theoretical capacity, a T-1 line could move a megabyte in less than 10 seconds.  A T-1 line consists of 24 individual channels, each of which supports 64 Kbits per second.  Each 64Kbit/second channel can be configured to carry voice or data traffic.  Most telephone companies allow you to buy just some of these individual channels, known as fractional T-1 access.  T-1 lines are sometimes called DS1 lines.

T-3 - A leased-line connection to the Internet capable of transferring data at 44.736 Mbps.  It is used mainly by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connecting to the Internet backbone.  A T-3 line consists of 672 individual channels, each of which supports 64 Kbps.  T-3 lines are sometimes called DS3 lines.

Telnet (also known as remote login) - Telnet is an Internet protocol  for accessing a remote Unix server on the Internet.  When you log into the server using a Telnet program, you get to a command line prompt for the server.

Terabyte - 1024 gigabytes (GB).

TLD (Top-Level Domain) - The suffix attached to Internet domain names.  There are a limited number of these predefined suffixes, each one representing a top-level domain.  Some of the most popular top-level domains are:

com - commercial businesses
gov - U.S. government agencies
edu - Educational institutions
org - Organizations (usually nonprofit)
net - Network organizations

URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - The web address, or location, of a website, file, or resource on the Internet (e.g. http://www.freewebsiteproviders.com/ is a URL).

Web Page (webpage) - An HTML document with its own web address (URL).  The first page you usually request at a web site is called the "home page".   With frames, multiple pages (HTML files) can be downloaded to a browser and arranged on designated sections of the display screen at the same time -- these are also collectively termed a "web page".

Web server - A computer program that serves the requested files which form web pages to the user's browser (client).  A web server can also refer to the computer that runs the server software and holds the files for one or more web sites.

Web Site (website, or web presence) - A collection of interlinked web pages on a particular subject, usually under a single Domain Name, which includes an intended beginning file called a " home page".  From the home page, you can get to all the other pages on the web site.

Webspace (or web space) - Hard drive data storage space accessed via the Internet - it may be used to store data files or host websites, depending on the hosts' terms.

WYSIWYG - Acronym for "What You See Is What You Get".  A WYSIWYG editor or program is one that allows you to create a web page, text, or graphical user interface so that you can see what the end result will look like while the document or interface is being created.  WYSIWYG web page editors, such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe PageMill, conceal the markup language (HTML) and allow you to think entirely in terms of how the page should appear.

Zone file - Files residing on a nameserver that designate a domain name, its subdomains, the IP address(s), and mail server.  Parts of the zone file include the "A record", CNAME, and MX records.