Definitions

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Active Server Pages: Abbreviated as ASP, a specification for a dynamically created Web page with a .ASP extension that utilizes ActiveX scripting -- usually VB Script or Jscript code. When a browser requests an ASP, the Web server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the browser. So ASPs are similar to CGI scripts, but they enable Visual Basic programmers to work with familiar tools.

Administration Tool: Web-based interface that allows administrators to manage user and other data that the web application uses.

Architecture: Defined as the design of both static and dynamic pages and the connection between them, to incorporate the navigation system.

Backend Database Programming: Data model phase in which the tables, fields, indexes, and relationships of the database are established.

CGI Form: A CGI form is a way for an Internet user to interact dynamically with a Web server. An HTML page that contains a form may use a CGI program to process the form's data once it has been submitted. For example: a user visits a Web page looking for specific information on a topic and finds that the Web page offers an e-mail newsletter service. In order for the user to receive the newsletter, he must fill out a CGI form with all of his applicable information. The form is then sent to the server using CGI, and the server processes the information that was sent in the form in order to add the user to its database and initiate the user's newsletter service.

Competitive Analysis: Review of key competitors and how your firm is similar and different

Cookie: A message given to a Web browser by a Web server. The browser stores the message in a text file. The message is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Content: Includes the text, pictures, and graphics that are displayed on a web page. Everything that is displayed through out a web site is considered content.

Content Development: Creating content including copy writing, graphics, editing for spelling, grammar and web "reability".

Content Management/Content Management System: Programming and/or software that enables one to add and/or manipulate content on a Web site. Typically the user is provided an administrative area (username and password protected) where content on the site can be added, edited and or deleted.

Content Flow Chart/Site Mapping: Flow chart describing what content will be utilized in each section of the site. Visual display of all sections/categories of the web site.

Converting Traffic: The formula or statistical results that enlighten your firm to how many visitors or site users that become paying customers.

Creative Brief: Completing a creative brief, covering "look and feel" issues, user goals, usability, navigation, and touches on the main goals of the site. It is the companion to the technology brief.

Database: Often abbreviated DB. A collection of information organized in such a way that a computer program can quickly select desired pieces of data. You can think of a database as an electronic filing system. Traditional databases are organized by fields, records, and files. A field is a single piece of information; a record is one complete set of fields; and a file is a collection of records. For example, a telephone book is analogous to a file. It contains a list of records, each of which consists of three fields: name, address, and telephone number.

Database Schema: Diagram and/or script defining the logical and physical entities of the database along with their relationships.

Dedicated Server: a dedicated server is typically a rented service. The user rents the server, software and an Internet connection from the Web host.

Deliverables: The deliverables include all bullet points of the project and should be broken down into several areas: strategy/consultation, design/user interface, development, programming, and online marketing tactics and tools. This area should specify exactly how the database tools will be built and how they will work. In addition, describe all sections and the content required for each section.

Design Style Guide: Document defining the specifications of the design of a web page - measurements, photos, graphics, and site flow of a completed web site.

DSML: Directory Service Markup Language combines directory services technology (LDAP) with XML syntax to provide an easy way to share and use personalized data across company and technology boundaries.

Dynamic HTML: Refers to Web content that changes each time it is viewed. For example, the same URL could result in a different page depending on the geographic location of the user, time of day and/or the profile of the user

E-Commerce: Often referred to as simply e-commerce, business that is conducted over the Internet using any of the applications that rely on the Internet, such as e-mail, instant messaging, shopping carts, Web services, UDDI, FTP, and EDI, among others. Electronic commerce can be between two businesses transmitting funds, goods, services and/or data or between a business and a customer.

E-Commerce Application: A web application comprised of a sales system typically either a sales appointment process, a shopping cart system, and order form or some type of financial transaction process

Flash/Flash Movie/Flash Application: A bandwidth friendly and browser independent vector-graphic animation technology. As long as different browsers are equipped with the necessary plug-ins, Flash animations will look the same. Includes movie and video clips that are connected to the Flash technology.

Functional Requirements: Covers all the functionality within a site. These areas include the back end programming or database needs to make sure the proper data displays when the user requests it. Examples include using a shopping cart, sales force automation, online banking.

Ghost Site: A Web site that remains live but is no longer updated or maintained or only done so very infrequently. Unlike a site that is no longer available and results in a 404 error message when the user tries to access it, ghost sites can be accessed even though they have not been updated. Web sites typically strive for relevant information that is timely and current.

Hotjava: A set of products developed by Sun Microsystems that utilize Java technology. Currently, HotJava products include a set of libraries for building Java-aware applications, and a Java-enabled Web browser. Other Java-enabled Web browsers include the newest versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Home Page: The main page or starting point for most web sites - typically the address is www.thefirmname.com.

Hosting: Platform, location, and provider of final hardware for the web site or web application.

HTML: Short for HyperText Markup Language, the authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web. HTML is similar to SGML, although it is not a strict subset. HTML defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using a variety of tags and attributes.

iHTML: Short for inline HTML, an advanced server-side scripting/programming language that functions as an extension to HTML, allowing the customization of dynamic Web sites that depend on interaction with databases. iHTML eliminates the need for Javascript or CGI programs as it provides the same functionality.

Images: Graphics, Photos, charts, etc - any thing that will be displayed on the site that is not text based.

Implementation: Working on the deliverables of the project to complete the site plan or product development.

Information Architecture: Information Architect utilizes the appropriate content to implement the correct navigation and "look and feel" to how all pages interacts with the overall site, making sure that the user can get to the correct information in the shortest amount of steps.

Intelligent Agent: Programs, used extensively on the Web, that perform tasks such as retrieving and delivering information and automating repetitive tasks. More than 50 companies are currently developing intelligent agent software or services, including Firefly and WiseWire.

Interior/Internal Page: A page that is accessed by selecting one of the main page menu options - These pages are found below or behind the main/home page

J2EE: Short for Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition. J2EE is a platform-independent, Java-centric environment from Sun for developing, building and deploying Web-based enterprise applications online. The J2EE platform consists of a set of services, APIs, and protocols that provide the functionality for developing multitiered, Web-based applications.

Javascript: A scripting language developed by Netscape to enable Web authors to design interactive sites. Although it shares many of the features and structures of the full Java language, it was developed independently. Javascript can interact with HTML source code, enabling Web authors to spice up their sites with dynamic content.

JSP: Short for Java Server Page. A server-side technology, Java Server Pages are an extension to the Java servlet technology that was developed by Sun. JSPs have dynamic scripting capability that works in tandem with HTML code, separating the page logic from the static elements

Key Words: Any word or phrase that has particular significance to the content of your website. When someone uses a search engine to find information you have, your website should be suggested in response to the search query when your keywords are used. [L]

Logfile: A file that lists actions that have occurred. For example, Web servers maintain log files listing every request made to the server. With log file analysis tools, it's possible to get a good idea of where visitors are coming from, how often they return, and how they navigate through a site. Using cookies enables Webmasters to log even more detailed information about how individual users are accessing a site.

Microsite: Also called a minisite, a microsite is a separate page of a Web site that has a separate URL than its home page and is used to provide information about and/or promote something that is related to the home page. For example, a museum's Web site may have a link to a microsite with information about a special exhibition the museum is running, or a computer manufacturer may create a microsite to give the user information about a new product design. Microsites often are temporary Web sites that are removed from Web servers once the promotion is over or the information is no longer relevant

Milestone: A clearly identifiable point in a project that summarizes the completion of a related or important set of tasks. Milestones are commonly used to summarize the important events in a project for managers and stakeholders who don't want or need to see the details in a project plan.

Mirror Site: A Web site that is a replica of an already existing site, used to reduce network traffic (hits on a server) or improve the availability of the original site. Mirror sites are useful when the original site generates too much traffic for a single server to support.

Modular Code: Set of files or code comprising a specific self-contained application

New Media: A generic term for the many different forms of electronic communication that are made possible through the use of computer technology. The term is in relation to "old" media forms, such as print newspapers and magazines that are static representations of text and graphics.

Object: A component is a reusable program building block that can be combined with other components in the same or other computers in a distributed network to form an application.

Object Model: (Distributed Component object Model) is a set of Microsoft concepts and program interfaces in which client program objects can request services from server program objects on other computers in a network.

Personalization Web Site: A site that displays content based on the users preferences.

PHP: Self-referentially short for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor, an open source, server-side, HTML embedded scripting language used to create dynamic Web pages.

Project Assumptions: Assumptions that are made based on past experience and anticipating overcoming challenges and problems.

Project Management Online Tool: A secure web based tool that enables both the outsourced web vendor and the client's internal staff to manage the ongoing steps in the project - uploading information, receiving automatic updates, and viewing the progress of deliverables.

PWS: Short for personal Web server, a generic term for a Web server that is used to host Web page files for an individual.

Quality Assurance: Tests and procedures to make sure that the code and content meet the highest level of quality standards. In addition, there should be between 10 to 25 different testing procedures completed before a site goes live to the world.

Revisions: Any changes made to the initial design mock ups

Salestracker: XploreNet's web based tool enables users to manage their sales process online

Scalability: The ability of an application to be run in different configurations across multiple machines in order to sustain higher levels of load.

Scope of Work: Also called the statement of work - displays all procedures to finish the project including deliverables, cost, milestones, approach, assumptions, etc.

Site Map: Similar to an architect's blueprint of a building, the Site Map is a visual representation of the site's structure.

Static: Generally refers to elements of the Internet or computer programming that are fixed and not capable of action or change. The opposite of static is dynamic. A Web site that is static can only supply information that is written into the HTML and this information will not change unless the change is written into the source code.

Sticky: When used in terms of a Web site, sticky refers to a site's ability to keep visitors on the site once they have navigated there or encourage the visitor to return frequently (i.e., the visitors "stick" to the site).

Target Audience: Consumer profiles are created to validate target audiences and segmentations. Audience identification provides direction for development of message, on- and off-line channel integration, and increases efficiency and effectiveness.

TCP/IP: Short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the suite of communications protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the UNIX operating system and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP.

Technology Briefing: Companion document to the creative brief describing the functional and technical needs of the project

Technology Specifications: Covered in the deliverables section of the scope of work

Template: File containing universal layout elements for certain page types within an application as well as display logic for dynamically included content.

Usability Testing: Testing the initial mock ups to make sure the design meets the user expectations and facilitates a user friendly experience.

User Profile: the demographic descriptions of the users who visit a specific site

User Permissions: Defines which users have access to a web sites secure area and view and/or modify the code/data

Web Collaboration: ollaboration provides an organization with the capability to collaborate with customers or internally via the Internet in real time. Web collaboration packages generally consist of Web-based tools within Web sites to assist an organization in the area of sales, new revenue-generation opportunities, and to enhance customer satisfaction.

WebDAV: Short for Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning, an IETF standard set of platform-independent extensions to HTTP that allows users to collaboratively edit and manage files on remote Web servers.

Web Marketing Strategy: The part of your web plan that addresses how you will improve lead generation and visitor conversion rates

Web Server: A Web server is a software program constantly running that answers client requests by returning specified pages or content. Web servers communicate with Web Browsers over a stateless connection and use an industry standard protocol called Hypertext Transfer Protocol (or HTTP) to insure interoperability between various clients and various servers.

WML: Short for Wireless Markup Language, an XML language used to specify content and user interface for WAP devices; the WAP forum provides a DTD for WML. WML is supported by almost every mobile phone browser around the world.

XML: Short for Extensible Markup Language, a specification developed by the W3C. XML is a pared-down version of SGML, designed especially for Web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and interpretation of data between applications and between organizations.