above the fold

What you see on your browser screen without scrolling. Typically, this is a space 600 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall. The height dimension comprises the online version of what is known in the newspaper world as above the fold. When users link to your Web site, they see this area first. So, this is where the most important information about your site should appear.

bandwidth

The range of frequencies a transmission line or channel can carry: the higher the frequency the higher the bandwidth and the greater the information carrying capacity of a channel. Bandwidth is most accurately expressed in cycles per second, or hertz (Hz), which measures the amount of information that can flow through a channel. But, it's also common to use bits or bytes per second instead.

banner ad

A graphical ad found on a web page.

catch-all e-mail account

If you have your own domain (yoursite.com) and catch-all e-mail account, no matter what word you put in front of "@domain.com," you'll get it. So "jack@domain.com" comes to you. So does "jill@domain.com." Yes, even "anything@domain.com" will reach you!

domain name

An identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control on the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).

dynamic content

Information displayed on a web page which changes automatically. Usally from a database, but could be from user information.

ecommerce

The act of buying, or selling, products or services via the Internet.

encryption

Transforming data so that it is unreadable to everyone except the intended recipient. The recipient of the encrypted data must have the proper decryption key to decipher the message.

forum

A forum is a "meeting place" on a Web site where you go to ask and answer questions and to share information. Moderated or not, they function very much like newsgroups. Moderated ones work best, since spam and flames get weeded out.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. An Internet standard for uploading and downloading files over the Internet. FTP utilities are used to transfer Web pages and other files from your hard drive to a remote Web server.

hosting

Every Web site is stored on a computer--called a server--that is connected to the Web. When your site is stored on one of these servers, your site is being "hosted" by the server.

shopping cart

A section of an online store where a customer can order products and provide payment information.

spider

A piece software that travels to websites, link to link and indexes the pages present. Search engines use spiders to build their databases.