Glossary of Terms

In an effort to provide our clients with a better understanding of the more commonly used Internet terminology, we have created this Glossary of Internet Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms.

 

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

W3C  ::   World Wide Web Consortium. http://www.w3.org/ Established in October 1994 to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its interoperability.

An international industry consortium committed to developing public protocols for the World Wide Web. Currently, the W3C is contemplating HTML 4.0 specs including XML, digital signatures and they are the developers of the Joint Electronic Payment Initiative (JEPI).

WAIS  ::   Wide Area Information Servers - A system of searchable text databases.

WAN  ::   Wide Area Network - A system of connected computers spanning a large geographical area.
WAV  ::   Waveform Audio (.wav) - A common audio file format for DOS/Windows computers.

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)  ::   A protocol used to deliver Web pages to suitably equipped mobile phones and Personal Data Assistants.

wav  ::   Pronounced "wave", an audio file used extensively on the Internet and in computer software programs i.e.: filename.wav

Web  ::   A set of hypertext pages that is considered a single work; typically, a single Web is created by one or more authors and deployed on a network server with links to other servers; a subset of the Web.

Web Copywriting  ::   The writing of text especially for a Web page. Similar to the writing of copy for any other type of publication, good Web copywriting can have a great effect on search engine positioning, so it forms a major part of optimization.

Web Design  ::   The aesthetic and navigational architecture of a Web site. Web Design is the art and process of creating a single Web page or entire Web sites and may involve both the aesthetics and the mechanics of a Web site's operation although primarily it focuses on the look and feel of the Web site.

Some of the aspects that may be included in Web design or Web production are graphics and animation creation, color selection, font selection, navigation design, content creation, HTML/XML authoring, JavaScript programming, and ecommerce development. Web design is a form of electronic publishing.

Web Hosting  ::   Web hosting is an online storage service for information, images, video, or any content accessible through the Web.

Web Mail  ::   Web Mail allows you to access your e-mail account from anywhere using a Web browser. You should use Web Mail when you cannot access the computer that you have set up with POP access.

Web Page  ::   A Web page is a document created with HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) that is part of a group of hypertext documents or resources available on the World Wide Web. Collectively, these documents and resources form what is known as a Web site.

Web pages can contain hypertext links to other places within the same document, to other documents at the same Web site, or to documents at other Web sites. They can also contain fill-in forms, photos, large clickable images, sounds, and videos for downloading.

Web Services  ::   Web services are self-contained business functions that operate over the Internet.

Web Site  ::   Collection of web pages that are linked together and that exist on the Web at a particular Web server. Exploring a Web site usually begins with a home page, which then leads you to the other resources on the Web site, but also to resources on other Web sites. Each web site has an unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

Web Statistics  ::   This is graphical information tracking visitors to your site, including the amount of hits your web site is receiving, where the visitors are coming from, what platform they are using, what browser they are using, how long they spent on a page, and usually it rates your most popular pages.

WebBots  ::   See robots.

WebCrawler  ::   One of the largest search engines.

Whois  ::   WHOIS is a directory of domain name information. When you register a domain name, your postal address, e-mail address and phone number are automatically published in the public WHOIS database.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit body responsible for accrediting domain name registrars, requires that this personal information be accurate and available for anybody to view on the Internet.

Windows  ::   Windows is short for Microsoft Windows.

Windows NT/2000  ::   These are graphic-based, multitasking Operating Systems developed over the past few years by Microsoft. Both can act as standalone OS for personal computers/workstations, or can serve as an OS for a Web site/network. Most Web hosting companies and resellers offer Windows-based hosting in some capacity or other.

Winsock  ::   Winsock is a TCP/IP stack that allows you to use your modem to send data to/from the Internet. A Winsock interface is required for Windows Internet applications like Netscape, Eudora, Free Agent, and many others. Winsock allows true Internet networking via modem.

Winzip  ::   A software utility used for compressing and uncompressing files.

Wizards  ::   Software "question and answer applications" that perform a function after presenting the user with selectable options. A set-up wizard may ask, "Do you want white or black text," or "Do you want fries with your order?"

Worm  ::   A computer program, which replicates itself and is self-propagating. Worms, as opposed to viruses, are meant to spawn in network environments. See also Trojan Horse, Virus.

WS-FTP  ::   A file transfer program that is used to upload/download files and text to your Web site. Designed for non-programmers but sophisticated enough for power users, WS_FTP Pro is widely recognised as the fastest, most powerful Windows file transfer client application available.

WWW (World Wide Web)  ::   A subset of the Internet which uses a combination of text, graphics, audio and video (multimedia) to provide information on almost every subject imaginable. A hypertext information and communication system popularly used on the Internet computer network with data communications operating according to a client/server model.

Web clients (browsers) can access multi-protocol and hypermedia information (in some instances multimedia helper applications or plug-ins are required for the browser) using an addressing scheme. A Home Page or a Web Page is part of this World Wide Web.

WYSIWYG  ::   An acronym for What You See is What You Get. Pronounced "whizzy-wig".

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