Advice & Info

Here's a glossary of Internet terms which we hope will help.

• .asp: file extension for an active server page (a web page dynamically created with information from a database)
• browser: a program (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) used to view web pages
• .htm: file extension for a static web page (a web page which does not dynamically contain information from a database)
• CFML: (ColdFusion Markup Language) the programming language used to build dynamic web pages that automatically draw their content from a database
• .co or .com: commercial domain name
• directory: a web site that you can use to try to find web sites about a particular topic
• domain name: a unique name that identifies a web site
• file extension: the part of a file name that indicates the type of file
• FTP: (File Transfer Protocol) the system by which files are transferred between a PC connected to the Internet and an http server
• .gif: file extension for an image file using the GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) format which is used for simple, non-photographic images
• hit: every file a browser opens in order to display a web page counts as a hit and, as each web page usually contains a number of images (each is an image file) as well as the text, the number of hits generated by one user viewing a single web page can vary widely
• hosting: your web site or web page(s) are hosted, or stored, on a computer (an http server) that is permanently connected to the Internet so that it can be seen by anyone connected to the Internet at any time
• home page: the first page of a web site, the one you see when you enter into the address bar of your browser only the domain name of a web site (like )
• PHP: another programming language used to build dynamic web pages that automatically draw their content from a database
• search engine: a web site that you can use to try to find web pages that include certain words
• .htm or .html: file extension for a static HTML file (a web page)
• HTML: (HyperText Markup Language) the simple programming language used to build web pages
• http: (hypertext transfer protocol) the system by which HTML pages (web pages) are transferred between an http server and a browser
• http server: a computer permanently connected to the Internet on which web sites are stored and accessed
• Internet: the entire network of the world's interconnected computers including those used for purposes other than the www
• ISP: Internet Service Provider - a company (like Vodafone or XTRA) that can provide you with access to the Internet and an email address
• .jpg or .jpeg: file extension for an image file using the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format which is used for photographic images
• name server: a computer permanently connected to the Internet that lists domain names and the locations of their respective web sites (also know as DNS or "Domain Name Server")
• .nz: the New Zealand domain
• URL: (Uniform Resource Locator) what you type into your browser in order to display a web page - the URL of this page is /default.aspx?MenuId=216#tab
• www: (World Wide Web) the network of computers (and computer networks) used to host web sites, domain names, and various other Internet resources