Glossary

A

Accessibility

An approach to web design that aims to provide web users with the greatest access to the content and features of your website, taking into consideration disabilities including poor eyesight, blindness, deafness, seizure disorders and cognitive impairments, as well as limited bandwidth and older computers and browsers.

ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line)

A high speed connection to the Internet that uses a standard telephone line and a ‘splitter’ which allows you to access the Internet and make telephone calls at the same time.

Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW)

This is a comprehensive, high quality database of tourism industry product and destination information from all Australian States and Territories. The content is compiled in a nationally agreed format and is electronically accessible by licensed distributors for use in their websites, providing access to a broadening network of global travel websites.

B

Back-up

This is a precautionary action of saving all your computer files to another format such as disc, so should your computer or server fail, not all records are lost. Establishing a regular back-up and ensuring the copy is kept in a location away from the computer, is sensible business practice.

Bookmark

Your web browser will allow you to “Bookmark” or “Add to Favourites” web pages, so that you can easily access them at another time without having to retype the URL.

Bandwidth

A measure of capacity, referring to the amount of data which is can be transferred simultaneously across an internet connection: the wider the bandwidth, the larger the carrying capacity and faster uploads and downloads.

Broadband

A high speed internet connection with data transfer rates much faster than a dial-up modem. The term is derived from broad bandwidth.

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C

Cache

Copies of previously accessed web pages and related files are stored, in a cache, either on your computer or on computers operated by an ISP (Internet Service Provider). On subsequent visits to these web pages the files are retrieved from the cache rather than downloaded from the web server again. This reduces the time taken to deliver the web page to you.

Content management system (CMS)

Comprising hardware and software, a CMS provides an organisation with an authoring environment for its staff to update and manage its own website content.

Cookies

Information sent from a website to your computer's hard disk with the main purpose of identifying you and your computer, and possibly preparing customised web pages for you. Cookies can contain information such as user preferences or registration information.

Cascading StyleSheets (CSS)

A technology used to control the presentation of a web page. CSS organises colours, font faces, text sizes, line spacing, etc.

D

Dial-up

Access to the Internet, utilising a telephone line and modem, which ‘dials’ your ISP, which in turn routes your connection to the Internet.

Domain name

Domain names are unique to a website. They are used in web addresses to identify particular sites. There are only a limited number of top level domains, for example:

gov - government agencies
edu - educational institutions
org - organizations (non-profit)
com - commercial business
net - network organisations
au – Australia

Download

The transfer of files from a remote machine such as a web server operated by an ISP, to your computer.

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E

e-Business

Electronic Business encompasses communicating with customers and suppliers via email, researching and ordering products and services online, providing information about and selling your own products and services via your website, and utilising online banking.

e-Commerce

Electronic Commerce is conducting business electronically, including the process of buying, selling, transferring money and customer service via the Internet and can potentially include design, production and company operations.

e-Enabled

Refers to having the capacity for customers to access your products and services, and interact with you from enquiry through to payment, via the Internet.

e-Marketing

Using technology such as email and the Internet, plus a wide variety of options and tools, to conduct your marketing activities and achieve your marketing objectives.

e-Mail

Electronic Mail was one of the first major uses of the Internet and today is a daily business tool. Email is the process of sending and receiving communications via the internet.

F

Firewall

A device or application on your computer which inspects all incoming and outgoing traffic and either permits or denies it, based on a set of rules.

Flash

A multimedia technology that can be embedded in HTML pages. Flash files can take the form of animations, videos, games and even whole websites.

FrontPage

A web page authoring tool developed by Microsoft®.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

A set of rules for exchanging or transferring data from one computer to another via a network or the Internet.

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G

GIF (Graphic Interchange Format)

An image file format, most appropriate for diagrams, illustrations and cartoons. Logos are often GIF files.

GB (Gigabyte)

A generalised term referring to storage capacity or file size equating to roughly 1 billion bytes of information.

H

Home page

This is the main entry point into your website and could be described as your virtual storefront. It therefore needs to contain enough information to allow the user to quickly determine your products and services, and how your website works.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

A set of symbols or ‘code’, which are the standard computer language used in the formatting (font size and colour, graphics, etc) of web pages to tell web browsers how to display the page.

Hyperlink

A connection created by using HTML, between one piece of text or graphic, to another. It can also link to an email address, another web page or another website.

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I

Information architecture

Refers to the way in which a website is organised – the structure, the content, the labelling of information, as well as the design of the navigation and search system – all aimed at helping visitors to your website to find information and complete their reason for visiting your website.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is any creation by human intellect that is unique and has some value in the marketplace, for example:

an idea
invention
expression or literary creation, including logos and presentations
unique name
business method or industrial process
computer program.

For more information visit IP Australia .

Internet

The Internet is a worldwide, publicly accessible system of interconnected computer networks that transmit data using protocols. Communication amongst this network via a unique global addressing format.

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

A company which provides access to the Internet. For a fee, the service provider gives you a software package, username, password and if in a dial-up area an access phone number.

Intranet

A private computer network which uses Internet protocols to securely share information relevant its subscribers/consumers.

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)

A digital service that provides fast data transmission over the existing copper telephone wiring system, requiring a modem and ‘dial up’ access. It preceded ADSL.

J

JPG or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

A popular image file format. This format is most appropriate for photographs or images with continuous tone.

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K

KB (Kilobyte)

Generalised term referring to storage capacity or file size equating to roughly 1,000 bytes of information.

L

LAN (Local Area Network)

A localised area of interconnected computers, such as an office, a home or a group of buildings, contained within close proximity to one another.

M

MB (Megabyte)

Generalised term referring to storage capacity or file size equating to roughly 1 million bytes of information.

Multimedia

Files that combine media, like text and graphics, or graphics, sound and animation, or text and video.

N

Navigation

Navigation on your website aids the visitor’s movement from one web page to another web page, or from one section to the next.

Network

Computers, which are linked together, enabling communication with one another as well as sharing of resources such as printers.

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P

PDF (Portable Document Format)

PDF captures formatting information from a variety of desktop publishing and word processing applications, making it possible to send formatted documents and have them appear on the recipient's monitor or printer as they were intended. To view a file in PDF format, you need Adobe® Reader®.

Phishing

A fraud scam to acquire personal information such as usernames and passwords, identity facts and credit card and banking details. Phishing can occur via email, instant message or SMS, which look to be legitimate and from a trustworthy organisation.

Plugin

A program that allows a web browser to display a wider range of content than was originally intended, for example, the Flash plugin allows web browsers to display Flash content.

R

Real-time

Is when treatment or response to an action is simultaneous with the action. For example, making a booking in real-time means the transaction is completed there and then, and the booker doesn’t have to wait for a 24-hour turnaround to know if there is availability, or whether the booking has been accepted.

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S

Search engine

Software that searches for information on the Internet and then displays sites which appear to provide that information. Examples of search engines are Google, Yahoo and Windows Live.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search engine optimisation is the process of getting your website address as close as possible to the top of the search results when someone, using a search engine, is looking for the products/services you sell.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

A form of online marketing that aims to increase website visibility in search engine results.

Social Networking

The online equivalent of socialising: people come together via a particular website which offers them an environment in which to share common interests and activities. These interactions can include online chat, discussion forums, instant messaging, email, file-sharing, video or blogging. Well-known social networks are MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Friends Reunited.

Spam

Spam is unsolicited junk email, instant message or SMS. It is illegal to send, or cause to be sent, unsolicited electronic communications. Refer to Spam Act 2003 for more information.

T

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol)

The two primary sets of rules that establish a connection between two computers, so they can exchange or transmit data over the Internet.

Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA)

TXA is a national booking exchange however it is not a booking/reservation system. This is an Australian tourism industry-wide initiative with the potential to connect tourism consumers and distributors directly with the tourism supplier. It gives the supplier access to a common technology, which interfaces with their own booking engines, to increase product exposure in new markets and sell their products online, in real-time.

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U

URL (Uniform Resource Locater)

The URL is the Internet address that takes you to a website, or specific page or file within a website, for example, http://en.travelnt.com/search/accommodation.aspx. Broken down, a URL contains:

the protocol for exchanging information between computers - eg. http://, https:// or ftp://
the domain name - eg. travelnt.com; and
the hierarchical name for the file - eg. /search/accommodation.aspx.

Usability

Relates a websites ease of use and is commonly defined as having three core components:

effectiveness - how well a task can be completed
efficiency - how easy or quick it is to complete the task, and
satisfaction - the user's perception or opinion of the system.

V

Virus

A malicious computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer, without the permission or knowledge of the computer user.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A secure private network that uses the internet to transmit data. Only computers with the correct access key will be able to access the network. Benefits of a VPN can include:

reduced cost of establishing a network as the facilities are shared
quick expansion of the network to include office and mobile workers
reduced expenditure as the support and facilities are outsourced.

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W

WAN (Wide Area Network)

A network of interconnected computers covering a larger geographical area than a LAN.

Web browser

Software which enables you to locate web pages on the Internet, then interprets and arranges all the elements to be view in your browser. Different browsers can have completely different capabilities and limitations and therefore a web designer must take browsers into consideration when developing your website.

Web designer

A person who designs web pages. Usually a designer will produce a mockup of a page as a graphic and once a design has been approved by the client the designer will create the website using HTML templates, CSS files, all of the images and downloadable documents. These files may then be passed to a web developer for further programming, or directly to the client to arrange for website hosting.

Web developer

A person who undertakes the programming tasks for a website. This can include, for example producing e-commerce applications or developing a site search tool. The term Web developer is often used interchangeably with Web designer.

Web server

A server is the main computer on a network, which provides information that can be used by other computers on that network. A web server for example, supplies web pages to clients across the Internet. The web server holds the pages, programs, and multimedia files and ‘serves’ them using HTTP, a protocol designed to send files to web browsers.

Website hosting

A service provided by an ISP or specialised web hosting company, where your website and its associated files are stored on a dedicated web server. The host company then maintains the connection to the Internet for your website.

Wireless

Where data is transferred via radio frequencies rather than wired connections. For example, wireless Internet, mobile telephones, GPS, cordless keyboard and mouse, cordless telephones and satellite television.

World Wide Web (www)

World Wide Web (or simply Web) refers to the entire collection of files written in HTML and similar languages that are available on the Internet. Web users use their web browsers to request these files from web servers and then display them as web pages.

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