July 26, 2010
39 Must Know Terms For Understanding Your Web Designer
If you sometimes feel as if your Web designer is speaking to you in a foreign, even alien, language, you need a way of cutting through the Web design jargon. You can find some great dictionaries online, but for starters, here are over 40 of the most common terms you are likely to encounter.
ACROBAT: Acrobat is used as a synonym for PDF file, but actually it is the program family you need to create and read PDF files. Adobe sells Acrobat Standard and Pro, which are creation tools, and freely distributes Acrobat Reader, which is a viewer (with some annotation tools in the latest versions).
APPLET: A program written in the Java programming language that can be included in an HTML page, and can contain flashy effects or useful programming.
ASP: Active Server Pages. A specification that enables Web pages to be dynamically created, or to access information from databases. The default language for writing ASP pages is VBScript, but other languages are also used.
BANDWIDTH: The amount of data sent over a connection in a specified amount of time is measured in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (Kbps) or megabits per second (Mbps).
BTL/ATL /TTL: BTL (Below The Line) advertising means print media like brochures. ATL (Above The Line) advertising refers to such expensive media as TV and radio. TTL (Through The Line) is a combination of the two.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface. This server-side program allows data to be passed between Web applications.
COLD FUSION: This specification enables Web pages to be dynamically created, or to access information from a database. The default language for writing Cold Fusion pages is CFML (Cold Fusion Markup Language), and the page extension is .cfm.
CONTENT: The graphics and copy (text) that make up your Web site.
CSS: Acronym for Cascading Style Sheets, an external document that controls variables like color and fonts on your Web site.
DHTML: Dynamic HTML. A combination of HTML, CSS and JavaScript is used to create small effects, animations and dynamic menus on Web sites.
DNS: Domain Name Service translates domain names back and forth with IP numbers using a DNS server.
DOMAIN NAME: The address of your Web site (e.g. coza-web.co.za or google.com).
DPI/PPI: Dots Per Inch and Pixels Per Inch determine whether an image has high, medium or low resolution. Images for Web publication should have 72 ppi, those to be printed on deskjet printers should have 150 ppi and pictures to be professionally printed should have 300 ppi.
FLASH: 2D animation created in Flash can have an .swf extension for Web sites or an .exe extension for digital presentations. You need Flash Player installed on your computer to see SWF files.
FRAMES: Two or more HTML pages combined within a single browser screen lets you have scrolling regions on different sections of the Web page.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol for downloading or uploading files from or to computers with an appropriate FTP program or Internet browser.
HOST: The physical computer where files that make up your Web site are located, and whose contents can be accessed via TCP/IP.
HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language. The language for creating Web pages.
IP ADDRESS: Internet Protocol Address. Every device connected to the Internet has a unique IP address.
JAVA: A programming language by Sun Microsystems for writing Java applets.
JAVASCRIPT: This scripting language can be embedded in HTML pages or accessed by them as an external document (file type =.js) to create effects, validate forms, etc.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. A compressed image file.
KERNING: Horizontal spacing between letter pairs.
LEADING: Vertical spacing between the baselines under text in a paragraph or list.
META DATA/TAG: Part of the backend, thus not visible to the viewer, of an HTML page providing descriptions and keywords for optimizing search engines.
MYSQL: An open source relational database management system that uses SQL (Structured Query Language).
ORGANIC SEO: The optimizing of search engines by obtaining one-way links from other Web sites without actively submitting your site.
PERL: Practical Extracting and Reporting Language.
PIXEL: The smallest component, or single grid point, of a raster image.
PHP: An open source programming language that enables Web pages to be created dynamically, or access information from a database. It is widely used in conjunction with MySQL.
PLUG-IN: A small application, like Adobe Flash Player, that is installed and used as an added feature by your Web browser.
ROLL OVERS: Graphics that move or change when your mouse passes over them.
SERP: Search Engine Results Page.
TAG: Often called Markup tags or HTML tags, these are used to define parts of Web pages so that they display correctly for the site visitor.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the address of a Web page or file.
W3C: World Wide Web Consortium is a group of companies that set international standards for HTML and the Web.
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get.
XHTML: Once planned as a successor to HTML 4.0, it is a hybrid of HTML and XML.
XML: Extensible Markup Language allows you to create custom tags.
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Filed under Web Hosting by Van Vlijman
Today there are plenty of web hosting control panels out there. Linux and Windows both have a selection of panels suited to different server environments. Both operating systems also have a number of both free and paid solutions, so there is indeed a panel for every aspiring web host out there.
One of the most popular Unix web host control panels is cPanel. This control panel is a proprietary system- and licenses can run as much as $425 per year. Developers of cPanel have also created a mirror software platform that runs on Windows, so it can be used by virtually any server type. cPanel has a low learning curve, making it perfect for first-time web hosts.
The open source movement is everywhere- and that includes the web hosting community! Webmin is an example of an open source software package for Unix systems. Webmin also has modules such as Virtualmin and Usermin to extend the functionality of the core hosting panel. Users agree that making modifications to Webmin is painless- and it’s selling feature.
GNUPanel is another open source software package that is written mainly in PHP 5. It has several modern features, such as accepting payments via third parties such as PayPal. This panel in particular mimics similar auto-installation technologies present in cPanel; users are able to install popular applications such as WordPress at the click of a mouse. This makes GNUPanel a favorite among hosts that intend on having less technology-gifted clients who don’t necessarily know how to install and build their website.
Another licensed alternative would be Plesk. Plesk is an alternative to cPanel, as it matches it in terms of speed, security, and features. Each year the two battle it out to improve upon their original designs, but mostly the differences occur within the interface and the licensing costs. One odd thing about cPanel is separating the WHM and administrator panel- which takes some growing accustomed to for those new to the separate systems.
Not all web hosting panels are created for general tasks. An example with a specific-need web host panel would be InterWorx. This web hosting panel is all about managing clustered servers to conduct load balancing. This allows a website to store a massive amount of data, serve it out, and all without a hiccup in performance to the end user. These types of operations are necessary for large websites that do hundreds of thousands of pages served each day. The general web host doesn’t need to worry about it.
Closing Comments
There are many control panels to pick from. Whether you need a specific price, server environment, or feature set- there are free demonstrations available from all reputable panel developers. Take the time to try out each one and make a solid decision on who to pick.
Learn more on missouri web hosting and missouri web development.
Filed under Web Hosting by Chris Channing
May 5, 2010
A Complete Review Of Bluehost Web Hosting
By reviewing and looking at BlueHost.com’s website, it’s easy to see that this company will be around. They put together a serious, professional web-hosting service with all the right stuff. The site’s design works well, as the features are laid-out & easy on the eyes. I even found their contact-information easily, which was a plus for user-related questions or problems. BlueHost has tons of awards from the online industry validating their hosting services. There’s a demo of their control panel, for beginners to learn how cPanel works. They built their control panel to be easily used. The demos on how cPanel works are geared for beginners & advanced users. (nicely done)
BlueHost’s Featured Components and Pricing
The featured components are pretty straight-forward (& nothing’s missing). All the important and expected features are there and very easy to find and work-with:
* cPanel / including DEMOS * multiple database support * FTP * Email I found something unique and it was the BlueHost’s package featuring unlimited disk-space, and unlimited band-width.
There is a limited number of databases (50 each for MySQL and Postgre) and they’re providing more FTP and email accounts than anyone could ever use (1,000 and 2500, respectively). They’re giving unlimited numbers of addon domains, parked domains, and sub-domains as well. Pricing varies & depends on how long you sign up for:
* 3 Months: $9.95/month + a $30.00 Setup fee. *The Domain isn’t included. ($10.00 if purchased from BlueHost)
* 6 Months: $8.95/month + a $30.00 Setup fee. *The Domain isn’t included. ($10.00 if purchased from BlueHost)
* 12 Months: $7.95/month **Good Deal (no setup fee, free domain included) * 24 Months: $6.95/month ***Best Deal (no setup fee, free domain included)
I don’t like and usually don’t get the most minimum three month contract offers and it is not easy to find this option on their site. You have to click around to find it (it’s actually in the second step in their order process) It takes a little effort to find the prices and they are very competitive for long-term usage.
BlueHost’s Terms of Service
This web hosting company has a very straight-forward Terms of Service agreement, with little legal jargon. It’s a bullet point page with the major points listed in an easily-read formation. The one shady-point that I saw stated that “All activities may be monitored, recorded, and examined by any authorized person, including law enforcement.” The lesser semi-shady point I found states “Any violation found or fraudulent activity that system personnel deem inappropriate may have your account immediately terminated without notice and any recorded evidence reported to authorized persons.” To be fair to BlueHost, the points are actually quite clear, and not hidden inside of a 10 page agreement. *easy to find*
cPanel / Control Panel
It takes two clicks to get into the control panel & if you know about cPanel, it is standard. You have the SQL, your sub-domains, & your email-accounts, featured in the cPanel. There are also a few nice additions that include a domain manager, a site-builder, and the option to manage your account right within. Basically, you can log into their billing-dept. It’s a convenient feature.
The Fantastico at BlueHost is the latest version with all of the scripts. The cPanel was very quick and it performed everything it was supposed to do.
Script Installation
You can add your domains through add-on domain feature in cPanel. I added a few domains and everything seemed to work well, and without any problems. This hosting company doesn’t allow SSH/Shell Access by default, but they said they will enable shell access for your account if you fax a copy of your driver’s license, passport, or other ID to them. I installed a few basic scripts (a blog, a CMS, a forum) & didn’t have any problems. Their Speed was about average, and it seems to be keeping-up with all of the latest software updates.
Support Services
When I called the support department’s toll-free number, I was talking to someone within 30 seconds after dialing. I asked some basic questions: Do you support mod_rewrite (Yes), do you support mod_security (didn’t know, but checked), and do you keep your Fantastico up-to-date with the latest versions (Yes) The customer-rep was nice, and seemed to know what he was talking about. He wasn’t reading from a teleprompter. (There wasn’t any delay in his answers)
I had some other questions about some complicated issued that usually anyone can face. It took only couple of minutes and I was able to speak to a different representative. (They have more than one tech on duty, & that’s a great plus to get answers quickly) When I asked if they support PHP5 (they said they have two servers that do, and can move accounts if needed (or) desired. I also asked if they support Ruby on Rails (No), and if I should use ‘localhost’ as my host name with the script I was trying to install (Yes). I reworded my questions to test the email-support system. It only took 22 minutes to receive their answer. It was impressive, because it was already late in the afternoon, approaching closing-time for most people.
After performing my review, I’ve found BlueHost to be a solid web host service. This company has their act together and deserves their listing as a top quality web host. Their impressive functionality and solid support-staff make this company an easy choice for beginners & advanced users alike. In all, very user-friendly & a solid experience.
The Good: Good control panel functions: (cPanel) has a few nice extras. There’s plenty of space and bandwidth, good customer-support, & fair pricing.
The Bad: a few Semi-shady points in the TOS (nothing too sinister, & clearly outlined) Their 3 month minimum contract price is kind of hard to find, but its there.
Jacqueline Gharibian is the author. . She has done an extensive research and review about BlueHost web hosting. To read more reviews about other web hosting companies and also other products, please visit her site at ReviewTheWeb.
Filed under Web Hosting by Jacqueline Gharibian
April 21, 2010
What You Ought To Know About Justhost
E-commerce is increasingly gaining popularity. Personalized website allows better outcome of sales. The benefits of having a website is unlimited. This marketing tool is proven to be more efficient and practical. Business inclined individuals now turns to the internet for marketing their products and services. It is a less expensive way of advertising compared to print and media. Now one can take advantage of such without hurting the budget with justhost.
Just Host provides fast and reliable web hosting in a fraction of the price. Setting up is free of charge. So never worry of spending more than $7.95 per month to subscribe with them. However if one is lucky enough to obtain a coupon code he can take advantage of a better price.
Attain a lifetime domain name for free. If you have an existing domain name never worry about spending extra for transferring or paying a yearly due for a lifetime. It provides unlimited space for email, information and transfer making it possible for you to maximize its full potential.
Just Host uses the award-winning cPanel Control Panel interface that allows you easy configuration of e-mail accounts, real-time website statistics, managing the domain and database. It is so user-friendly allowing you to manage the hosting account on your own.
It guarantees super fast backbone connection with a unique load balancing technology. This means that your site is made available from multiple servers virtually eliminating that frustrating downtime. Expect 99.9 percent uptime all the time as they monitor individual servers round the clock to make sure that your site is in tip top condition.
However for non-technical individuals attaining a website can be a major concern. Never be left in the dark for those troubling times of configuring your site. Expect customized assistance from the English-speaking specialist at anytime of the day to resolve that hosting concerns. The round the clock phone and email support can guarantee that one can talk to a live person for such issues.
No other web hosting company would give you more for what you have paid for. Aside from the basic features justhost threw in a free site builder to help you design your page. It even have an e-commerce shopping cart so you can instantly accept orders online. Another great attraction would be free ad credits from Yahoo, Google and MySpace. This will allow you to attract many potential customers online.
If you would like to know more about Justhost Coupons, please check out my Justhost site.
Filed under Domains by Margy Quinn
Although there are many web hosts online, HostGator stands out from the rest. HostGator has been in business since 2002 and promises quality web hosting.
HostGator is located in Texas, but they server hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide. Their clients range from normal sites to business websites.
HostGator is a company that solely focuses on all aspects of web hosting. Each of the types of hosting they offer have a few differences. They may be confusing, but there is a difference between shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated server hosting, and collocation.
Shared Hosting. A lot of people like shared hosting because it is cheap and suits their basic needs in a web host. Share accounts are where the client is actually given a small piece of their own web space on the same server as others. Some servers have several hundred other clients on them.
Reseller Hosting. Customers are given a part of the server that is larger than a shared service client. However, they do have more control and can allot separate parts of their own web space to other people. A lot of new web hosts looking to start a business might start with a reseller account.
VPS Hosting. VPS is short for Virtual Private Server. Although it may be like a reseller account, it is not. Same can be said for it being similar to a dedicated account. The customer actually has more control over their services through a partitioned server that has a full operating system installed.
Dedicated Server. Dedicated server hosting is actually where the client has control over the whole server and even has root access to it. No one else is on the same server. Clients can enjoy total control and can install software or have the hosting company do it for them.
Collocation. Services for collocation are for individuals who already have their own server, but no place that has the means to put their content online. Data centers like HostGator offer this storage service for a decent price.
HostGator is well known for their excellent customer service. They usually deal quickly with any issues and are up front with customers.
One problem that most web hosts fail to do is to tell customers about how much data resources an account is allotted. HostGator does not have this problem. Most web hosts do not reveal that even if a client is allotted unlimited disk space and bandwidth, their data resource usage could prove to be a problem later on.
It is important for a client to know how much they are using. In fact, it is important that a web host set limitations to data resources in general. If there were none, if one client uses too much, not only they would experience down time, but in the case of shared hosting, the others on the server could experience it too.to
Most of the HostGator packages are generous and provide more bang of the buck. According to the Better Business Bureau, they have outstanding service and have been prompt in dealing with any concerns that have arisen.
It is important for anyone shopping for hosting to look into a host’s up time, their service, and even customer testimonials. Although HostGator delivers a lot and is a reliable company, some clients may find better services elsewhere. In doing the right research, anyone can find the perfect web host.
For more information on Hostgator, please visit Hostgator Coupons.
Filed under Domains by Mike Johnson
