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Webmaster glossary

emyspot's  webmaster glossary is there to help you with the technical terms you'll encounter when you create a website for the very first time.

The glossary provides definitions for general internet and website builder terms, plus the ones you'll encounter when you make a website with emyspot.

Anchor

General definition:
An anchor is a link to text or an image on the same page or to another specific location.
On emyspot.com:
The anchor is perfect when creating a link to text or an image on the same page. Prime for use in a one-page website, to ease user's navigation, or zoom you back up to the top.

Avatar

General definition:
An avatar is a representative image used to illustrate a profile on a forum, comment or IM application etc.
On emyspot.com:
The avatar is used in the forum, private messages and on your profile page. You can add one from the Account > Public details menu. The image will be resized to 120x120 pixels, and must be a JPEG, GIF or PNG formatted file.

Backlinks

General definition:
Backlinks are simply a way of navigating from one website to another. While the term originally referred exclusively to the presence of this fundamental form of navigation on the Internet, it's now referred to more commonly in terms of its importance to calculating search engine results page (SERP) for a website.
On emyspot.com:
Getting good results for a website involves a lot of work, and one of the most important things to concentrate on when working on your website's notoriety is the number - and quality - of backlinks. The more backlinks a website has, and the better "quality" those links are, the better a website is likely to rank in the pages of search engine results. Bear in mind that a handful of good quality backlinks is always better than a score of poor-quality links, and don't avoid the temptation to "spam" websites simply to get backlinks. Don't neglect backlinks within your own site - not only are they an important part of building a navigational "framework" for your visitors, it's also important for search engines to "see" the links within your website, as a way of calculating what's important on your website, and which words are relevant search terms for your content.

Benchmarking

General definition:
Benchmarking describes the process of analyzing the ways in which other, similar operations function in order to distill a set of best practices, to improve management and communications techniques.
On emyspot.com:
Benchmarking involves analyzing websites similar to your own, particularly those which are considered to be leaders in the field or figure in prominent place in search engine results. Select the websites that are listed on the first page or pages of search engine results for your keywords, and study the way their sites function (their content, layout, design, visitors, unique features etc.). By seeing what makes these sites successful, you'll be better placed to make a success of your own website.

Blog

General definition:
A blog (or weB LOG) is a collection of articles on one or more themes, usually (but not always) written by a single author and presented in reverse chronological order (newest articles appear first in the list). Articles can be presented as diary-like entries, or a collection or 'monologues' and written using a personal, informal style, and encourage reader interaction via commentaries. In addition to text, they often contain related links and visual content (such as photos, videos etc.). Blogging (the act of writing and publishing blog articles) has become increasingly popular over the past several years, with bloggers (those who write blogs) covering an increasingly wide variety of topics, such as news blogs, cultural blogs, computer blogs, game blogs, technology blogs ... the subjects are limitless. It has become very simple to make a blog, as it is a simple form of publishing requiring little to no technical expertise. Much of blogging's rapid success is due to it's easy nature, personal style and engaging nature, with readers able to respond directly to the writer by leaving comments, or responding directly to other comments. The ability to link tags (or keywords) to a blog is another fundamental characteristic, and enables visitors to quickly find articles by theme or topic. It's also a way of suggesting related topics and articles to readers.
On emyspot.com:
emyspot makes it easy to make a free blog. To help you make a blog, you'll find a wealth of online resources, pointers and guides on how to make a blog easily. You can read through the blog FAQ, follow the relevant webmaster tutorials, contact the online support team or call the free phone support service.

Categories

General definition:
A way to regroup similar items.
On emyspot.com:
Categories are used on emyspot websites to regroup pages or other elements by theme. Categories are hierarchical, in the same way as folders on a computer. eg: Category 1 → Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Category 2 → Category 3 → Category 4 etc.

CSS

General definition:
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a web page language used to define the way a page is formatted and applies to HTML/XML web pages, and is a standardized programming language dependent on the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium).
On emyspot.com:
emyspot website CSS can be entirely personalized, via an easy-to-use site design tool, or by editing the site CSS directly.

Form

General definition:
Forms are used on websites to provide fields for user input, allowing visitors to provide their name and address, for example. Forms can comprise free- or fixed-length fields allowing input of letters, numbers or other pre-defined content, and can include other interactive selectors such as drop-down menus, check boxes and sliders etc. Once completed, the information provided is processed by a dedicated program.
On emyspot.com:
Forms can include various different preconfigured and personalizable text fields and other input methods. Once created, configured and activated, forms are published on your siteto enable your site visitors to send information directly to you via email. Your visitors don't see or use your email address, and send information to you right from your website. Copies of messages received via the forms are also available from your site manager.

Forum

General definition:
A forum is a public discussion space set up by webmasters and made available to their website visitors or those interested in the theme of the website. A forum's various discussions are initiated either by visitors or the forum creator, and are organized into “threads” (representing a particular topic or subject). These threads are grouped together into thematic categories. Individuals responsible for generating discussions, managing the forum user community and responding to users' questions are called moderators or administrators.
Forums have been an integral part of the internet since its inception and are both widespread and popular. They may exist as a complement to an existing website or as an independent forum. Discussions are maintained on the forum over the long term, ensuring participants are free at any moment to follow and participate in discussions, regardless of their age. Webmasters often require forum participants to respect a code of conduct or ethics on joining a forum for the first time. In order to maintain cordial relations between forum participants, webmasters often delegate the role of surveillance of forum discussions to external moderators.
On emyspot.com:
emyspot makes is easy to make a free forum by enabling the forum add-on directly from the website manager. From here, it's a very simple process to add the first category and start a topic. Try to avoid creating an overly complex category structure, or adding too many categories until a sufficient number of users have joined – an empty forum tends to put off prospective forum participants. emyspot provides a number of resources to help make a free forum: the forum FAQs, webmaster tutorials and online help.

HTML

General definition:
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is a programming language used by web designers to format web pages. It uses tags to indicate the sections of page contents to which page formatting applies, which are always used in pairs (indicating the beginning and end of each section to be formatted). HTML allows the incorporation of different media onto a page, such as images and videos, as well as programmable, interactive content (such as applets - mini programs).
HTML being a standardized language, its use ensures the interoperability of content between different technologies (such as different computers and browsers). It is often used together with other technologies such as javascript and CSS.
On emyspot.com:
eMYspot members do not need to have any knowledge or understanding of HTML to make a website. emyspot provides a range of tools, such as the visual page editor, ensuring that website development is as simple as using a word processor. Users can use the HTML editors available in the site managed to debug or code their pages directly using HTML.

Javascript

General definition:
Javascript is a common programming language used on the internet, providing interactivity between pages and visitors. It's often used to create mini progams called 'scripts' that are integrated directly into the page contents that enhance the way they display or function.
On emyspot.com:
Javascript is used 'behind-the-scenes' throughout the emyspot website manager to improve the way it works and make it easier to use. The elements that can be moved around by dragging and dropping (such as blog posts, quizz questions menu items) are examples of javascript at work. Javascript also provides certain elements that can be added to websites, such as visitor counters, clocks or animated pointers.
In addition to the javascript elements made available on emyspot.com, others can be written or imported from elsewhere directly into an emyspot website.

Key word

General definition:
A key word (or keyword) refers to a semantic way of defining the content of a site or web page. Key word usage enables information to be classified and retrieved by searchable databases, such as search engines, using minimal information.
On emyspot.com:
Using your site editing tools, you can define key words for pages, store products and blog posts to assist in their appropriate classification by search engines, from the site manager.

Manager (or Site manager)

General definition:
Manager is used in a context-specific sense on emyspot.com.
On emyspot.com:
The emyspot manager is the tool used to access the website administration tools and interface of an emyspot website. Connection to the website manager requires the use of a username and corresponding password, ensuring only an authorized account holder can access and modify their website.
The manager is used to personalize all aspects of a website, from the colors to the page contents, as well as to change user account details. It also provides direct access to all optional subscription features and services, such as domain names, VersionPLUSPLUS and the e-commerce solution.

Member area

General definition:
Making a members area is a way of ensuring part, or all, of a website is only visible by registered subscribers. Creating members-only content is a way of providing value-added content for visitors, and ensuring that only authorized persons access sensitive content. This is important if you make a forum, or make a club website, for example, and ensures that only members can access content that is for them, as well as providing a secured area for exchanging and discussing ideas.
On emyspot.com:
It's easy to make a members area on emyspot. However this feature is only available to VersionPLUS subscribers. For more information on the advantages available when you create a member area, just head to this page, or contact the support team online or by phone.

META

General definition:
Meta elements provide global information about a webpage, with each type of information identified by a “tag”. Tags can identify such information as the title of a page, its key words, and description. Though the information provided in the meta section of the page code may not be visible in a web browser, search engines, for example, use it to assist in classifying sites for relevant search terms. Search engines generally list by displaying the site title and description meta information.
On emyspot.com:
Your emyspot site's descriptions, keywords and titles can be edited from the site manager. In addition, each page of your site, your store products and blog posts provide fields for personalizing the relevant meta information for that site element. To add additional information to the meta field of your site header, just add it to the corresponding field under the Settings > Global settings > Editable zones menu.

Page

General definition:
The printed surface inside a book, or the visual content of a website, confined to a single URL (address).
On emyspot.com:
A page (or web page) can be classed by theme by adding it to a category, enabling it to be regrouped with similar pages. Pages are created from the Pages menu, and can contain a mix of fixed content (text, images etc.) with interactive elements (forms, videos, etc.). There are a number of different types of pages and ways to make them with emyspot. Add preformatted content, like photo albums, store products or blog posts, on site pages using the relevant menus.

POP

General definition:
POP (Post Office Protocol) is a method of automated communication between computers used for receiving e-mails from an email server. It requires the use of authentication via the use of a username/password pair.
On emyspot.com:
A Domaine name subscription on emyspot.com enables you to create up to ten email accounts associated with the chosen name (such as username@domainname.com etc.). In association with the POP server name provided by emyspot, you can access their personalized email account from anywhere by using their account name and password.

Profile

General definition:
A profile is a webpage outlining an individual's personal details. It can be public (visible by anyone) or private (authorized access only). Profiles can contain as much or as little personal information as desired: gender, age, address, favorite quote etc..
On emyspot.com:
Creating an account on emyspot means providing a certain amount of personal information: this information remains strictly confidential, and will never be made public of divulged by emyspot to any third party. Members may, however, choose to include these or any other details in their public profile. Profile details are configured from the site manager.

RSS feed

General definition:
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a collection of XML formats used to automatize the publication of content on the internet. RSS content can consist of a subset of the original content (such as a heading or brief summary) or the totality of the original text. The ability to collect different RSS "feeds" from diverse sources into a single location (the RSS reader, such as a web browser) enables individuals to follow updates from multiple websites quickly and simply by "subscribing" to the RSS feed of a website. Common websites that make substantial use of RSS publication include news media and blogs.
On emyspot.com:
Use your emyspot website to publish RSS feeds automatically: via a dedicated RSS page, or an RSS block added to any site page. They'll be updated automatically, and you can personalize their titles, level of detail and number of updates displayed. Add them to a side menu if you'd prefer, so they remain visible throughout the website. Website elements such as blog or forum posts are automatically published in their own RSS feed, allowing visitors to subscribe to an emyspot website's updates.

Search engine

General definition:
A search engine (like Google, Yahoo, Baidu or Bing) is a searchable database of information about websites and their contents. Search engines are designed to enable users to locate information relevant to their search term (or query), and apply algorithms to provide users with a list of websites it judges are pertinent for the search term used. Search engine databases are not updated in real time – instead, they routinely scour the web to discover new sites, or updates to existing sites, to add to their databases.
On emyspot.com:
There are a number of ways you can optimize your website for great search engine results. Personalize the SEO information for each and every page of your website, right from the page editor. Don't forget to include keyword-optimized URLs for your online store products and categories, blog posts, forum topics and diary events (even your photo albums and site guestbook). You can also add search engines for your site content to menus or pages on your site.

Search term

General definition:
A search term is the word or combination of words used to find information in a searchable database, such as a search engine. For more information, see: key word.
On emyspot.com:
See: key word

SEO

General definition:
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, describes the process of adjusting the way a website presents information to search engines, to ensure optimal results for search queries. Improving a website’s SEO can involve careful placement of key terms in page text, adding or fine-tuning relevant META tags, and providing relevant on-page links to other, related websites.
On emyspot.com:
There are a number of integrated SEO tools for an emyspot website. The site content management tools come with built-in fields for personalizing content keywords, descriptions and titles, which are added to the relevant META tags of the HTML code of the pages on your website. Edit them simply by accessing the editor for each page on your website, where you'll find page-specific options, enabling you to define key SEO elements like URLs, a page META title, description and even an illustrative image for social networking sites like Facebook.

SERP

General definition:
SERP refers to the list of results returned by a search engine for a given search query (Search Engine Results Page). One of the goal of webmasters is to ensure their website figures prominently in SERPs for relevant search terms, as much of the visitor traffic to websites arrives via search engines.
On emyspot.com:
Optimizing your website for search engines is easy, using the emyspot site manager tools. You'll also find handy hints on ensuring your website features prominently in search engine results by applying the techniques outlined in the emyspot blog (just filter the blog entries using the "seo" keyword).

Sidebar

General definition:
The sidebar is the vertical menu present on a website and can be found to the left or to the right of the website content.
On emyspot.com:
Your sidebar, is the horizontal menu and can be an avenue to ease user navigation and spotlight your content. The sidebar can be enabled and disabled from your site manager easily and we have tutorials dedicated to help set-up your side menus. 

Signature

General definition:
A signature on the internet can refer to either: - a personalized line of text placed at the bottom of an email message; or - a zone at the bottom of messages posted on forums, in which you can add images, text, or links.
On emyspot.com:
Your signature will appear both at the bottom of messages posted on the forum and private messages sent to other "emyspotters". To personalize or change your signature, head to the Account menu. Use the visual editor to add text, images or links etc. Try not to use images that are too large, as they'll take up space in the forum unnecessarily.

Tab

General definition:
A tab is a part of the navigational interface of computer software or on websites, and is often used to simplify the display of several 'pages' within a single window. Only one tab can usually be 'active' at a time.
On emyspot.com:
Tabs are used in the manager to separate the different elements of the user interface. They separate the different sub-menus, allowing direct access by clicking on them.

Tag

General definition:
Tag can have several meanings, notably: - a key word, used to describe a main feature of an object or article etc. - a distinguishing code descriptor Web pages contain HTML code in the form of tags (that look like this tag ) to designate the formatting that is to be applied to text, the location of links or images etc..
Each tag appears at the beginning of the corresponding section of the page to which it applies and again when it is no longer applicable (it is first 'opened' then 'closed' ), meaning they must always appear in pairs (though they can be embedded within each other). For example, this tag will displays text in italics.
On emyspot.com:
No knowledge of HTML tags is required to make a website with emyspot. Use of the visual page editing tools means tags are automatically added where and when required.

Username

General definition:
A username is a unique identifier used for accounts on the internet or other computer-related systems. You might also see the term referred to as 'user name', account name etc. A username is generally a combination of letters and/or numbers, with a minimum set length.
On emyspot.com:
The username is chosen during the sign-up process, and is used to identify your account. You can change your username at any time from the site manager.
A username can contain standard (non-accentuated) lower-case letters, digits (0-9) and dashes ('-').
Your site address is independant of your username - you'll chose the address of your new website after you create an account for the first time, or whenever you add a new website to an exisiting account.