Many of my clients come to me for help because they lack either the technical skills or the time required to create or maintain a website or a blog. Whether you handle these tasks yourself, or you choose to outsource them, there are a few basic terms and facts you should be familiar with.

Blog: A blog is a specific type of Website, where new content is continually added to previous content, rather than replacing it. Most blogs allow for communication between the author and his or her readers, in the form of comments.

Browser (or Web Browser): A software program used to display Web Pages. Internet Explorer has traditionally been the most widely used, as it comes pre-installed on Windows-based computers, but Firefox is starting to overtake it in number of users. Other popular browsers include Chrome, Safari, and Opera. It’s important to realize that Web Pages may display differently in different browsers.

Domain Name: The name that identifies a Website, e.g. organizedassistant.com. A domain name is purchased from a domain registrar such as MyDomain and must be renewed annually, usually at a cost of around $10.00 per year. Your domain name needs to point to your Web Hosting in order to function.

Downloading: The act of transferring files from the Internet to a local computer.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A method for Uploading and Downloading files over the Internet, usually using software such as Filezilla.

Hosting (or Web Hosting): Just as files are stored on your personal computer, every website must be stored on a computer on the Internet. You need to purchase this service from a hosting company such as HostGator – think of it as renting a home for your website. Fees for hosting vary widely, depending on the features and amount of storage you require. You can sometimes find free web hosting, but keep in mind that free services are usually funded by advertising which will appear on your website.

Metatag: Coding on a web page that is used to give Search Engines information about that page. The most important are the Title tag (which appears at the top of your Browser window while viewing the page), the Description tag (which may appear in the search results), and the Keywords tag (which provides keywords for the Search Engines to associate with your page).

Permalink: A URL that points to a specific Blog post, as opposed to the main page of the Website. The permalink appears in the address bar at the top of the Browser window. You can see that the permalink for this post is http://organizedassistant.com/2010/03/05/website-owners-guide-for-non-techies.

Search Engine: A computer program used to search and index the millions of pages of available information on the web. Although Google is the most widely used, there are many others, including Yahoo and Bing.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A technique used to increase the likelihood of your Website coming up high in search results by making it more visible to Search Engines.

Uploading: The act of transferring files to the Internet from a local computer. Some websites have uploading features built in, but others require that you have FTP access.

URL: This is the web address you give people so they can go to your website, e.g. http://www.organizedassistant.com or http://organizedassistant.com/services/wordpress-website-and-blog-design/. Please note how this differs from the Domain Name.

Web Page: A single document displayed on the Internet.

Website: A collection of related Web Pages belonging to an individual, a company, or an organization.

WordPress: Free software used for creating both blogs and websites. When installed on your Web Hosting account, it can be completely customized in terms of both design and function. You can use WordPress at WordPress.com without purchasing web hosting or a domain name, but it is much more limited, unless you upgrade to a premium account.

If there’s terminology that puzzles you which I have not included here, you may be able to find a definition on one W3Schools.com or Build Web Site For You, which I found helpful while creating this post. For further clarification, feel free to ask me a question.