Intimidated by all the jargon?

• SEO
• Domain
• Database
• Dynamic
• SSL
• Gateway
• URL
• Backend
• HTML
• ...

Scroll down to find out what it all means

Back end

"Back end" defines all the "stuff" that goes on behind the scenes to make your dynamic website work. It involves programming and design and creation of one or more databases.

Database

A database is a "place to store stuff" in an organized fashion for easy retrieval. For an eCommerce site, this might be a list of products and prices. Depending upon your application, databases can get very complicated very fast. The proper design up front is very important.

Domain name

Think of the domain name as simply being the name of a website. For example, amazon.com. If you're going to have a website, you need to have a domain name. Domain names are unique: only one person or company can have a given name. It's getting more and more difficult to find names that are not already taken. To find out if the name you want for your website is available, go to www.register.com and type it in. Once you've decided on a domain name, you need to actually "get" it. This is called registering a domain name.

Dynamic site

A site is described as "dynamic" if what it does changes based upon user interaction or some other external force. Dynamic sites always have "back end databases". eCommerce is an example of a dynamic site. If your site has a form for a user to fill out, it's a dynamic site. If your site draws data out of a database, it's a dynamic site. See also: static site.

eCommerce

If you want to sell something through your site, be it a service, a subscription, a download or a tangible product like t-shirts or shoes, you are talking an "eCommerce" site. At a minimum, you will need: a database, a merchant account (for taking credit cards), a payment gateway, a shopping cart, and an SSL certificate.

Hosting account

Every website is "hosted" somewhere. Somewhere is a big computer connected to the internet. The hosting company basically rents you space on that computer, and in return for your rent, they ensure that your site is available to the world 24/7. Rent is generally a monthly fee, but you can pay for a year up front and get a small discount. For an idea of what web hosting costs, hop over to my rates page. Some web developers provide their own hosting services, but I do not. I leave that to the professionals! Before you set up a hosting account, you need to get a domain name.

HTML

"HTML" stands for HyperText Markup Language and, for all intents and purposes, it's the programming language of the web. Web developers need to know this, but you don't!

Merchant account

This is an account you set up with a bank or other financial institution so that you can accept credit cards on your site. You will have to provide proof of your business and credit information. The merchant may also offer an integrated payment gateway or you might need to get an outside one. Paypal is an example of an institution that will provide both the merchant account and the gateway.

Payment gateway

When a customer buys something on your site and enters a credit card number for payment, it's the "payment gateway" that takes care of getting the money into your merchant account. Technically, it's a software interface between your site and your merchant account. Popular gateways include PayPal Pro and Authorize.net. Your web developer takes care of integrating the payment gateway into your site.

Register a domain name

Registering a domain name basically means that you are buying the name and letting the World Wide Web know that you own it. You register the domain name with a "registrar" - a company that provides the service. All hosting companies provide this service, and you usually register the domain name and set up a hosting account at the same time. But you can also register a domain name without setting up a hosting account. You'd do this, for example, if you want to grab the name before someone else does, but you're not quite ready to set up a website yet. You pay a nominal annual fee for the domain name, and you renew it every year. If you don't want the name anymore, you just don't renew it.

Register with search engines

This essentially means telling the major search engines (like Google, Yahoo and MSN) that your site exists. Each one of them has a specific process for doing this. This is not the same thing as SEO. Registering simply means that the search engines know about your site and will add it to their lists. It does not ensure that your site will come up #1 or #2 or even #20 when someone searches for certain terms.

SEO

"SEO" stands for "Search Engine Optimization." It involves "tuning" your site so that the search engines (like Google, Yahoo, and MSN) will list it "near the top" of their search results when someone searches for a term relevant to your site. It is a science, not an art! Whole companies have been built around providing SEO services at very hefty prices.

Shopping cart

If you sell anything on your site, you need some sort of shopping cart so that your customer can shop for items and check out. It doesn't matter if what you sell is a service, a download, a subscription or a tangible product. You need some sort of shopping cart. You can pay monthly fees for already-written shopping cart software (such as MIVA Merchant) or you can get a free shopping cart (such as Zen-Cart). There are many more out there. Your web developer should help you figure out what is the best solution for you.

SSL certificate

If you intend for any personal information (such as a username and password, or a credit card number) to be entered into your site, you want that information to be transmitted securely so that it cannot be stolen from the airwaves. An SSL certificate is what provides that capability. Ever notice how sometimes the URL in the address bar of your browser starts with "https:" instead of "http:"? That means your information is being transmitted through a secure server. You can purchase an SSL certificate through your web hosting company. Your web developer should be able to help you with this.

Static site

In general, a site is described as "static" when there is no interaction with the viewer. No forms. No on-line shopping. No automatic emails. The site looks the same to every user; there is no "user-tailored experience." Very few sites these days are static. However, if you simply want a "web presence" so that customers can read about you and your products or services, or maybe get directions to your place, a static site might be appropriate for you. See also: dynamic site.

URL

"URL" stands for Uniform Resource Locator, but you know it better as what you type into your browser to go to a website's page or what's displayed in your browser's address bar as you surf through a site. Look at the address bar now and you'll see "http://www.wallewu.com/geek.php" or, if you've clicked a link to get to this definition and "URL" is highlighted in yellow, you'll see "http://www.wallewu.com/geek.php?goto=url#url". That's the URL for this page. (And, just in case you're interested, all those extra characters after the "?" are what tells my site to add the yellow highlight!) The domain name is the first part of any URL.