| Alt attribute |
The alt (alternative) attribute is a set of tags that allow you to provide a text equivalent for an object on a webpage—an image for example—when that object cannot be displayed. Persons using a web browser will see the alternative text if an image does not load. Persons with a visual impairment who are using a screen reader will hear the alternative text in place of the image. |
| Authentication |
Verifying the identity of a user logging onto a computer system or verifying the integrity of a transmitted message. |
| Bandwidth |
The amound of data that can be transferred over a network connection in a certain amount of time |
| Banner Ads |
A graphical advertisement for your organisation that is embedded into someone else’s webpage and appears as an image. If interested, people can then click on the banner ad through to visit your website. Banner ads are discussed in more detail in our Enhanced Online Marketing section. |
| Black hat SEO |
The practice of using unethical tactics to improve a website’s search rankings. This can include trying to get someone else to link to that site even if it is not relevant. For more detail about ‘white hat’ or ethical search engine optimisation tactics, see our Search Engine Optimisation section. |
| Breadcrumbs |
A navigation aid that shows users a shortened summary of where they are in a website by showing where the currently displayed page sits in relation to other parts of the site. |
| Blog |
A type of website or section of a website with periodic entries of opinion, commentary, or other information. The term ‘blog’ is an abbreviation of ‘web log’. Blogs are interactive and enable visitors leave comments allowing dialogue between site users. Most blogs predominately comprise text entries but may also contain other mediums such as photos or video. Blogs are discussed in more detail in our Blogs section. |
| Bounce rate |
Bounce rate is the percentage of a website’s visitors who view only one page and then ‘bounce’ to a different website instead of continuing to visit other pages within the same site. |
| Browser |
A software program that allows you to see and interact with content on the web. |
| Creative Commons License |
Creative Commons licenses are a suite of licenses released by a US-based non-profit organisation that allow a copyright owner to pre-authorise certain uses of their work by members of the public. |
| CRM (Customer Relationship Management) |
Software and management practices that help organisations better understand, manage and serve their customers and associated business processes such as marketing. |
| Digital economy |
The global network of economic and social activities that are enabled by digital platforms such as the internet, mobile and sensor networks. The digital economy refers to the devices most of us use each day such as computers, phones and game consoles. It includes the online maps that we consult, the web searches that we do to find information and our electronic banking. More information about the Australian Government’s work in relation to the digital economy can be found here. |
| Domain name |
A unique number that identifies where a particular website is located on the internet, for example http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au. Domain names are discussed in our ‘Your address on the web: domain names‘section. |
| Download |
The process of one computer receiving data from another computer or storage device |
| DNS (domain name server) transfers |
A system that translates domain names, which are easily readable, into the numerical identifiers associated with networking equipment so that those devices can be located and accessed. They can also be used to identify where to direct email attached to a particular domain name. |
| E-Commerce |
The buying and selling of products and services online, including order placement, receipt and payment. E-Commerce is discussed in greater detail in our e-commerce section. |
| Email client |
A software program located on a user’s computer that allows them to send and receive email. |
| Email server |
An application that collects and delivers outgoing email to users. |
| Encryption |
The process of transforming data or information from its original format to a more complex format that cannot easily be understood or accessed by unauthorised people. |
| FTP (file transfer protocol) tools |
These facilitate a process that transfers files from one computer to another computer over a network. |
| HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) |
A common computing language that allows web documents to be created and browsers to view it contents. |
| Embed |
A technique where third party content is included within a webpage in such a way that no independent program or device is needed to view it. For example, an online video that is embedded in a web page can be clicked on and played back from within that web page. |
| XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) |
A common computing language that extends HTML and makes it more compatible with other formats. |
| Firewall |
A security component of a computer system that either allows or blocks web traffic based upon pre-defined rules or criteria in order to protect computer networks from online intruders. |
| Forum |
A type of website, or a section of a website that enables users to converse, collaborate, or comment on particular topics or issues. More details on forums can be found in our section on Forums. |
| Hacker |
Someone who uses or accesses computer programs or systems in ways that are different to the manner intended by the creator of that program or the organisation using that program. Hackers are discussed in greater detail in our Security: Hackers section. |
| Homepage |
The main or first page of a collection of web pages. The homepage is the first opening page of a website. |
| Hosting services |
Web hosting services provide users with online storage capacity, software and networking services and internet bandwidth. A web hosting service acts as a server for your domain name and website files. |
| Hyperlink |
Text or graphics on a web page that are linked to another webpage. |
| Instant messaging |
A program that allows real time text communications between two people via their computer, mobile or other networked device. |
| ISP (Internet Service Provider) |
A company that provides its customers with the ability to access and connect to the internet. |
| Intranet |
A private website or network that is designed to provide employees of a business or organisation with information or the ability to collaborate. |
| IP Address |
The unique numerical address assigned to every computer connected to the internet. |
| Keystroke logging |
Keystroke logging is the covert and malicious capturing of keystrokes on a keyboard, usually by a software program. |
| Keyword |
A word or phrase that captures the essence of a topic that can be used to help users find information on that topic when conducting a search of the internet, an information system or a catalogue. |
| Landing page |
A single page (usually of a website) that visitors are initially directed to for a specific purpose. |
| Malware |
Malware (shortened from malicious software) is malicious code designed to infiltrate a computer system and damage the system or damage, steal or disrupt access to the data within it. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses and spyware. |
| Markup language |
Refers to common computing languages such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML). |
| Merchant account |
A bank account used by businesses or organisations to facilitate payments by credit or debit cards. |
| Metadata |
Metadata is descriptive information about data, or data about data. It is information that allows you to categorise and organise the information that visitors see. Metadata can include the title of a website, keywords used in a website and a description of the website. The metadata ensures that information can be found, read and understood. |
| Meta tags |
HTML codes that are inserted into the header on a web page, after the title tag. In the context of search engine optimisation, meta tags refer to the meta description tag and the meta keywords tag. |
| Meta title |
A title you give your page within the meta tags so that when a user sees a link to your page from a search engine, a title is also provided. It is best practice to use keywords in this title because search engines use the words in the title to help it index your page. |
| Mobile apps |
Software applications specially designed to work on mobile phones or other mobile devices such as tablet computers. |
| Moderation policy |
A public statement that explains which user comments an organisation will allow to be published and which user comments an organisation will remove from an interactive forum that it controls, such as a blog. See, for example, the moderation policy for this website’s blog. |
| News feeds |
A data format that notifies users, who have subscribed to receive such information, about updates to online content. The most common format for news feeds is an RSS feed. |
| Open source |
Software products for which the source code is freely available to be viewed, used, modified and distributed. |
| PPC (Pay per click) advertising |
A type of online advertising payment system where the advertiser is charged each time a person clicks on their advertisement. |
| PPI (Pay per impression) |
A type of online advertising payment system where the advertiser is charged each time their ad is displayed to a person. |
| Password |
A word or code that protects computer operating systems against unauthorised access. The word or code is entered to provide authentication, to prove identity or provide access to data. |
| Patch |
A new piece of software released by a software maker in order to update or correct vulnerabilities in an existing software program. |
| Payment gateway |
A payment gateway is a service that captures payment information for certain payment methods (usually credit card details) from customers, donors or supporters when they complete a transaction and creates a message in a format that can be processed by a bank or financial institution. Payment gateways are discussed in greater detail in our e-commerce chapter. |
| Plug-in |
A program that provides additional features to a host application, when used in conjunction with it, for example to enable a web browser to display different multimedia formats. |
| Pixel |
The smallest visual point in a digital image. |
| RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds |
A standardised ‘web feed’ format that lets publishers of online content such as media releases, blogs or podcasts automatically notify users about newly published content. For example, if you have a blog and provide an RSS feed for it, your readers can subscribe to the RSS feed and keep track of new posts you make through their preferred RSS feed reader software. |
| Remote backup service |
Where a third party makes a copy of or archives an organisations’ data, content or a website in case the original is lost or deleted. The details of back-up are discussed in our Security strategies: back-up section. |
| Script |
A set of commands written in a programming language that controls a software application by carrying out a set of instructions. |
| Search engine |
A website or webpage feature designed to provide users with the ability to search the internet for information or content, usually by the user entering a search query. |
| Search ranking |
The way search engines rank web pages by determining the relevancy of web pages and other content though analysing keyword location, frequency, inbound links and other methods. |
| Server |
A computer system or an application program that handles a specific kind of request from other computers. The server provides ‘client’ computers with files, instructions and processing power. |
| Social media |
Internet based services that allow people to easily create, find, consume, organise, interact with and share a wide range of content. Well known examples include Wikipedia, Youtube, Facebook, Myspace and Twitter. Social media platforms are discussed in greater detail in our Social media chapter. |
| Social networking |
Using an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting social relationships. Generally among people who share interests or activities in common. |
| Spam |
Unsolicited and unwanted emails that are often sent in bulk to large numbers of recipients. Spam is discussed in greater detail in our Security: Spam section. |
| Spam filter |
Stand alone software or a feature found in some email services designed to minimise the amount of spam email you receive in your inbox. Spam filters are discussed in greater detail in our Security: Spam section. |
| Spyware |
A type of malicious software that is installed on a computer without the knowledge of its owner and collects information about the user or changes the computer settings. |
| Search robot |
A web crawler is an automated software program that methodically visits web sites and reads web pages. Based on the information they find, web crawlers create entries in search engines’ indexes to help determine search results. |
| SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) |
A cryptographic protocol used to create an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. |
| Tag |
A keyword or term associated with or assigned to a piece of information, for example a word that describes the subject of a piece of text or an image file. Tags may also serve as hyperlinks to information on websites that use tag clouds to display related webpages. The role of tags is discussed in greater detail in our Tagging content and using metadata section. |
| Tag cloud |
A visual depiction of tags typically used to describe the content of web sites. Tag clouds often display the most popular or relevant topics by displaying them more prominently in a larger and bolder font. The role of tags is discussed in greater detail in our Tagging content and using metadata section. |
| Text ads |
These are text based advertisements that appear on prominently placed in search rankings with relevant search results and provide links to your website or other promotional material. |
| URL |
An acronym for ‘uniform resource locator’, which is a unique identifier for where something is located on the web. It includes the domain name. |
| Video conference |
People at two or more locations communicating using software that provides two-way video and audio transmissions over broadband internet connections. |
| Virus |
A virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge or permission. Once loaded onto your computer, a virus is capable of reproducing itself by travelling from file to file and from computer to computer, often destroying files in the process. |
| VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) |
Delivery of voice communications over Internet Protocol networks such as the internet or other packet-switched networks. |
| WCMS (Web Content Management System) |
Software that enables users to create, present, store, retrieve and manage web content such as text, images, documents and audio/video files. |
| Web 2.0 |
A term used to describe a second set of internet technologies and practices (as distinct from ‘Web 1.0′) characterised by dynamic webpages that allow users to create content, communicate and collaborate online. Social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, Flickr and LinkedIn are examples of Web 2.0 platforms. |
| Web mail |
A service by which email is created, viewed and sent via a browser, as distinct to via an email client. |
| Web page |
Content, generally in markup language that is connected to the web and is viewable by anyone using a browser. |
| Website |
A collection of web pages organised under a single homepage and connected to a particular URL. |
| Website design |
The process of designing and presenting text, image and multimedia content so that it can be viewed over the world wide web. This is discussed in greater detail in our website design section. Experienced professionals who provide website design services are referred to as ‘website designers’. |
| Website development |
The processes of creating content, setting up hosting environments and servers, web design and security. This is discussed in greater detail in our Building a website section. Experienced professionals who build websites are referred to as ‘website developers’. |
| Worm |
A worm is a program that replicates itself and spreads from computer to computer across the internet. Like viruses and trojans, worms are a form of malware that can perform harmful actions on infected computers. |
| World Wide Web Consortium |
An international community where member organisations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to develop web standards. |
