Web Design Glossary

CSS

In web design, CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. CSS allows web designers to control the style and layout of websites. One powerful feature of CSS is that styles can be declared in an external style sheet. All web pages can then link to the one style sheet. If you need to update the styles across the whole website, you only need to change one file.

FTP

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is the common protocol used to transfer files across the internet.

GIF

GIF stands for Graphic Interchange Format. GIF is an image format and is commonly used for displaying graphics on web pages. GIF is well suited to images with less than 256 colors, and in particular, flat colors. GIFs are ideal for logos, drawings, and cartoons. Images with more colors should be saved in JPEG format.

HTML

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and is used to create web pages. HTML allows web designers to define the structure of their web pages.

HTTP

HTTP stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the common protocol used to transfer HyperText documents across the world wide web. When you access a website using an address starting with "http://...", you are using HTTP to request a document over the web.

JPG

JPG (shortened from JPEG) stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPG is an image format and is commonly used for displaying graphics on web pages. JPG is well suited to images with more than 256 colors, for example, photographs. Images with less colors should be saved in GIF format.

JPEG

JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPEG is an image format and is commonly used for displaying graphics on web pages. JPEG is well suited to images with more than 256 colors, for example, photographs. Images with less colors should be saved in GIF format.

Mashup

In web development, a Mashup refers to a website that contains information from multiple sources (although this is usually quite seamless to the user). Sources can be (and often are) from third parties using web services.

Style Sheets

Same as CSS. In web design, Style Sheets refers to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Style Sheets allows web designers to control the style and layout of websites very easily. Styles can be declared in an external style sheet, then all web pages can link to the one style sheet. If you need to update the styles across the whole website, you only need to change one file.

Stylesheets

Same as CSS. In web design, stylesheets refers to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Style Sheets allows web designers to control the style and layout of websites very easily. Styles can be declared in an external style sheet, then all web pages can link to the one style sheet. If you need to update the styles across the whole website, you only need to change one file.

Web Service

A Web Service is software that supports interoperable interaction between multiple machines over a network. For example, web services allow web developers to provide third party websites access to their data without the third party needing to know anything about the underlying data structure etc. The third party website doesn't even need to use the same software that the source uses.

WYSIWYG

WYSIWYG stands for What You See Is What You Get. In web design, WYSIWYG applications present the final display whilst being edited. In other words, the web designer can immediately see the result of any changes as he/she edits the web page.

XHTML

XHTML stands for eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language and is a successor to HTML. XHTML was developed by the W3C to help web developers make the transition from HTML to XML.