Analogy Glossary
Registrar - You’ll need a domain name (e.g. mainebabyboomer.com) – This is something that people can remember. You register a name with extension (often .com or .biz or .info) for a period of time. I recommend at least 3 years though you can get it for less. Well known registrars are your best bet.
Analogy: Your name is listed in the phone book so others will know how to identify which telephone number is yours.
Host/Server – This is where the physical computers are that “house” your website programs and file pages. These computers “serve” up your web pages when visitors type in the domain name and path to a particular page (URL). Your site is identified with an IP number. The Domain Name points to this number. Page information then travels from the host, through other computers to your computer.
Analogy - The Post Office has your name, and a mailing address (Domain Name, IP number) so they can identify the building structure you actually live in (Host Company).
URL – That address you see at the top of the browser page. Look at the top of this page – it says http://mainebabyboomer.com/analogy-glossary. This identifies not just the domain name, but also the path to a particular page.
Browser - The program you use to surf the internet. Frequently used ones are Firefox and Internet Explorer. There are different versions of browsers and people don’t always update to the latest one (although web programmers wish they would!) These browsers interpret the code we programmers write and display it on your computer. Different browsers and versions may display slight visual differences. Different computer types (PC vs. Mac) can also display visual differences.
Analogy - A camera lens sees the same scene, but that scene may look different because of different filters placed over the lens.
Cache - Your local computer keeps recently visited pages cached in memory for a short time. The computers between your host company and your personal computer may also cache pages. This means that occasionally when you make a change to a site, it can take a little time for that change or new site to propagate. (Populate through these computers from host to your computer – replacing the information in the computer cache.)
Analogy - Mid morning you remember what you have for breakfast this morning. Tomorrow mid morning you’ll instead remember what you have for breakfast that morning. Ok, this one is a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.
WordPress – A program that will be the foundation of your new site. I’ll install it at your host company and build your site using it, then it will allow you to add new pages and update your existing ones yourself without having to pay others to do so.
Wufoo - 3rd party provider of forms. More on this when we build your site together!
Site Stats – How many people are visiting your site, and what pages are they visiting. This information and so much more is available through a good stats program. I’ll install google analytics on your site for user friendly stats.