Web Hosting Terminology Guide

.COM: The top-level domain originally intended for “commercial” entities, but anyone can register a .com domain. This is the most recognized top-level domain worldwide. Domains that are purchased that end in .com are generally worth more in value that .net or .org.

.NET: The top-level domain originally intended for internet or computer related domains, but any person can register a domain with a .net extension.

.ORG: The top-level domain originally intended for non-profit organizations, but anyone may now register a domain ending in .org.

.EDU: The top-level domain created for four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities. Only colleges and universities can register .edu domains.

.GOV: The top-level domain created for agencies and branches of the United States Federal Government. The General Services Administration (GSA) handles the registration of .gov domain names.

.MIL: The top-level domain created for United States military entities.

Other Top Level Domains: A top-level domain is the part of the domain name located to the right of the dot (” . “). The most common TLDs are .com, .net and .org. Several new top-level domains have been added to the menu recently, including, .biz, .info, .name, and .ws. The top-level domains have certain guidelines attached, but are for the most part available to any registrant, anywhere in the world. Exceptions are the restricted TLDs (rTLDs) — which include .aero, .biz, .edu, .mil, .museum, .name, and .pro — that require the registrant to represent a certain type of entity, or to belong to a certain community. The .name TLD is available strictly for individuals, while .edu is reserved for educational entities, such as universities or high schools. Where appropriate, a top-level domain name can be of geographic significance and hence only available to registrants in the locale defined by the TLD. These are called country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) and include such top-level domains as .bz (Belize),.ca (Canada), .dk (Denmark), .ec (Ecuador), ie (Republic of Ireland), .uk (United Kingdom), .us (United States), and .zw (Zimbabwe).

Administrative Contact: The administrative contact is an individual authorized to interact with the domain registrar on behalf of the domain name registrant. The administrative contact should be able to answer questions about the domain name's registration and the domain name registrant.

Alias: Alternate name.

Applet: An applet is an embedded program on a web site. Applets are usually written in the coding language called Java. They are mainly used for creating a virtual or 3-dimensional object that may move or interact with the web site. It is a small executable module, that normally doesn't have the complete features and user interface of a normal application. Java is the language most commonly associated with applets. An applet is like a small piece of executable code that needs a full application to contain it. The applet runs inside of the application in a “sand box” or “virtual machine,” which is a set of computer resources and instructions that make up an environment for the applet's execution.

ASP (Active Server Pages): Active Server Pages enable web developers to make their sites dynamic with database driven content. The code is mainly written in VB Script, and it is produced on the server of the web site instead of the browser of your web site visitors. The server reads the ASP code and then translates it to raw HTML. This means that the web site owner doesn't have to worry about the visitor having the right tools to view the web site's dynamic content. The only downfall to ASP is that since it is run from the server, it takes longer for the pages to load because there are more steps involved in translating the code.

Audio Streaming: The process of providing audio content on a web site. This takes up a nice amount of bandwidth, especially if you get a lot of visitors at your site. Some hosts do not allow audio or video streaming because of this. If you are going to want audio on your site, you should make sure that your host supports audio streaming first. This is usually stated in their plans.