Web glossary

AdLizard – 4PM’s revolutionary web-based software which allows for direct insertion of advertisements into print and web media by the advertiser.

Algorithm – The software equation that search engines use to rate the importance and relevance of your website.

CMS – Content Management System, a piece of software which can be built into your website, allowing for the easy updating of content.

Cookies - Small pieces of information, stored in simple text files, placed on your computer by a web site. Cookies can be read by the web site on your subsequent visits. The information stored in a cookie may relate to your browsing habits on the web page, or a unique identification number so that the web site can "remember" you on your return visit. Generally speaking, cookies do not contain personal information from which you can be identified, unless you have furnished such information to the web site.

Firewall – A piece of software, accessible within your PC internet security settings, which blocks unauthorised access to your computer via an internet connection. Firewalls are often included in wireless routers, allowing the PC’s firewall to be switched off.

Hosting – Every website must reside on a high speed computer hard disk which is connected to the internet at all times. When a website is hosted, it is available for the world to see. 4PM offers quality hosting solutions.

IP address - The identifying details for your computer (or your internet company’s computer), expressed in "internet protocol" code (for example 192.168.72.34). Every computer connected to the web has a unique IP address, although the address may not be the same every time a connection is made.

PageRank – The name of the algorithm used by Google. PageRank is a numeric value that represents how important a page is on the web. Google assumes that when one page links to another page, it is effectively casting a vote for the other page. The more votes that are cast for a page, the more important the page must be. Furthermore, the importance of the page that is casting the vote determines how important the vote itself is. Google calculates a page's importance from the votes cast for it. How important each vote is is taken into account when a page's PageRank is calculated. PageRank matters because it is one of the factors that determines a page's ranking in the search results. It isn't the only factor that Google uses to rank pages, but it is an important one. The most popular web pages have a PageRank of 10, the least popular a PageRank of 0.

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation, a process which reviews a website and takes steps to improve its visibility to search engines.

Spider – A piece of software that search engines use to crawl around the internet, indexing web pages.

Web browser - The piece of software you use to read web pages. Examples are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.