Although hosting your website is a simple matter, there are many terms related to web hosting that some people are not familiar with. To better understand what you are getting with your web hosting package, you need to know all aspects of web hosting. Since web hosting is a technology-oriented industry, you may be familiar with some web hosting glossaries for the first time.
Here you’ll see a comprehensive list of important web hosting glossaries:
Addon Domain: The addon domain can be added to your control panel and contains all the functionalities of your main domain, such as hosting a website, creating email addresses, forwarders, etc.
Apache Web Server: Generally, Apache web servers deliver web content to users through their web browsers. Apache is a free cum open-source website server maintained by open community developers. It is a reliable and feature-rich web server that web hosting companies widely use.
b2evolution: One of the most efficient blog management platforms is b2evolution, a multi-user, multi-lingual, and multi-blog publishing platform built in PHP and powered by MySQL. Everyone can use it because it is open-source and free. The process of creating a website is very user-friendly and doesn’t call for any prior programming knowledge. You only need to install the application to use it.
Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the measure of how much data can be transferred simultaneously. Data transfer occurs when visitors access your website and perform actions such as browsing, downloading, uploading, etc. Your website’s ability to deliver content to visitors quickly during periods of high traffic depends on how much bandwidth you have available.
Blog: Managed by one or multiple individuals, a blog can contain articles, images, videos, and other types of content. From marketing to food and fashion, various blog formats cover a range of subjects. Individual posts on more specialized issues that fall under the blog’s expertise make up a blog.
Bounce Rate: During a website bounce rate measurement, you can identify the number of visitors that let your web after viewing just one page or within a short period. High bounce rates indicate your poor content structure, where users can’t find the relevant content to their searches and are not concerned about browsing it. To hold the visitor’s attention, the website must make improvements.
Browser: Browser is the most commonly used web hosting glossary in the world. The most used web browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Apple Safari, which decode HTML from a web server and display it as an easily readable web page.
Catch-All Email: Catch-All email is another confusing web hosting glossary. It is a mailbox on the domain that catches all emails addressed to the domain. When you configure the catch-all address, you will not lose emails due to misspellings. The catch-all address captures emails that do not exist on the mail server.
Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting is a group of servers that maintain data storage virtually over the cloud. In cloud hosting, the resources can be scaled up/down in realtime as per the need of the website/application. The cloud server owner can access the data from anywhere, anytime. Cloud servers are perfect for meeting the needs of large-scale software development and business production requirements while maintaining affordability.
Cloudlet: A cloudlet is a mobile-enhanced and small-scale cloud data centre located near the internet edge. By providing mobile devices with powerful computing resources and ensuring low latency, a cloudlet is primarily responsible for supporting interactive and resource-intensive mobile applications. With MilesWeb’s cloud hosting, a cloudlet is the latest technology that extends today’s cloud computing infrastructure. A cloudlet equals 128 MB RAM and 400 MHz CPU.
Country Code TLD: TLDs containing a country code are known as country code top-level domains. They are the two-letter codes that identify websites and content within a specific country. .in is the country code TLD for India, .us is the country code TLD for the USA, and .uk is the country code TLD for the UK.
Control Panel: This is rendered by web hosting companies for managing your web hosting account and your website. Control panels are web-based interfaces that allow customers to host service management through a single interface. You can add email addresses, park domains, install applications, upload files, manage databases, and so on through a control panel.
CMS: With CMS or Content Management System, you can post content to your website quickly, making it look appealing to your web users/scrollers. CMS runs in the back end and manages the content. A CMS also allows you to add new themes and content to your website anytime. Some popular CMSs include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.
CPU: Another popular Web hosting glossary, CPU or Central Processing Unit is a vital part of any computer. It is the central processor of a computer and performs all calculations. The CPU interprets the binary signal to complete the operation and analysis in a three-step application startup process, including loading, decoding, and execution.
cPanel: cPanel, another popular web hosting glossary, provides a graphical interface and automation tools so that website management can be simplified. cPanel is offered with Linux-based web hosting services. You can publish websites, administer domains, arrange web files, make email accounts, and more with cPanel.
cPanel Hosting: The cPanel hosting service is a web hosting service that is based on the cPanel control panel. It is provided for Linux hosting services. Using cPanel, you will be able to manage various web pages/files, and databases, create email accounts, manage domains and subdomains, and do much more. It is an easy-to-use control panel for managing your website.
Database: Information is stored in databases, which can be accessed, managed, and updated easily. Various types of data are organized and stored in databases, which can be easily accessed, managed, and updated. A database is arranged in columns, rows, and tables, making it easy to find relevant information.
Datacentre: The data centre is a physical infrastructure that houses computers, servers, networking systems, and other components of the company’s IT infrastructure. It is used to host web hosting servers. Several web hosting data centres exist, and you can choose a data centre closest to you to host your servers.
DDOS Attack: Denial of Service Attack or DDOS attack is a denial-of-service attack in which several compromised systems are infected with Trojans to target a single system, causing a denial-of-service. An attack intended to disrupt a computer system or network.
Dedicated Hosting: Dedicated hosting is another widely used web hosting glossary. A physical server (or servers) that one particular business client exclusively uses is dedicated hosting. With complete control over the device, the customer can tailor it to meet all their specific needs, including those related to performance and security. The hosting company provides the server hardware, environment, related services, and technical support.
Dedicated IP: If you wish to install an SSL certificate on your website or use it for email, you will need a dedicated IP address. A dedicated IP address will be used solely for that website. Through a Virtual Private Network (VPN), you can obtain a dedicated IP address that is only accessible to you and your business. All users assigned to this IP address are given secure access to corporate data and safe network access from anywhere in the world.
Disk Space: Disk space is known as the storage of the hosting plan. For that reason, large disk space is needed to store the website’s HTML pages, databases, files, emails, images, etc., on your hosting plan. Bytes (B), kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB) are units used to describe the amount of storage space on your Disk Space.
DKIM: DKIM or DomainKeys Identified Mail, the sender verifies that the incoming emails are from the stated sender, as well as whether the email message has been modified during transit. The sender digitally signs an email message using a private key when the DKIM system is enabled. The recipient then retrieves sender’s public key through DNS and confirms the signature.
Domain Name: While registering a domain name, pick the exact name of your website, and people will be able to find you on the web using that address. For instance, if your company is MilesWeb, you can register www.milesweb.com as your domain name. Having a domain name sets your company apart from the countless get-rich-quick websites out there and makes it appear more professional over the internet.
Domain Aliases: “Domain aliases” are alternative web addresses that point to the same website. Businesses often do this by registering close variants of their domain name and setting up those extra domains to direct users to the same website. You can direct multiple domain names to your website by using an alias domain. If your website’s domain name is MilesWeb.com, for example, you can register MilesWeb.com as a second domain name for the same website using domain aliases.
Domain Parking: another widespread web hosting glossary, Domain parking involves simply registering a domain without setting up any specific services, such as email or a website. It may be done to reserve the domain for future use. With domain parking, you can earn money by using theme-relevant advertising links on your domain name. Every time you click on an ad, your cash register beeps!
Domain Privacy: You can purchase domain privacy from a domain registrar if you own a domain. Domain privacy is a security service rendered by a variety of domain name registrars. To maintain your privacy, the registrar will replace your info in the WHOIS records with other info and a forwarding service while opting for the domain privacy option.
Domain Registrar: This is the entity that registers your domain name. When you buy it, you’ll have to follow the registration process so that the domain name can be linked to your IP address. You can register your desired domain names with your desired domain name extensions, such as .com, .co.in, .net, etc., with the main domain registrar.
DNS: Another prevalent web hosting glossary, DNS stands for Domain Name Server. DNS translates the internet domain names and host names into IP addresses. DNS is the internet’s phone book. DNS maintains a database of domain names & translates them to IP addresses. Even though it is simple for people to remember domain names, computers and machines can remember them as IP addresses. That is why DNS is necessary.
Drupal: The Drupal content management system is a free and open-source PHP-based content management system. Drupal is easy to use and can be used by individuals or groups. It can be customized and then you can publish content along with media files to your website. It includes both a content management system and a development framework.
E-commerce Hosting: E-commerce hosting is another widely used web hosting glossary. It allows you to set up your online store in no time at all. E-commerce hosting includes optimized web servers for managing the online store as well as installation and migration of an e-commerce website. With a hosted eCommerce platform, your service provider oversees all associated costs and obligations, including system updates and security patches, as well as managing your online store.
Email Hosting: The process of creating secure business email accounts for your organization is called email hosting. You need to log up for an email hosting service if you own a name and you want your email-id to be associated with it. With the help of an email hosting service, you can send, receive, and store emails on a corporate server. It frequently includes extra features like file transfers, folder creation, and template usage.
Email Auto-Responder: An automated email responder sends automatic emails to a specific address using an autoresponder. Before setting up the autoresponder, you can create a draft. The auto-responder emails are generally used to notify people if you are on vacation or if in the case when you can’t reply over the mail.
Error Pages: This is a warning page that lets your website visitors know there is an error on the web page they are trying to access. It is also displayed when there is a server issue. The error pages include 500 internal server errors (shown when a server or database is down) or 404 pages not found (displayable when the requested web page is not available).
Fantastico: For CPanel users, Fantastico is an auto-installer. It is a group of scripts that makes adding third-party web applications to a user’s website incredibly simple. Without the need to set up MySQL databases or modify file permissions, Fantastico’s installation procedure can be completed in a matter of seconds by a complete novice. With Fantastico, a newly used web hosting glossary, you can install your website’s required web applications, such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, automatically. Fantastico scripts can be installed through cPanel.
File Permission: Permissions on files define the level of access each user or group has to files. File permissions include complete access to a file, editing permissions, or read-only permissions. You can fine-tune who can read, write, and execute files using their help. They are necessary for the secure hosting of the websites and data of multiple users. False permissions, however, frequently result in problems that are challenging to identify.
Forum: Most of us have heard about this popular web hosting glossary – Forum! Forum is an online community. You can add this forum to a web address through your control panel, customize it as per your requirements.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol or FTP is used to transfer files between computers on a network. Webmasters use FTP to transfer files between accounts and desktop computers. By using an FTP command channel, FTPs are used to connect the server and the client. The webmaster may issue commands such as “get” to obtain a file or “close” to end the current FTP session in this channel. Utilizing software for dedicated hosting will also save them time.
Google: Searching for anything on the web is easy with Google. In fact, today, the whole Internet world is dominated by Google. It employs a custom algorithm that is intended to retrieve, and sort search results to deliver the most pertinent and reliable data sources.
Google Analytics: As a web analytics platform offered by Google, Google Analytics tracks website traffic and provides necessary reports about website traffic scenarios. There are free and paid versions of Google Analytics. Starting with GA is simple, and you can typically start tracking important online business metrics right away. The more you want out of Google Analytics, the more complexity it offers.
Google Webmaster Tool: The Google Webmaster Tool, also known as Google Search Console, is a free tool offered by Google to webmasters for checking indexing status and optimizing website visibility. It’s simple to set up and integrate Webmaster tools into your website. It does require that you have access to your website code or domain name control panel so that you can confirm that you are the owner and operator of the website.
Green Hosting: The green hosting service is an eco-friendly hosting service that uses green technologies to provide hosting services. It focuses on reducing carbon emissions and maximizing resource use. The fact that Green hosting is environmentally friendly is one of its main advantages. Green hosting plans aim to minimize environmental pollution by reducing emissions. Compared to more traditional hosting plans, they have a significantly less negative effect on the environment. Deciding to use green hosting demonstrates your commitment to preserving the environment.
Guestbook: To allow your customers to leave comments and reviews on your website, you can add a guestbook, which is a web page that collects info such as customer names and reviews.
HackAlert Monitoring: HackAlert analyses your website daily and notifies you if it has been hacked or if it contains malicious code. When you use the HackAlert Monitoring tool, it navigates through the pages of your website, crawls them, and makes sure none of them contains malware or malicious code that could endanger your system.
High Availability: The term “high availability” refers to the ability of a system to ensure a level of uptime higher than the normal ones and that can operate continuously for a long period without any failures. No single point of failure exists in high-availability infrastructure. The highest availability is ensured by complete redundancy at the network and application levels in the router, firewall, load balancer, reverse proxy, and monitoring systems.
Horizontal Scaling: Adding more machines to your existing resources or adding more nodes to your system constitutes horizontal scaling. To cope with the website traffic requirements, horizontal scaling is to scale wider. For example, you are increasing the number of web servers to two or three.
.htaccess: Hypertext access is the name of this file. .htaccess is a configuration file for Apache-based web servers. It is possible to set parameters for files through .htaccess, such as setting permissions, blocking certain websites, or determining if people can link to your content. You can also use .htaccess to improve your website’s SEO and functionality.
HTML: HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. Web browsers receive original HTML files through a web server and display them as readable pages. Learning HTML is a simple process. If you’re learning web development, HTML is the first and most crucial language you’ll come across. HTML doesn’t have any complicated tags, and it doesn’t care about the case.
HTTP: Otherwise, called the HyperText Transfer Protocol, is a standard protocol used to transfer hypermedia files, such as text, images, videos, etc., over the internet. It is the foundation of the world wide web (WWW) and consists of interconnected hypertext files. Here, the client-server connection is made secure. The data is secure throughout the connection path because it is encrypted before being transmitted. SSL/TSL, as well as layer-2 and layer-3 security protocols, are used by HTTPS.
ICANN: Otherwise called The Internet Corporation For Assigned Names And Numbers, is an organization that combines unique identifiers assigned to all computers around the world so each computer can communicate with each other. ICANN also administers distributing internet naming resources as well as undertaking specific responsibilities related to DNS management. As a result of this collaboration, the internet can perform its functions.
IP Address: IP Address: ‘IP’ stands for Internet Protocol; an IP address is a unique set of numbers cum dots that determines an individual computer connected over the internet. This numerical address helps to identify every device which uses the internet protocol for communicating over a network.
IMAP: IMAP is short for Internet Message Access Protocol; this is an email retrieval process where a copy of the original email is stored inside a server until it is deleted. This process is best suited for those who work with multiple computers and email clients who need to keep track of emails.
JavaScript: JavaScript is a programming language. It lets the developers add dynamic content to websites; this is known as client-side technology, as it runs in the web browser instead of the web server. Learning and comprehending JavaScript is simple. Both developers and users find the structure to be straight. Further, it is doable to implement, thereby saving web developers tons of money when creating dynamic content.
Java Applets: Java Applets are programs made with the Java programming language and can be put into HTML pages in the same way as adding images. If you are using a Java-enabled browser, then the code will be transferred to your system and executed by the Java virtual machine.
Joomla: Joomla is an open-source content management platform that helps create websites or blogs, connecting them to MySQL, MySQLi, or PostgreSQL databases. It receives an increasing number of contributions from various contributors as a result of its popularity. Due to this, it can expand and acquire WordPress’ level of popularity. Many volunteers can continue to contribute to the code optimization and development of new extensions thanks to Joomla’s use of PHP and MySQL.
Linux Server: Linux server operates on Linux OS, which happens to be an open-source system preferred by many webmasters. The Linux kernel is the foundation for many distributions, including Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, and others. Linux servers are frequently used for hosting web services, network and system administration, database management, and other essential application requirements as a result of these features.
Live Chat Support: Live chat support allows people to communicate with customer service representatives of a web hosting company at particular times or around the clock so they can discuss website-related issues.
Load Balancer: Load balancers are systems that evenly distribute network resources or application traffic across multiple servers to increase the reliability and capacity of applications. The load balancer switches traffic to the active servers in case of a single server failure. The load balancer automatically sends requests to a new server when added to the server group.
Managed Hosting: Managed hosting gives users assistance from their web hosting provider when it comes to software upgrades, configuration changes, and system administration tasks; this type of hosting is great for those who need more time managing their accounts.
Malware: Malware refers to malicious software that looks up for damaging or disabling your website, computer, or network. Malware is frequently embedded in advertisements, phishing emails, or dangerous websites. Malware can also occasionally be found in system files, registry entries, PDFs or documents, or even temporary folders. Infected or obfuscated malware can also be found in website databases or web pages.
Mailing List: Mailing lists store multiple email addresses together, allowing people to send general emails all at once. A mailing list is a group of email addresses to which you send updates and information. A list like this would include members of a particular club from one specific year or customers who buy a separate subscription from you. By setting up one or more mailing lists, you can communicate effectively and purposefully.
Money Back Guarantee: Money-back guarantees from web hosting companies refund the payment if users are not satisfied; however, these guarantees come with terms and conditions issued by the company itself.
MySQL: MySQL is an open-source database used with various applications installed on websites, allowing encrypted storage and retrieval of information when needed. When managing data inside a database, MySQL, an RDBMS, uses SQL. The correlation between the data helps structure the data by arranging it into one or more data tables.
MX Record: MX record, otherwise, the Mail Exchange Record, which points out what mail server will receive messages for a domain stored within the DNS system
Office 365: Office 365, developed by Microsoft, provides access to Office apps as well as other services through a subscription model, including OneDrive cloud storage space service plus 60 Skype minutes per month.
On-Page Optimization: On-page optimization helps gain higher search engine ranking visibility, plus securing genuine traffic by optimizing individual website pages and their contents / HTML source code.
Operating System: The operating system (OS) is the program that manages your website and serves as a link between you and your web hosting provider. Linux and Windows-based OSes are the two most common ones used to run websites. In response to the need for a secure, reliable, and cost-free operating system, the open-source operating system Linux was developed.
osCommerce: osCommerce provides an e-commerce/online store management platform in PHP/MySQL, being free/open source under a General Public License available on any type of web server.
Overselling: Overselling means selling more services than what can be provided, slowing down customer websites due to a lack of primal resources.
Perl: Perl, otherwise, is called the Practical Extraction Reporting Language. For extracting data from text files, Perl has string-handling features. System administration tasks frequently involve the use of Perl because it can put together a string and send it as a command to the shell.
PHP: Perl (Practical Extraction Reporting Language) is used mostly by developers due to its text manipulation capacities for web development purposes paired with PHP (open-source scripting language) perfect for creating dynamic content by embedding code into an HTML webpage.
phpMyAdmin: phpMyAdmin (open source platform created in PHP language) handles MySQL administration over the internet, executing tasks such as creating databases, fields, etc., and managing users/permissions efficiently, thus making it ideal for e-commerce platforms like osCommerce alike!
Plesk: Plesk is a well-known control panel available for Windows and Linux hosting services. It allows you to easily manage your web hosting account, including applications, files, emails, etc.
POP: POP (Post Office Protocol) is used for retrieving messages from an email server and authenticating them. You can view the messages using a client email application like Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook.
RAID: RAID, otherwise the Redundant Array Of Independent Disks is the process of saving the same data on multiple hard disks in different places, safeguarding your website data in case of failure.
Raw Log Files: Raw log files are detailed cum complete server logs about a particular account mainly used for debugging or processing third-party programs/services.
Reseller Hosting: Reseller hosting is a type of hosting where users (resellers) resell hosting space to their clients with their control panel while earning a profit by purchasing web hosting company services.
Server: A server is an area where your website resides – usually owned by the web hosting company – which delivers content to the world wide web.
Search Engine Optimization: Search engine optimization (SEO) utilizes the right keywords to improve search engine rank and increase website traffic through organic searches.
SFTP: SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a network protocol that enables data transfer over a secure shell connection through one single link.
Shared Hosting: Shared Hosting allows multiple websites on one server but limits server resources based on shared hosting packages.
Sitelock Basic: Sitelock Basic provides full website security with monthly malware scans, hacker attack protection, and theft identification with trust seals as well as daily page scanning.
Sitemap: Sitemap displays website content accessible to visitors/crawlers along with links.
Sitemap Generation: Sitemap Generation informs crawling search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing about site content and links.
Site Access Reports: Site Access Reports are graphical reports that transform raw access logs into readable reports so webmasters can understand traffic trends for better decisions about their websites.
SLA: SLA (Service Level Agreement) details the agreement between two parties, such as terms of service duration, the scope of services provided, etc.
SMTP: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is an internet mail standard for sending/receiving emails.
SME: SMEs (Small-To-Medium Enterprises) represent startups/new businesses/mid-size organizations.
Softaculous: Softaculous is an auto-installer used for installing scripts/applications compatible with cPanel, Plesk etc.
Spam: The term “spam” refers to unsolicited bulk emails and text messages that are sent to you. These messages are frequently sent in an effort to sell goods. You risk being banned and losing your web hosting plan if you purchase a web hosting account and then start spamming.
Spam Filter: A spam Filter identifies spam emails using statistical analysis methods based on the message content and headers.
SSH: SSH (Secure Shell Sockets) provides admins secure remote computer access along with file transfer security.
SSL: SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption enables secure online transactions needed by e-commerce sites starting with ‘HTTPS’.
Server Side Includes: Server Side Includes, or SSI gives developers advantages by adding HTML comments on pages.
Sub-Domain: Sub-Domains are part of primary domains with unique content – for example, the mywebsite.com blog sub-domain could be a blog. mywebsite.
TLD: TLD otherwise, the Top Level Domain is the last segment of a website URL after the dot ‘.’. For example, in www.mywebsitename.com, ‘.com’ is the TLD. These can be either generic (e.g. .com, .net) or country-specific (.uk, .usa, .co.in).
Trial Period: There are web hosting companies that offer a free trial period to use their web hosting package and services for a specific period; terms and conditions apply.
Traffic Distributor: A traffic distributor enables faster processing of requests and workload management without any failure.
Unlimited hosting: ‘Unlimited’ hosting means the web hosting package renders unlimited resources like disk space, bandwidth, etc., although there are usually terms and conditions applied to these packages; such plans are recommended for small and medium-sized businesses.
Uptime: Uptime is when a server is up and running without interruptions – look for one that provides an uptime of at least 99.95%.
Vertical Scaling: Vertical scaling increases the server’s capacity by adding resources – for example, extra processing power to make it faster.
Virtual Datacentre: A virtual datacentre is a pool of cloud infrastructure designed specifically for business needs; it includes memory, network connectivity, bandwidth, storage, and backup solutions, among other things.
VPS Hosting: A virtual private server (VPS) has dedicated resources and offers similar performance to a dedicated one at an affordable cost. Both Linux-based and Windows-based VPS hosting services are available with either managed or unmanaged packages available too.
Webmail: Webmail is direct access to your emails without third-party software.
Website Backup: Website backup backs up your website data in case of system failure or disasters. Some web hosting companies offer this as part of the package too.
Website Migration: Website migration transfers your website from one host to another but should be done at an appropriate time so customers are not affected.
Web Hosting: web hosting offers support services for websites hosted on their platform.
Web Traffic: web traffic measures the number of visitors coming to your website as well as data sent/received (excluding bot traffic).
Windows Server: A Windows server runs on Windows OS and is mostly used by webmasters Windows-based hosting on ASP.NET, MSSQL-based apps.
Windows Hosting: This Platform is based on the Windows operating system and uses Windows-specific technologies such as ASP or Visual Basic. The Plesk control panel is used for managing websites with this kind of hosting.
WordPress: WordPress is a free blogging/website-building platform and content management system based on PHP/MySQL with various plugins/extensions/themes available.
Zen Cart: Zen Cart is a PHP online store management platform using MySQL database & HTML components as well as supporting multiple languages/currencies.
Zimbra: Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS) is an open-source email platform that allows users private cloud access to share info & does activities.