In the world of Internet and technology

especially when referring anything to do with the Internet, there are plenty of terms and phrases that can be quite confusing for the average man or woman. When you decide to create a website, you will be dealing with many of these terms. So that you can understand what you are working with and what the web host means, here is a list of common terms and what they mean.

Web host

refers to the company that will actually host or place your web site on the Internet. Web hosts provide servers to store your website, tools to build the site, technical support, and Ecommerce options, for a fee.

A domain name

is simply the same thing as a web address. When you choose a domain name for your company, you cannot use a name that is already in use anywhere else on the Internet. Subdomains are addresses that point to specific pages on a domain. An example of a domain is www.yourbusiness.com, and a subdomain is www.feedback.yourbusiness.com.

In order to use a domain, you will have to register it. This way, no one else can use that domain, and it will be yours. You will have to renew your domain registration each year.

Linux web hosting platforms

are referring to a specific type of software that can be used to create web pages. There are two different platforms from which you can choose, Linux and Windows. Linux is virtually free and can handle several different script languages, but may be limited in what you can add to your site. Windows web hosting does cost money, but is completely compatible with Microsoft tools.

Bandwidth refers to how fast your data can be transferred, or in layman’s terms, how quickly a page will download for viewers. For free websites, bandwidth is usually quite restricted. In most cases, the higher the bandwidth, the better.

Parked domains are domain names that all go to the same website. Many large websites use this so that they can be easily found. Parked domains can be useful if your company has a hard to spell name, or it goes by a couple of different names.

There are many other terms you will most likely hear, but since you will know what these basic phrases mean, you will have no problem understanding other words that you will hear as you shop for and find the right web host.