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Application
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A computer program. A system that responds to your
input. Also called software.
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Architecture
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A step in the web site and information design
processes. With a diagram, architecture can tell us how many pages are
in a web site, how they relate to one another, and how they link
together. For databases, the diagram will show how information will
relate to one another.
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Bevel
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An effect that makes an object 3-dimensional,
or "pop out." It also helps to define the light source.
| Example: |
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Branding
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Branding is the experience that others have of you. A
good brand identity is consistent, and people know what to expect when
they buy your product or service.
Elements, such as visual and written style,
presentation and promotion, help the public recognize you, your
product or your service differently from others that are similar.
Branding is also an activity you do to promote your identity, product
or service. (Think of branding cows, how ranchers identified whose
cattle were whose...same concept.)
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Clip Art
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A type of graphic that is in the public
domain. Commonly sold to consumers in large collections.
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Code
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The words, characters, and
"grammar" that comprise a programming language. The technical
makeup of a web site "behind the scenes." Can also be referred
to is the activity of programming, as in He
plans to code all day.
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Core Competencies
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Knowledge and skills that have been applied
in practical situations.
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Cultural Creative
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A subculture in America that values
authenticity, engaged action, whole process learning, idealism,
activism, globalism, ecology, sustainability and the importance of women and diversity.
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Design
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The process of critical and creative thinking
invested in planning how something will look and function.
In web design, I help you make decisions about architecture,
nomenclature, style, usability, compatibility, accessibility, graphics,
layout, etc.
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Development
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The act of creating a web site as specified
in the design.
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Documentation
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The technical specifications that help
professionals communicate with one another and transfer knowledge. The
"right amount" (not too little and not too much) can also help
avoid duplication of efforts and lengthy investigation.
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Domain Name
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A special name you choose to represent your
web site online. Visitors type in your domain name to reach your home
page. Domain names begin with www and end with .com, .net, etc.
See how a domain name differs from a URL.
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Drop Shadow
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When an image casts a shadow. This effect
helps to define the light source in a composition.
| Example: |
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Dynamic Development
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The means of creating a web site that reacts
to user input. The site may contain multimedia, applications, or a
database. This type of development tends to be more costly than static
development since it often requires knowledge of a programming language.
Antonym: Static Development
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Education
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Learning about a topic generally so that you
can make informed decisions. (See also: Training)
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Gradient
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An effect where one color fades or blends
into another.
| Example: |
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Graphical Mockup
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A web design rendered electronically. It
typically uses some or all of the actual graphics that will appear on
the site. The purpose of the graphical mockup is to offer you a clearer
idea of what your final product will look like.
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Host/Hosting Provider
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A business that sells space on their
computers so that web site owners can make their web sites accessible to
the public.
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Leased Application
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A 3rd party application
that is "rented" as an alternative to building a custom
solution.
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Third Party Application / 3rd
Party Application
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An application that has not been custom designed. An
application that has been designed to fulfill a common industry need. |
Hosted Application / Web-Based
Application
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A hosted application may be custom, open
source or leased by a 3rd
party. |
HTML
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Acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. The computer
language that comprises the most basic part of a web site.
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HTML Editor
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An application that allows you to create a
web page without knowing HTML. They can help speed the development
process. They also usually contain a function to allow you to directly
access the HTML code when the editor does not perform the function you
desire.
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Interactive
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The quality of responding to input. There are
two kinds of interactivity: client-side (i.e. graphics) and server-side
(i.e. applications). The results of dynamic development.
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Interlacing
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A feature that renders a GIF image in stages
to create the illusion of faster loading. Early in the downloading
process, it appears fuzzy and blurry, becoming clearer
and more refined until the whole image in loaded. Interlacing creates a
subtle increase in overall download time.
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ISP
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Internet Service Provider. This is the entity that
supplies your "entrance ramp" to the "information
highway" of the World Wide Web.
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KEI, or Keyword Effectiveness Index
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KEI is a measure of how effective a keyword is for your
web site. The higher the KEI, the more promising it is. Using this
method alone of determining a keyword or term's effectiveness is criticized
because it does not take into account the volume of competition. (See
also R/S Ratio.)
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Knowledge Transfer
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The act of sharing knowledge and project
history with new team members or owners of the system.
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Maintenance
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An activity performed to improve some aspect
of your site. Examples include site updates, responding to user
feedback, upgrading technologies, adding new technologies or features,
and improving the architecture or usability of the site as it changes
and grows.
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Mockup
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See Graphical Mockup.
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Open Source
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Open Source is the term used to describe code or software
that has been developed for the public good. No copyright is retained
and the code is shared freely among application developers.
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Performance
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How quickly a system responds to input.
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Peripheral Equipment
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A device that connects to your computer. You
buy peripheral equipment separately from your computer. Examples include
printers, scanners, digital cameras, CD writers, handheld computer
cradles, etc.
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Policy
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Statement of intent. Example: "When an
employee has worked for us for 30 days, he/she will become eligible for
health benefits."
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Procedure
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How to abide by a policy. Example: "When
an employee has worked for us for 30 days, the human resources manager
will submit an enrollment form to the employee." Procedures follow
a "who does what, when" format.
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Programming Language
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Helps human beings tell a computer or program
what we want it to do. It is the vehicle between the human mind and the
machine. See also: code
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Project Management
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The act of keeping all aspects of the web
project running smoothly. This person coordinates team members, collects
materials, investigates the impact of change to a project, keeps track
of expenses, and works with you to make sure everything is acceptable to
you.
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Prototype
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A bare-bones, no-frills version of the final
design of an application. Prototypes are used to conduct Usability
Studies.
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Public Domain
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A legal term used to describe graphics and
other intellectual property. When an item is in the public domain,
anyone can use it free of charge. Clip art is an example of a graphic
type that is in the public domain.
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Quality
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A system of measuring how good a web site is
against certain weighted criteria. Some of the criteria that I use to
measure quality include usability, performance,
scalability, and others.
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Raster Graphic
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Artwork that is made up of pixels where each pixel is
assigned a color value. Digital photos are raster graphics. Common
raster file extensions include .JPG, .GIF, .TIF, and .BMP. While aster
artwork can be shrunk without losing quality, they cannot be enlarged.
See also: Vector Graphic
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Rights-managed
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A legal term used to describe graphics and
other intellectual property. It means you pay a negotiated price for the
the use of the item depending upon it's nature, frequency or visibility
of it's use.
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Royalty-Free
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A legal term used to describe graphics and
other intellectual property. It means you pay once for the use of the
item but do not have to pay for the nature, frequency or visibility of
it's use.
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R/S Ratio or Results-to-Searches Ratio
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The ratio of the number of web sites, which contain a key
word or term ("R", the supply) to the number of search engine searches for that keyword or
term ("S", the demand). Used to identify keywords useful to search
engine optimization efforts. The lower the ratio, the better the term's
usefulness. Using this method alone of determining a keyword or term's
effectiveness is criticized because it does not take scaling into
account. (See also KEI)
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Scalability
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The ability of a web site's or database's
design to incorporate new data and features.
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Scanning
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Digitally rendering printed content using
peripheral equipment. The activity I need to perform if you are not able
to provide electronic files, such as text documents or graphics.
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Scientific Method
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Procedure for gaining knowledge. The
procedure has us identify a problem, collect data, and test a
hypothesis.
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Screened Back
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(see Transparency)
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Search Engine Listing
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The act of letting the Search Engine (or
directory listing know that your site is "out there" at the
URL you indicate.
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Search Engine Positioning
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The act of getting your web site to appear
sooner on the search engine (or directory) results. (See also: Search
Engine Listing)
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Standard, a
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Rules for how to successfully accomplish a
procedure.
Example: "The enrollment form must be mailed to the employees
home with instructions, due date, and a self-addressed stamped envelope.
The form must also be mailed no later than 5 working days before the
employee becomes eligible."
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Static Development
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Any web creation activity that is
characterized by having file (pages or graphics) that are
"linked" together. Static sites are often created with the use
of an HTML editor. Static web sites do not utilize programming
languages, databases or multimedia. Antonym: Dynamic Development)
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Strategy
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An activity that defines the purpose of a web
site. It is the activity that, ideally, drives all other aspects of a
web project.
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Style
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An agreed upon method of doing something.
Style is used to make a work consistent. Web designers sometimes create
a unique document called a "Style Guide" that describes and
measures the elements of their work. This is important to retaining the
investment in your design when someone other than the designer is
scheduled to perform maintenance and updates to the site.
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Taxonomy
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The discipline of dividing data into ordered groups or
categories.
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Training
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Learning the specific, step-by-step process
of how to accomplish something. It is more intensive and requires more
time than education.
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Transparency
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An attribute of a GIF file that allows one color of the
graphic to disappear, thus making it become seamlessly apart of the
background color. We refer to GIFs with this attribute as
"transparent GIFs."
Transparency also refers to the degree to which you can see through
an object. Low transparency means that the object is opaque and you
cannot see through it. High transparency is like looking through a
window.
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Updates
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An activity involving adding new content to
your site without affecting the site design -- or changing existing
content.
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URL
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Uniform Resource Locator. The exact
location on a computer where a file can be found.
Some examples of URLs are:
http://www.123.com/folder/page.htm
http://www.123.com/folder4/page1.htm
http://www.123.com/
The last one on the list is also considered a domain
name.
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Usability
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The quality of designing a web site or
application that addresses how easily users can accomplish specific
tasks.
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Usability Study
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A set of tests following the scientific
method used to measure the ease or difficulty users experience when
navigating a web site. These tests involve inviting targeted users to
perform tasks on the web site in a controlled environment while the
usability expert witnesses and documents the user's experience.
Usability tests are especially crucial to application design.
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User-centered Design
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An ideology that places the greatest
value on the user's interaction and experience with a web site than how
impressive the graphics are, how the company views itself or wants to be
viewed, etc. If you want to explore some methodology, you can
check out Microsoft's User Interface section of the MSDN Online
Developer Center.
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Utility
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A type of navigation used as an alternative
or substitute, function over aesthetic. For example, utility navigation
is navigation that a user depends on to regain their orientation on they
web site. Examples include "Home," "FAQ",
"Contact", "Site Map" and "Search."
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Utility Navigation
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Typically includes a link to the home page,
search, site map or index, contact information, downloads, glossary and
frequently asked questions.
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Vector Graphic
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Artwork that is made up of lines and filled
areas which are mathematically drawn and calculated. Without losing
quality they can be resized. They can also be easier to edit. See also: Raster
Graphic
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Wire Frame
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A wire frame consists of a basic layout of a proposed web
page. It generally does not include suggested content like fonts, photos
illustrations or other graphics, but instead shows the relative
placement of the content on the page. Something like this:
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| [LOGO]
header graphic |
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link
link
link
link
link
link
link
link
link
link |
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Headline 1
______________________
______________________
________________ |
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Headline 2
__________________
__________________
__________________ |
[photo] |
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