Affiliate Program: An opportunity where you paid a commission for every click, lead, or sale you generate from a special coded link.
Autoresponder: An email address that will automatically reply to any request with a message that you set up.
Banner: An electronic "billboard" advertising a product, service, website, etc. Can be found on most websites.
CGI Scripts: Computer programs often used to add interactivity to websites. For example, CGI scripts can send you data that a customer types into a request or order form.
Demographics: Information on your website visitors, useful for analyzing your traffic and the effectiveness of your site. Examples include most popular web pages; time spent on each page; referring URL (ie. how did they find your site?); number of page views and unique visitors; and more.
Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL): A form of high-speed Internet connection. You use a special modem to access DSL. It does not give you a second line; but it allows you simultaneously talk on the phone and surf the web.
Domain: Your address on the web. It's the www.yourcompany.com - what people type into their web browsers in order to locate your online business.
Download: The transfer of a file from the Internet to your own computer.
Downline: Members you recruit to join an opportunity "under" you; typically you make a percentage from the sales made by your downline. Often hyped up as the "easy way" to make extra money.
eZine: An electronic newsletter. Most are emailed directly to the subscriber's emailbox, but they can also be published on the web.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): A program that allows you to transfer files from your computer at home to your web host. May already be pre-installed on your computer.
Firewall: A program that protects your computer from unauthorized connections to or from the "outside world". In this context, it protects you from programs that try to connect to the Internet without your knowledge or consent; similarly, it protects your computer from incoming requests for information (eg. a hacker trying to scan your computer).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Exactly what it sounds like: answers to common questions. Most business sites have a FAQ page.
Hit: A request for an "object" on your website. For example, a web page with 2 graphics on it will generate 3 hits: 1 for the HTML page + 1 for each graphic.
Hype: Making misleading, unreasonable or unsubstantiated claims, such as "Make $5000 in three days with just a $2 investment! Guaranteed income, no selling involved!"
HyperText Markup Language (HTML): The formatting language used to create web pages. Don't be scared off by HTML; although some people refer to it as a "programming" language, it's not. It's a simple formatting language that's similar to what the old word processors used.
Index: A list of web sites grouped together by category. Probably one of the best known indexes is Yahoo!.
Internet Service Provider (ISP): The company that provides you with access to the Internet. You can get free Internet access from some places if you're willing to view advertisements while you're online. Otherwise it typically runs anywhere from $15/month for basic dial-up service, to as much as $50/month for high-speed DSL or cable connections.
Link: Those "clickable" pieces of text you see on web pages. Made clickable through HTML, the web page formatting language.
Joint Venture: A partnership where you agree to endorse someone else's products or services - typically in return for a percentage of the profits.
Mail bomb: A continuous flood of email messages that can clog your ISP's mail server.
Merchant Account: Allows you to process credit card orders on your website. You have complete control; however, merchant accounts tend to be very expensive and it can be difficult for a home based business owner to get approval.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM): Any opportunity where people can make commissions from the sale of products and services, and can recruit others into their downlines to do the same. You make a percentage of your downline's commissions.
Newgroup: An interactive discussion group focused on a particular topic. People post messages and others respond.
Page View: The number of times a web page is viewed on your website. Each time your page loads, you have one page view.
Park: As in, "park a domain". All this means is that a company puts up an electronic billboard stating that your website is "coming soon" (or something similar), plus an ad for their own company. Don't pay for parking!
PDF: Stands for "Portable Document Format". A document that's formatted in PDF is viewable by anyone who downloads the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free to everyone. Many online documents are published in PDF format.
Privacy Policy: A statement indicating what types of personal information your company collects and what it does (or doesn't do) with it. Every business should have a privacy policy.
Pyramid Scheme: An illegal "opportunity" where people are paid to recruit others. In other words, the focus of the opportunity is on recruitment rather than on the selling of products and services.
Search Engine: A website that indexes sites from all over the Internet. Visitors use search engines to look for specific information; if your website is indexed and fits the search criteria, it is listed in the search results. Great way to generate free, targeted traffic.
Secure Server: A computer that can encrypt sensitive data, such as credit card information.
Shopping Cart Software: A program that allows users to add items to their online shopping cart. Good for sites that sell a number of related items. For example, an bookstore uses shopping cart software so that people can browse and add several books to their cart before buying.
Sig file: Short for "signature file"; a few lines of text about your business - automatically added to the end of every email message you send. Many people use their sig file to provide contact information and a short blurb about what their business does.
Spam: The slang term for unsolicited commercial email, or UCE. Spam is when someone sends you an offer or an opportunity that you did not explicitly request. Bad business practice; just don't do it!
Spider: A software robot that crawls the Internet looking for something specific. For example, search engines use spiders to look for websites.
Third-Party Credit Card Processor: A company that will handle credit card transactions for you, so that you do not need to shoulder the expense of a merchant account. They charge a per-transaction fee and sometimes a one-time setup fee as well.
Traffic: Refers to generating visitors to your website.
Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE): Also known as spam, it's when someone emails you an offer or opportunity that you did not ask for. Can get you into real big trouble with your ISP or web host!
Upload: The transfer of files from your computer to your web space.
URL: The short form for "Uniform Resource Locator". Just a techie thing that refers to the http://www.yourcompany.com addresses you see.
Virus: A destructive program that can be transmitted to your computer via email, downloading from the web, or running a program. Investing in good anti-virus software will help keep your computer virus-free.
Visitor: The number of unique visitors to your site. For example, if someone visits your site and views 5 pages, that is still only one visitor.
Web Host: The company that makes your online business / domain accessible to the world. They give you a place to store your files and scripts. Web hosts are the ones that give everyone the ability to surf to your website. Typically costs anywhere from $15/month for the most basic hosting package, to around $40-50/month for more features.
Webzine: A newsletter published on a web page.