Below are some commonly used terms which have various meanings applicable to webhosting.

Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the measurement of data transfer capacity your host supports for your website. Bandwidth is generally measured on a monthly basis.

CGI-bin
A CGI bin (or Common Gateway Interface) is a directory found on web servers that allows for the use of .cgi and .pl files. CGI files/scripts are commonly used to provide such things as website counters, guestbooks, response forms, and databases.

CHMOD
CHMOD is a set of permissions you assign to a file. Scripts and files can be chmod to read, write, or execute or a combination of all of the above.

cPanel
cPanel is a custom, web-based control panel designed to help you administer and control all the functions related your web hosting from email addresses to ftp accounts to parking and pointing domain names.

Domain Name
A domain name is a set of alphanumeric characters followed by .com, .net, .org, .info, or one of quite a few other top level domain extensions. ‘clook.net’ is an example of a domain name.

DNS
DNS (or Domain Name System) is a translation between domain names and IP addresses that allows for your site to be viewed online.

FTP
FTP (or File Transfer Protocol) is the easiest, most secure way to transfer files over the Internet. By using an FTP program, you’ll be able to securely transfer files from your local computer to your web hosting account, and back again.

IMAP
IMAP (or Internet Message Access Protocol) is a method of accessing email or newsgroup postings which are stored on a server. By utilising IMAP, you are able to download email and newsgroup postings to your local computer, while also retaining a copy of the original on the server.

MySQL
MySQL is a database management system that holds a structured collection of data. SQL databases are commonly used to store information such as forum postings, news stories, guestbook comments, survey results, and more.

Nameservers
Nameservers (eg ns1.iracks.com and ns2.iracks.com) are essentially addresses, much like your house address, which point your domain to the proper web hosting server so that when someone enters your URL, your webpage is displayed correctly in their browser. Each domain is required to set of two nameservers, which your host provides.

Propagation
Propagation is the time it takes for your DNS settings to register across the Internet and become completely active.

POP
POP (or Post Office Protocol) is the Internet standard for inbound mail from your web hosting account. POP technology allows you to retrieve email from your web hosting account and download it to your local computer via an email software program.

SMTP
SMTP (or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the Internet standard for host-to-host mail transport. SMTP servers control all the outgoing mail from your domain based web hosting account.

SSL
SSL (or Secure Socket Layer)works to establish an encrypted link between a website and a client’s browser. Communication between the two parties is encrypted and information is therefore protected from being intercepted. Secure sites utilising the power of SSL will have URLs that begin with “https://”, confirming for you that the site is secure.

Subdomain
A subdomain is an address which operates just below your top level address. Subdomains are easy to remember addresses that serve as extensions of your top level domain name. A subdomain looks like this: anything.mydomain.com

URL
A URL (or Uniform Resource Locator) is a web address, which can be typed into your browser. By typing the address “www.iracks.com” into your Internet web browser, you’ll be taken to the our website.

Webmail
Webmail is an Internet address associated with your hosting account, where you can go to send and retrieve your email, rather than downloading it to your local computer.

WHM
WHM (or WebHost Manager) is a control panel which allows you to administer many domains. WHM is most commonly used by web hosting resellers and those with multiple domains located on the same server.