Knowledge Base

Web Hosting Glossary

Web hosting comes with a lot of jargon: cPanel, DNS, SSL, VPS, and plenty more. This web hosting glossary explains the words you will see across our guides and plans, in plain language, from A to Z.

You will also spot these terms underlined in our knowledge base articles. Hover over one (or tap it on a phone) to see its meaning without leaving the page.

Web hosting terms from A to Z

301 redirect: A permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one and passes along its SEO value.

A record: A DNS record that points a domain name to the IP address of the server hosting the website.
Addon domain: An extra domain name hosted from the same cPanel account, with its own separate website.
Auto-renew: A setting that renews your domain or hosting automatically before it expires, so you don't lose it.
AutoSSL: A cPanel feature that installs and renews free SSL certificates for your domains automatically.

Bandwidth: The amount of data your website sends to visitors over a period of time.
Brute-force attack: An attack where bots try thousands of passwords on a login page until one works.

Caching: Saving ready-made copies of pages so they can be shown instantly instead of being built from scratch for every visitor.
CageFS: A CloudLinux feature that walls off each account's files, so other users on the same server cannot see or reach them.
ccTLD: A country-code top-level domain, such as .us, .uk, or .ca. Each one follows its own country's rules.
CDN: Content delivery network. Servers around the world that keep copies of your site's files close to visitors, so pages load faster.
Client area: The WHMCS customer portal where clients manage their services, pay invoices, and open support tickets.
Cloudflare: A company whose global network provides a CDN, DNS, and security protection for websites.
CloudLinux: A server operating system that gives every hosting account its own protected space and fair share of resources.
CLS: Cumulative Layout Shift. How much a page's content jumps around while it loads. A Core Web Vitals measurement; aim for 0.1 or less.
CMS: Content management system. Software such as WordPress that lets you build and update a website without coding.
CNAME record: A DNS record that makes one domain name an alias of another, such as pointing www to your main domain.
CodeGuard: A backup add-on that saves daily copies of your website away from the server and lets you restore them.
Core Web Vitals: Google's three measurements of page experience: loading speed (LCP), responsiveness (INP), and visual stability (CLS).
cPanel: The control panel included with Next Wave Host hosting plans, where you manage your website files, email accounts, databases, domains, and backups.
CPU: The processor that runs a server's tasks. More CPU cores let a server do more work at once.
Cumulative Layout Shift: How much a page's content jumps around while it loads. A Core Web Vitals measurement; aim for 0.1 or less.

Database: Where a website stores its content, settings, and user accounts. WordPress uses a MySQL database.
DDoS: Distributed denial of service. An attack that tries to knock a website offline by flooding it with fake traffic from many computers at once.
Dedicated IP: An IP address used only by your website or server, not shared with other accounts.
Dedicated server: A whole physical server used by one customer, with none of its processor, memory, or storage shared with anyone else.
Disk space: The storage in your hosting account for website files, emails, and databases.
DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail. A digital signature on your emails that proves they really came from your domain.
DMARC: A DNS record that tells mail servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, and sends you reports.
DNS: Domain Name System. The internet's address book, which turns a domain name into the address of the server where the website lives.
DNS propagation: The time it takes for DNS changes to update across the internet, usually a few minutes and up to 48 hours.
Domain extension: The last part of a domain name, such as .com, .net, or .org. Also called a top-level domain (TLD).
Domain hijacking: When someone takes control of a domain name without the owner's permission, often through a hacked registrar account.
Domain privacy: A service that hides your personal contact details from public WHOIS records.
Domain registry: The organization that runs a domain extension, such as .com or .us, and sets its rules. Registrars sell domains from the registry to you.
Domain transfer: Moving a domain name from one registrar to another. You need the domain's EPP code to start it.

Elementor: A drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress that lets you design pages visually, without code.
Email forwarder: A rule that automatically sends email arriving at one address on to another address.
EPP code: A transfer code, also called an authorization code, that proves you control a domain when you move it to another registrar.

Firewall: A filter that blocks harmful traffic before it reaches your website or server.
FTP: File Transfer Protocol. A way to move files between your computer and your hosting account. SFTP is the safer, encrypted version.

GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation. The EU privacy law that controls how websites collect and use visitors' personal data.
GDPR redaction: Hiding personal details in public WHOIS records to meet privacy laws like the GDPR. The registrar does it automatically, and it is separate from WHOIS privacy.
Gzip: Compression that shrinks website files before they are sent to a visitor's browser, so pages load faster.

HTTPS: The secure version of HTTP. It encrypts everything sent between a visitor's browser and your website.

ICANN: The nonprofit organization that coordinates domain names worldwide and sets the rules registrars follow.
Imunify360: A server security suite that blocks attacks, scans for malware, and stops brute-force login attempts.
Inode: A count of the files and folders in a hosting account. Every file, email, and folder uses one inode.
INP: Interaction to Next Paint. How quickly a page reacts when you click, tap, or type. A Core Web Vitals measurement; aim for 200 milliseconds or less.
IP address: The numeric address that identifies a server or device on the internet.

Largest Contentful Paint: How long the biggest image or text block on a page takes to appear. A Core Web Vitals measurement; aim for under 2.5 seconds.
Lazy loading: Loading images and videos only when a visitor scrolls near them, so the page appears faster.
LCP: Largest Contentful Paint. How long the biggest image or text block on a page takes to appear. A Core Web Vitals measurement; aim for under 2.5 seconds.
Let's Encrypt: A free, nonprofit certificate authority that issues SSL certificates.
LiteSpeed: Fast web server software that delivers pages quicker than older servers and includes built-in caching.

Malware: Harmful software, such as viruses or hidden scripts, that can steal data, send spam, or damage a website.
MarketConnect: A WHMCS feature that lets resellers sell add-ons such as SSL certificates, SiteLock, and backups at their own prices.
Minification: Removing spaces and comments from CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files so they are smaller and load faster.
MX record: A DNS record that tells the internet which mail server receives email for your domain.
MySQL: The database software WordPress uses to store posts, pages, settings, and user accounts.

Nameserver: A server that holds the DNS records for a domain. Pointing your domain's nameservers to a host tells the internet where your website is.
NVMe: A type of very fast solid-state storage that reads and writes data much quicker than older SSDs and hard drives.

Overselling: Selling more disk space or server resources than a plan can actually deliver, betting that customers won't use it all. It can slow every site on the server.

Page builder: A tool for designing website pages by dragging and dropping elements, without writing code.
PageSpeed Insights: Google's free tool that tests how fast a page loads on mobile and desktop and suggests ways to improve it.
Phishing: Fake emails or websites that trick people into handing over passwords or payment details.
PHP: The programming language that WordPress and many other website platforms run on.
phpMyAdmin: A tool in cPanel for viewing and managing your website's MySQL databases in your browser.
Plugin: An add-on you install in WordPress to add features, such as contact forms, SEO tools, or an online store.
Private nameservers: Nameservers that use your own domain, such as ns1.yourbrand.com, so resellers can keep their own brand.

RAID: A way of using two or more drives together. RAID 1 mirrors your data on both drives; RAID 0 splits it across them for speed.
RAM: Memory a server uses to run your website. More RAM lets a site handle more visitors at the same time.
RDAP: Registration Data Access Protocol, the newer system that replaced most WHOIS lookups for checking who owns a domain name.
Registrar: A company that registers domain names for customers and manages them with the domain registries.
Render-blocking: Files, usually CSS or JavaScript, that a browser must load before it can show the page.
Reseller hosting: Hosting you can resell under your own brand, creating a separate cPanel account for each of your clients.
Root access: Full administrator control over a server, so you can install software and change any setting.

Schema markup: Extra code that describes a page's content to search engines and can earn rich results, such as star ratings or FAQs.
SEO: Search engine optimization. Improving a website so it ranks higher in search results such as Google.
Seraphinite Accelerator: A WordPress speed plugin that caches pages and optimizes images, CSS, and JavaScript.
SFTP: Secure File Transfer Protocol. An encrypted way to move files between your computer and your hosting account.
Shared hosting: Hosting where many websites share one server's resources. The most affordable way to put a website online.
SiteLock: A website security add-on that scans your site every day for malware and can remove it automatically.
SLA: Service Level Agreement. A written promise of service quality, such as uptime, and what you receive if it isn't met.
Softaculous: A one-click installer in cPanel that sets up WordPress and hundreds of other apps in minutes.
SPF: Sender Policy Framework. A DNS record that lists which mail servers are allowed to send email for your domain.
SSD: Solid-state drive. Storage with no moving parts that reads and writes data much faster than a traditional hard drive.
SSH: Secure Shell. An encrypted way to log in to a server and run commands from a terminal.
SSL certificate: A small data file that lets a website use an encrypted HTTPS connection and shows the padlock in the browser.
Staging site: A private copy of your website where you can test changes before they go live.
Subdomain: A separate section of your domain with its own address, such as blog.yourdomain.com.
Support ticket: A written help request sent through your client area. Each ticket gets a number so you can follow the replies until the issue is solved.

Theme: The design template that controls how a WordPress website looks.
TLD: Top-level domain. The ending of a domain name, such as .com, .net, or .org.
TTFB: Time to First Byte. How long a server takes to start sending a page after a browser asks for it. Faster hosting lowers it.
Two-factor authentication: A login step that asks for a one-time code from your phone as well as your password. Also called 2FA.

UDRP: Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, the ICANN process for settling disputes when someone registers a domain that matches another person's trademark.
Uptime: The share of time a website is online and reachable. 99.9% uptime allows at most about 43 minutes of downtime a month.

VPS: Virtual Private Server. A private section of a physical server with its own guaranteed RAM and full root access.

Webmail: Email you read and send in a web browser, without installing a mail app.
WebP: A modern image format that keeps images sharp at a much smaller file size than PNG or JPEG.
White-label: Selling a product or service under your own brand name instead of the provider's.
WHM: Web Host Manager. The control panel resellers and server owners use to create and manage cPanel accounts and hosting packages.
WHMCS: Billing and automation software for web hosts. It handles orders, invoices, payments, account setup, and support tickets.
WHOIS: A public lookup that shows who registered a domain name, when it was registered, and when it expires.
WHOIS privacy: Another name for domain privacy. It hides your personal contact details from public WHOIS records.
WooCommerce: A free WordPress plugin that turns a website into an online store.

XML sitemap: A file that lists your website's pages so search engines can find and index them.

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