Spelling of Internet-related terms

We work with a lot of blogs that publish web technology news and articles and have accumulated a list of spellings of common (and uncommon) Internet-related terms. We’ve published it here below for you to use as a reference. We’ll be updating this list over time, so let us know if we’ve missed any.

Only spellings here, no definitions. Many of the spellings here, such as “click-through,” are not included in popular dictionaries at all.

Some of the spellings deviate from those found in popular dictionaries: for example, “web” instead of “Web,” which Merriam-Webster and Oxford recommend. A couple of reasons for this. First, spelling naturally tends to contract and simplify over time (e.g. “marketplace” was once two words), and new terms are adopted and circulated even more quickly on the Internet. The web also tends to be a more casual medium than print—less capitalization and hyphenation.

  • add-on (as in “extension”)
  • AJAX
  • auto-complete, auto-suggest
  • back up (verb), back-up (noun)
  • blog
  • breadcrumb
  • click-through
  • client-side
  • cross-browser (as in “compatible”)
  • crowdsource
  • CSS
  • dot-com (adjective, as in “dot-com bubble”)
  • drop-down (adjective, as in “drop-down menu”)
  • e-commerce
  • email
  • FAQ
  • firewall
  • freemium
  • FTP
  • GIF
  • grayscale (greyscale in UK and Canada)
  • hash tag
  • home page
  • HTML
  • iframe
  • inbox
  • inline
  • Internet
  • JavaScript
  • JPEG
  • keyword
  • log in (verb), log-in (adjective)
  • markup (noun)
  • mash-up (adjective)
  • meta tag
  • microformat
  • mock-up
  • news feed
  • open source (noun), open-source (adjective)
  • PDF
  • permalink
  • PHP
  • plug-in (noun, adjective)
  • PNG
  • podcast
  • pop up (verb), pop-up (noun, adjective)
  • real time (noun), real-time (adjective)
  • RSS
  • screencast
  • screenshot
  • server-side
  • sidebar
  • site map
  • slide deck
  • start-up
  • style sheet
  • TIFF
  • tooltip
  • touch-screen
  • TrackBack
  • tweet
  • URL
  • user-generated
  • user name
  • version (v2.0)
  • VoIP
  • the web, web page
  • Web 2.0
  • webmaster
  • website, or site
  • wide-screen (adjective)
  • Wi-Fi
  • wiki
  • wildcard (as in “character substitution”)
  • XHTML
  • XML

Update (3 June ’09): we added “crowdsource,” “freemium,” “markup,” “screencast,” “site map,” and “touch-screen.”

Update (9 September ’09): we added “breadcrumb,” “cross-browser,” “dot-com,” “hash tag,” “inbox,” “microformat,” “news feed,” “sidebar,” “slide deck,” “tooltip,” “tweet,” and “version.”