Some of the terms used in blogging are confusing and obscure. Here is a 101 list
Index page
The home page; the main first page that comes up when you visit a blog. It usually has posts in the main column and various other organizational components in the narrow column.
Pages
Pages are fixed and deal with a specific static topic e.g. About the author of the blog. Pages are useful when you dont want important static information about your blog getting downed among hundreds of posts.
Post
A single entry into your blog is called a post. Posts are arranged chronologically with the newest at the top. Therefore it is difficult to find old posts which is why categories are so important.
Categories
A way of filing / organizing your posts. By putting a post into a particular category people can find your information more easily. Categories should be short. A blog should have as few categories as is logical and useful.
Tags
Are a second way of organizing your posts. Tags are more descriptive than categories. A blog can have any number of tags.
Archives
Old posts grouped by month and year. Useful to see how established a blog is.
Comment
Visitors to your blog can comment on your post. This is healthy and creates community. Remember to respond to visitors comments.
Sidebar
The narrow column next to the main column. Often used for widgets
Widget
a small ‘program’ that you add to your blog. Its does / offers something specific e.g. displays a calendar with date highlighted, allows you to put text in the sidebar. You can add widgets to your chosen theme. Not all widgets work on all themes
CSS
Cascading Style Sheet. This special page, often created by your graphic designer alters the appearance of text, paragraphs and various other format options.
Blogroll
Other blogs that you like or recommend. Only recommend blogs that deal with similar topics to your own as this enriches the visitors experience and helps to create community among similarly-minded bloggers.
Dashboard
What you see when you log into your blogging service using your username and password. Here you can find all your settings as well as access all the functionality that the blogging software offers e.g. adding posts, editing post, deleting categories, viewing your tags etc etc
Permalink
This is the direct, exact, permanent address of a specificpost in your blog. This is very useful as instead of answering tons of emails in minute detail, you can deal with the query in broad terms and then refer the sender to a specific post in your blog. You can find a post’s permalink before or after the post itself.
The permalink of this post is
http://deadmenhavewhitecollars.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/glossary-of-blogging-terms/
Advanced topics
RSS (feed)
People who like your blog can subscribe and therefore be notified every time you update your blog. This is called a feed. Subscribers are alerted to new posts using a newsreader that they have to install on your own computers (some browsers now have them built in).