The large metal area is called 'copper pour'. It is used on this board to create a low resistance path to ground. Sometimes it is used for shielding on high speed designs. It can also be used to speed up etching (less copper to remove).
The reason 'normal' boards look green (or red, or black, or blue, or...) is because they are coated with solder mask. This helps prevent solder bridges. Extra care is required when there is no solder mask.
The component marking is usually called 'silk screen'.
Quick turn prototype boards often omit solder mask and silk screen to reduce costs and production time.
If you want production style boards for low cost the best place I know of for the USA is
Batch PCB
Bare Bones PCB is a similar to PCB Express. No solder mask or silk screen. Sometimes they are less expensive.