Website Terminology

A

• A/B Testing: A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or marketing element to determine which performs better in achieving a specific outcome.
• Above the fold: refers to the portion of a webpage that is visible without scrolling, considered prime real estate for important content and calls to action.
• Accessibility: Ensures that a website or application is usable by people of all abilities and disabilities, providing an inclusive digital experience for everyone.
• Admin Panel: The backend interface where a user can manage the website’s settings, content, and design.
• Affiliate Link: A special URL used to track referral traffic for affiliate marketing purposes.
• Algorithm: A set of rules used by search engines to rank web pages in search results.
• Alt Text: A description of an image used for accessibility and SEO purposes.
• Anchor Text: the clickable, visible text in a hyperlink that provides context about the link’s destination, often used to enhance SEO.
• API (Application Programming Interface:  is a set of protocols and tools that allow different software applications to communicate and interact with each other.

B

• Back End: Refers to the server-side components of a website or application, including databases and servers, that manage data and ensure functionality behind the scenes.
• Backup: A copy of your website’s data saved to restore in case of data loss or corruption.
• Bandwidth: The amount of data that can be transferred between your website and its visitors over a certain period.
• Blog: Stands for Web Log. A regularly updated online journal or informational website featuring articles, often written in an informal or conversational style, covering various topics to engage and inform readers.
• Body Copy: The main text within a piece of content that provides detailed information and engages the reader after capturing their attention with headings or introductory elements.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.
• Brand: The unique identity of a company or product, encompassing its name, logo, messaging, and overall perception by the public.
• Breadcrumb: A navigational aid on websites that shows users their location within the site’s hierarchy, helping them easily backtrack to previous pages.
• Browser: a software application used to access and navigate the internet, displaying websites and web content on various devices.

C

• Cache: Temporarily stored data to speed up website loading times.
• Captcha: a security mechanism used on websites to distinguish between human users and automated bots, often through tasks like identifying distorted text or images.
• CDN (Content Delivery Network): A network of servers distributed globally to deliver web content more efficiently.
• CMS (Content Management System): Software used to create, manage, and modify digital content (e.g., WordPress).
• CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): is a stylesheet language used to describe the presentation and design of web pages, including layout, colours, and fonts. 
• Conversion Funnel: A model that illustrates the journey consumers take from initial awareness to the final conversion, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. It is usually classified into three stages: awareness, consideration, and conversion
• Conversion Rate: the percentage of visitors to a website or digital platform who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.
• Cookie: A small piece of data stored on a user’s device by a website to remember information about the user, such as login details or preferences, for future visits.
• Crawl: refers to the process by which search engines systematically browse the web to index content for search results.
• CTA (Call to Action): A prompt on a webpage that tells the user to take some specified action (e.g., “Buy Now”).
• CX (Customer Experience): The overall perception and satisfaction a customer has of a brand based on their interactions across all touchpoints and channels.

D

• Domain Authority (DA): a metric that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages, based on factors like backlinks and overall site quality.
• Domain Name: The address where your website can be found on the internet (e.g., www.example.com).
• DNS (Domain Name System): The system that translates domain names into IP addresses.
• Duplicate Content: Content that appears in more than one place on the internet, which can negatively impact SEO.

E

• E-commerce: Buying and selling goods or services online.
• Email Hosting: A service that operates email servers to handle email communication for a domain.
• Email Marketing: A digital marketing strategy that involves sending targeted emails to prospects and customers to build relationships, promote products, and drive sales.
• Engagement Rate: The metric that measures the level of interaction (likes, comments, shares) a piece of content receives from its audience, typically expressed as a percentage.
• Error 404: is a standard HTTP response code indicating that the requested webpage could not be found on the server.
• External Link: A link from one website to another.

F

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol): A standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another.
• Favicon: A small icon associated with a particular website, displayed in the browser tab.
• Footer: is the section at the bottom of a website or application page that often contains supplementary information, such as contact details, links to important pages, and legal disclaimers.
• File Path: the specific location or address of a file within a computer’s directory structure, indicating how to navigate to it from the root directory.
• Front End: Refers to the part of a website or application that users interact with directly, encompassing the user interface and visual design elements.
• Functionality: the range of operations and tasks that a product, system, or software application can perform to meet users’ needs.

G

• Gutenberg: The block-based editor introduced in WordPress 5.0 for easier content creation.
• Google: A multinational technology company renowned for its search engine, digital advertising solutions, and a broad range of internet-related services and products.
• Google Analytics: A free tool that provides detailed statistics about website traffic and user behaviour.
• Google Bot: A web crawling robot used by Google to index and update web content for its search engine.
• Google Index: A database where Google stores all the web pages it has discovered and deemed relevant through its crawling process, making them searchable.
• Google Search Console: A free tool that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your website’s presence in Google Search results.

H

• Hamburger Menu: A navigation icon, typically represented by three horizontal lines, that expands to reveal a website’s menu options when clicked.
• Header: The top section of a website or application page that typically contains the logo, navigation menu, and key introductory information.
• Heatmaps: Are visual representations of data that use colour coding to show the frequency or intensity of activity, often used in website analytics to track user interactions and behaviour.
• Hosting: A service that allows websites to be accessible on the internet by storing them on servers.
• Hover State: a CSS effect that changes the appearance of an element when a user moves their mouse over it, often used to enhance interactivity.
• HTTP/HTTPS: Protocols for transferring data on the web, with HTTPS being secure.
• Header Tag: HTML tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) used to define headings and subheadings on a webpage, important for SEO.

I

• IP Address: A unique string of numbers identifying each device connected to the internet.
• Internal Link: A hyperlink that points to another page on the same website.
• Index: A database where Google stores all the web pages it has discovered and deemed relevant through its crawling process, making them searchable.

J

• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): A lightweight data format used for exchanging data between servers and web applications.
• JavaScript: A programming language used to make web pages interactive.

K

• Keyword: A specific word or phrase that users enter into search engines.
• Keyword Density: The percentage of times a keyword appears on a page compared to the total number of words.

L

• Landing Page: A standalone web page created specifically for marketing or advertising campaigns.
• Link Building: The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own to improve SEO.

M

• Maintenance: The regular upkeep and repair activities necessary to ensure the continued functionality and performance of equipment, systems, or services.
• Malware: Malicious software designed to harm or exploit any programmable device or network.
• MySQL: An open-source relational database management system often used with WordPress.
• Meta Description: A brief summary of a webpage’s content that appears in search engine results.
• Mobile First Design: An approach to web development that prioritizes creating a user-friendly experience on mobile devices before designing for larger screens.

N

• Navigation: is the process and design elements that guide users through a website or application to help them find information and complete tasks easily.
• Nameserver: A server that translates domain names into IP addresses.
• NoFollow Link: A link attribute telling search engines not to pass SEO value to the linked site.

O

• Open Source: Software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance.
• Organic Traffic: Visitors who come to your website through unpaid search engine results.

P

• Page Rank: an algorithm used by Google Search to rank web pages in their search engine results based on the quantity and quality of links to a page.
• Payment Gateway: a secure service that authorises and processes online payment transactions between customers and businesses.
• Permalink: The permanent URL of a specific blog post or web page.
• Plugin: a software component that adds specific features or functionalities to an existing program or system without altering its core structure.
• PHP: A scripting language widely used for web development and creating dynamic web pages.
• PPC (Pay-Per-Click): A type of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked.
• Product Pages: Web pages dedicated to showcasing the details, features, and benefits of a specific product, often including images, descriptions, and purchase options.
• Python: Is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its readability, versatility, and extensive libraries, widely used for web development, data analysis, and automation.

Q

• Query: A request made to retrieve data from a database or search engine.
• Quality Score: A metric used by search engines to determine the relevance and quality of ads.

R

• Rank: Refers to the position or level of a website or webpage in search engine results, often determined by its relevance and quality according to search engine algorithms.
• RankMath: A popular SEO plugin for WordPress that helps users optimise their websites for search engines with ease.
• Redirect 301: a permanent redirection status code indicating that a webpage has permanently moved to a new URL, ensuring that search engines and browsers update their bookmarks.

• Refresh: the action of reloading or updating the content of a webpage to reflect the most current version.
• Registrar: A company that manages the reservation of domain names.
• Responsive Design: A design approach that makes web pages render well on a variety of devices and window sizes.
• Robots.txt: A file that tells search engines which pages on your site to crawl and index.

S

• Schema: A structured data vocabulary that helps search engines understand the content and context of web pages, enhancing search result visibility.
• Screenshot: a captured image of the current display on a computer or mobile device screen.
• Search Bar: An input field on a website or application where users can type queries to find specific information or content.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Techniques used to improve a website’s visibility in search engine results.
• SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages): are the pages displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query, listing relevant websites and content ranked by their algorithm.
• Session: A temporary interactive information exchange between a user and a computer, website, or application that typically persists until the user logs out or the session times out.
• Sidebar: A vertical column on a website or application interface that provides navigation links or additional information alongside the main content.
• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer): A security protocol for establishing encrypted links between a web server and a browser.
• Sitemap: A file that lists all the pages on a website, used to help search engines crawl and index the site.
• Slug: is the final part of a URL that identifies a specific page on a website in a readable format, typically derived from the page title.
• Style Guide: a set of standards and guidelines that define the visual and textual elements of a brand, ensuring consistency across all marketing and communication materials.

T

• Template: A pre-designed layout that can be applied to a web page or series of web pages.
• Theme: A collection of templates and stylesheets used to define the appearance and display of a WordPress site.
• Title Tag: An HTML element that specifies the title of a webpage, which is important for SEO.
• Tracking Code: A snippet of code embedded in a website or application to collect data on user interactions and behaviour for analytics purposes.
• Traffic: Refers to the flow of visitors to a website or digital platform, measured by the number of visits, page views, and interactions.

U

• URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The address used to access a resource on the internet.
• Usability: Usability is a term that describes how intuitive a website is to a user. It is the consequence of user experience (UX) planning. Good UX design = good website usability.
• User Experience (UX): How easy and pleasant it is for users to interact with a website or application.
• User Interface (UI): The space where interactions between humans and machines occur, focusing on the design and layout of visual elements for an optimal user experience.
• User Journey: is the series of experiences and interactions a user has with a product or service from initial contact to final engagement.  The 5 stages of a user journey typically include: Awareness: The user becomes aware of a need or problem and discovers your product or service as a possible solution. Consideration: The user researches and evaluates various options, comparing features, benefits, and reviews. Decision: The user decides to purchase or commit to your product or service based on their evaluation. Retention: The user continues to use and engage with your product or service, experiencing its value over time. Advocacy: The satisfied user becomes a loyal customer and may recommend your product or service to others.

V

• VPS (Virtual Private Server): A type of hosting where a physical server is divided into multiple virtual servers.
• Vlog: A video blog or video log.

W

• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium:) is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth and interoperability of the web.
• Web Hosting: A service that provides storage space and access for websites.
• Widget: A small application with specific functionality that can be added to a WordPress sidebar or footer.
• Wireframe: A basic visual guide used to represent the skeletal framework and layout of a website or application, focusing on structure and functionality without design elements.
• WooCommerce: A popular plugin for adding e-commerce functionality to WordPress sites.
• WordPress: a popular open-source content management system (CMS) used for creating and managing websites and blogs.

X

• XML (eXtensible Markup Language): A markup language used to define document encoding in a format that is readable by both humans and machines.
• XML Sitemap: A file that helps search engines understand the structure of your website.

Y

• Yoast SEO: A popular WordPress plugin used to optimise website content for search engines.

Z

• Z-Index: A CSS property that specifies the stack order of elements on a web page.
• Zero Click Search: A search result that provides the answer directly at the top of the search page without needing to click on a link.

We hope this Glossary of Website Terms helps you understand important words related to digital marketing and web development.

Whether using tools to make your website appear higher in search results, following rules for making websites, or managing your blog with WordPress, knowing these terms will help you do better online.

By knowing and understanding these definitions, you can improve your website, attract more visitors, and achieve your online goals.