Website glossary: web terms in plain English
162 website, SEO, speed, AI search and ecommerce terms, each explained in a sentence or two, with why it matters for your business and what to check on your own site.
162 terms
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- 301 redirectA 301 redirect is an HTTP status code that tells browsers and search engines a page has moved permanently to a new URL, sending visitors there automatically and signaling Google to show the new address in search results.SEO
- 302 redirectA 302 redirect is an HTTP status code, 302 Found, that tells browsers and search engines a page has moved temporarily to another URL, so visitors are sent to the new address while Google usually keeps the original URL in its results.SEO
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- A/B testingA/B testing is a method of comparing two versions of a web page, email or ad by showing each to a random share of visitors and measuring which one produces more of a chosen result, such as sign-ups or sales.Conversion and analytics
- Above the foldAbove the fold is the part of a web page that visitors can see on their screen before they scroll. The term comes from newspapers, where the top half of the front page showed on a folded copy at the newsstand.Conversion and analytics
- Accessibility overlayAn accessibility overlay is a third-party script or widget added to a website that shows a toolbar of display settings or applies automated fixes, often marketed as making the site accessible or legally compliant without changing its underlying code.Accessibility and privacy
- ADA complianceAmericans with Disabilities ActADA compliance for websites means making a site usable by people with disabilities, which the US Justice Department says the Americans with Disabilities Act requires of businesses open to the public and of state and local governments. Sites are usually measured against the WCAG guidelines.Accessibility and privacy
- AEOAnswer Engine OptimizationAEO (answer engine optimization) is the practice of shaping website content so AI assistants and search features, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, can pick it up and quote it as a direct answer to a question.AI search
- Agentic commerceAgentic commerce is online shopping in which an AI agent acts for the buyer, finding, comparing and sometimes paying for products or bookings inside a chat or search tool, while the merchant still sells, ships and handles returns.AI search
- AI OverviewsAI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, answering the query in a few sentences and linking to the web pages that support the answer.AI search
- Alt textAlternative textAlt text (alternative text) is a short written description of an image, stored in the HTML alt attribute, that screen readers read aloud and search engines use to understand what the image shows.SEO
- Anchor textAnchor text is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink. It tells visitors and search engines what the linked page is about, so a descriptive phrase like "roof repair pricing" works far better as anchor text than "click here".SEO
- ARIA labelsAccessible Rich Internet ApplicationsARIA labels are HTML attributes, mainly aria-label and aria-labelledby, that give a button, link or form field an accessible name for screen readers to announce when the element has no visible text, such as an icon-only search or menu button.Accessibility and privacy
- Average order value (AOV)Average Order ValueAverage order value (AOV) is the average amount spent each time a customer places an order with an online store, calculated by dividing revenue by the number of orders in the same period.Ecommerce
- AVIFAV1 Image File FormatAVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is a modern, royalty-free image format from the Alliance for Open Media that stores photos in much smaller files than JPEG at similar visual quality, and supports transparency, animation and HDR color.Speed and Core Web Vitals
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- B2B ecommerceBusiness-to-business ecommerceB2B ecommerce (business-to-business ecommerce) is the online sale of products or services from one business to another, such as a manufacturer selling to distributors or a wholesaler selling to retailers, through a website or online ordering portal.Ecommerce
- BackendBackend is the behind-the-scenes part of a website or app that runs on a server: the database, business logic, user accounts and integrations that store information and decide what each visitor receives. Visitors never see backend code directly.Building and hosting
- BacklinkA backlink is a link on another website that points to a page on your website. Search engines use relevant backlinks from trusted sites as one sign that a page is useful and worth ranking.SEO
- Bounce rateBounce rate is the percentage of website sessions in which a visitor did not engage with the site. In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is the inverse of engagement rate: the share of sessions that were not engaged sessions.Conversion and analytics
- Breadcrumb navigationBreadcrumb navigation is a row of links, usually near the top of a page, that shows where the page sits in a website's structure, such as Home > Services > Roof Repair, so visitors can jump back to any higher level in one click.SEO
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- Call to action (CTA)Call to ActionA call to action (CTA) is a prompt on a web page, ad or email that tells the reader what to do next, such as Call now, Book a quote or Add to cart, usually shown as a button or link.Conversion and analytics
- Call trackingCall tracking is the practice of using unique phone numbers, or software that detects calls, to record which marketing source led a customer to call a business, along with details such as the time, duration and outcome of each call.Conversion and analytics
- Canonical tagA canonical tag is a line of HTML, written as rel="canonical", that tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page when the same or very similar content can be reached at more than one address.SEO
- Cart abandonmentCart abandonment is when an online shopper adds products to a cart, or starts checkout, but leaves the store without completing the purchase. The cart abandonment rate is the share of carts created that never become orders.Ecommerce
- CDNContent Delivery NetworkA CDN (content delivery network) is a group of servers in many locations that store copies of a website's files and deliver them from the server closest to each visitor, so pages load faster and cope better with heavy traffic.Building and hosting
- Checkout optimizationCheckout optimization is the work of making an online store's checkout faster, clearer and more trustworthy so that more shoppers who start paying actually complete their order, mainly by removing extra steps, surprise costs and form problems.Ecommerce
- Click to callClick to call is a link or button that starts a phone call when tapped, so a visitor on a smartphone can ring a business straight from its website, ad or search listing without copying or dialing the number by hand.Conversion and analytics
- Click-through rate (CTR)Click-Through RateClick-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click a link after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions. CTR is used for search results, ads and emails to show how compelling a listing or message is.Conversion and analytics
- CMSContent Management SystemA CMS (content management system) is software that lets you add and edit the pages, posts and images on your website without writing code. WordPress, Webflow and Shopify are common examples.Building and hosting
- Color contrastColor contrast is the difference in brightness between text or an interface element and the background behind it, measured as a ratio from 1:1 to 21:1. WCAG Level AA asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.Accessibility and privacy
- Conversion rateConversion rate is the percentage of website visitors or sessions that complete a goal you care about, such as a purchase, a quote request or a phone call, calculated as conversions divided by visitors, multiplied by 100.Conversion and analytics
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO)Conversion Rate OptimizationConversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as buying or inquiring, by studying how people use your pages and testing changes that remove friction.Conversion and analytics
- Cookie consentCookie consent is a website visitor's permission, usually given through a cookie banner, for the site to store or read non-essential cookies and similar trackers, such as analytics and advertising cookies, on their device. EU law requires this permission before those cookies are set.Accessibility and privacy
- Core Web VitalsCore Web Vitals are three Google metrics that measure how real visitors experience a web page: Largest Contentful Paint for loading speed, Interaction to Next Paint for responsiveness, and Cumulative Layout Shift for visual stability.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Cost per lead (CPL)Cost Per LeadCost per lead (CPL) is the average amount a business spends on marketing to get one new lead, calculated by dividing the cost of a campaign or channel by the number of leads it produced in the same period.Conversion and analytics
- Crawl budgetCrawl budget is the set of URLs on a website that Google can and wants to crawl. It depends on how much crawling your server handles without slowing down and how much demand Google sees for your pages.SEO
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a Core Web Vitals metric that scores how much visible content unexpectedly moves around while a page is open. Google rates a CLS of 0.1 or less as good and anything above 0.25 as poor.Speed and Core Web Vitals
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- Design systemA design system is a shared set of reusable components, visual styles and usage rules, such as buttons, forms, colors, typography and spacing, that a team uses to design and build every page of a website or product consistently.Building and hosting
- Direct trafficDirect traffic is website visits that analytics tools cannot link to any referring website, search engine or campaign. In Google Analytics 4 these visits show the source (direct) and medium (none), and they include typed addresses, bookmarks and untagged links.Conversion and analytics
- Discovery phaseA discovery phase is the research stage at the start of a website or software project, where the team studies business goals, users, content and technical constraints before anything is designed or built, so the scope and price rest on facts.Working with an agency
- DNS recordDomain Name System recordA DNS record is an entry in a domain's settings that tells the internet where to send traffic for that domain, such as which server hosts the website (an A record) or which service receives its email (an MX record).Building and hosting
- Domain authorityDomain authority (DA) is a score from 1 to 100, created by the SEO software company Moz, that predicts how well a website might rank based mainly on its backlinks. Google does not use domain authority as a ranking factor.SEO
- Domain nameA domain name is the human-readable address people type to reach a website, such as example.com. The Domain Name System (DNS) translates it into the numeric IP address of the server, so visitors never need to remember numbers.Building and hosting
- Duplicate contentDuplicate content is the same or nearly the same text appearing at more than one URL, either within one website or across different websites. Google groups the copies and usually shows only one of them in search results.SEO
- Dynamic number insertion (DNI)Dynamic Number InsertionDynamic number insertion (DNI) is a call tracking method in which a script on a website swaps the displayed phone number for a tracking number tied to the visitor's traffic source, so each call can be traced to the ad, search or campaign behind it.Conversion and analytics
- Dynamic websiteA dynamic website is a site whose pages are generated when a visitor requests them, usually by server code that pulls content from a database into templates, so one address can show updated or personalized content.Building and hosting
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- E-E-A-TExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and TrustworthinessE-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness) is the set of qualities Google's search quality raters use to judge whether content and its creators can be trusted. Google says E-E-A-T is not a single ranking factor, and that trust matters most.SEO
- Email hostingEmail hosting is a service that runs the mail servers for your own domain, so your team can send and receive messages at addresses like name@yourcompany.com, with storage, spam filtering and security handled by the provider.Building and hosting
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- FaviconA favicon is the small icon that represents a website in browser tabs, bookmarks, phone home screens and Google search results. It is usually a simplified version of the brand's logo, added with a link tag in the HTML head of the homepage.Building and hosting
- Featured snippetA featured snippet is a Google search result that shows a short answer taken from a web page before the page's title and link, usually near the top of the results. Google picks featured snippets automatically, and site owners cannot request one.SEO
- FigmaFigma is a collaborative design tool, used in a web browser or a desktop app, where teams design, prototype, review and hand off the screens of websites and apps, with everyone working in the same live file.Building and hosting
- First Contentful Paint (FCP)First Contentful Paint (FCP) is a page speed metric that measures how long it takes, from the moment a visitor starts loading a page, for the first text or image to appear on screen. web.dev rates 1.8 seconds or less as good.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- First-party dataFirst-party data is information a business collects directly from its own customers and website visitors, such as form submissions, purchase history, email sign-ups and on-site behavior, with no other company in between.Conversion and analytics
- Fixed price contractA fixed price contract is an agreement in which a vendor delivers a defined scope of work for one set price, whatever the work actually costs the vendor. If the job takes longer than planned, the vendor absorbs the extra cost.Working with an agency
- Fractional CTOFractional Chief Technology OfficerA fractional CTO (chief technology officer) is an experienced technology leader who works for a company part time or on contract, setting technical strategy and overseeing developers and vendors without the cost of a full-time executive hire.Working with an agency
- FrontendFrontend is the part of a website or web app that runs in the visitor's browser: the layout, text, images, buttons, menus and forms people see and use. Frontend code is written mainly in HTML, CSS and JavaScript.Building and hosting
- Full stack developerA full stack developer is a programmer who builds both the frontend of a website, meaning the screens visitors see and use, and the backend, meaning the server, database and logic behind it, so one person can deliver a feature end to end.Building and hosting
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- GA4Google Analytics 4GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is Google's free analytics tool that records what visitors do on a website or app as events, such as page views, clicks, form submissions and purchases. GA4 replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped processing data on July 1, 2023.Conversion and analytics
- GDPRGeneral Data Protection RegulationGDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the European Union law, applied since May 25, 2018, that sets rules for how organizations collect, use, store and share personal data about people in the EU. GDPR can apply to businesses outside the EU too.Accessibility and privacy
- Generative engine optimization (GEO)Generative Engine OptimizationGenerative engine optimization (GEO) is the practice of improving how often, and how accurately, a brand and its content are cited in answers written by AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.AI search
- Google AI ModeGoogle AI Mode is a conversational search experience inside Google Search that answers longer, more complex questions with an AI-written response and supporting links, and lets the searcher keep asking follow-up questions.AI search
- Google Business ProfileA Google Business Profile is a free listing that controls how a business appears on Google Search and Google Maps, showing details such as opening hours, phone number, location, photos and customer reviews.SEO
- Google core updateA Google core update is a significant, broad change to the algorithms and systems Google uses to rank search results, released several times a year and aimed at showing more helpful, reliable pages rather than targeting specific sites.SEO
- Google indexingGoogle indexing is the process in which Google analyzes a crawled web page and stores it in the Google index, its database of pages that can appear in search results. A page that is not indexed cannot show up in Google Search.SEO
- Google Merchant CenterGoogle Merchant Center is a free Google tool where online sellers upload and manage product information, such as titles, prices, images and stock levels, so their products can appear in free listings and Shopping ads across Google.Ecommerce
- Google Search ConsoleGoogle Search Console is a free service from Google that shows how a website performs in Google Search, including which searches bring clicks, which pages are indexed and what problems Google finds. Site owners use it to monitor, fix and improve their search presence.SEO
- Google Tag ManagerGoogle Tag Manager is a free Google tool that lets you add and manage tracking codes, called tags, on a website or app from one dashboard instead of editing the site's code each time. Typical tags include GA4, Google Ads conversion tracking and social media ad pixels.Conversion and analytics
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- Headless CMSHeadless Content Management SystemA headless CMS is a content management system that stores and organizes content but has no built-in website front end, delivering that content through an API to any website, app or screen a developer builds.Building and hosting
- Headless commerceHeadless commerce is a way of building an online store where the storefront customers see is separate from the commerce back end that handles products, carts, checkout and orders. The two connect through APIs, so each side can change on its own.Ecommerce
- Headless WordPressHeadless WordPress is a setup in which WordPress is used only for writing and storing content, while a separate front end, often built with a framework such as Next.js, fetches that content through an API and shows it to visitors.Building and hosting
- HeatmapA heatmap is a visual report that overlays colors on a web page to show where visitors click, how far they scroll and where they spend time, with warm colors for high activity and cool colors for low activity.Conversion and analytics
- Hero sectionA hero section is the large opening block at the top of a web page, usually a headline, a short supporting line, an image or video, and a main call-to-action button, that tells visitors what the page offers before they scroll.Building and hosting
- HIPAA compliant websiteHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability ActA HIPAA compliant website is a site run by a healthcare provider, health plan or one of their vendors that protects any patient health information it collects, such as appointment requests or portal logins, as the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules require.Accessibility and privacy
- HreflangHreflang is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and regional versions of a page exist, so Google can show each searcher the right version. A Spanish page and an English page for the US can each declare the other.SEO
- HTTPSHypertext Transfer Protocol SecureHTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is the encrypted version of HTTP, the protocol browsers use to load web pages. It uses TLS to scramble data passing between a visitor's browser and a website's server, so nobody in between can read or change it.Building and hosting
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- IndexNowIndexNow is a free, open protocol that lets a website instantly notify participating search engines, such as Microsoft Bing and Yandex, when a page is added, updated or deleted. Google is not listed among the participating search engines.SEO
- Information architecture (IA)Information ArchitectureInformation architecture (IA) is the way a website's content is organized, grouped, labeled and connected so visitors and search engines can find what they need. It covers the page hierarchy, menus, category names and URL structure.Building and hosting
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP)Interaction to Next Paint (INP) is a Core Web Vitals metric that measures how quickly a page visibly responds when someone clicks, taps or types. Google rates an INP of 200 milliseconds or less as good and above 500 milliseconds as poor.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Internal linkingInternal linking is the practice of linking from one page on a website to another page on the same website. Internal links help visitors find related information and help search engines discover pages and understand which ones matter most.SEO
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- Key events (GA4)Key events are the events in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that a business marks as especially important to its success, such as a purchase, quote request or phone tap. Google renamed GA4 conversions to key events in March 2024.Conversion and analytics
- Keyword cannibalizationKeyword cannibalization is when two or more pages on the same website target the same search query and intent, so they compete with each other in search results. Google may then rank neither page as well as one stronger, combined page.SEO
- Knowledge GraphA knowledge graph is a database that stores facts as entities, such as people, places, companies and products, together with the relationships between them. Google's Knowledge Graph is the best-known example and feeds the factual answers and knowledge panels in Google Search.AI search
- Knowledge panelA knowledge panel is an information box that Google shows in search results for people, places, organizations and things in its Knowledge Graph, giving a quick overview such as a description, logo, website, social profiles and key facts.AI search
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- Landing pageA landing page is a standalone web page built around one specific goal, such as booking a call or downloading a guide, that visitors reach from an ad, email or search result. It removes distractions so more visitors take that single action.Building and hosting
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is a Core Web Vitals metric that measures how long the biggest image, video or block of text in the visible screen takes to appear after a visitor opens a page. Google rates 2.5 seconds or less as good.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Lazy loadingLazy loading is a web performance technique that delays downloading images, videos and embeds until a visitor scrolls near them, so the browser spends its first moments loading only what is actually on screen.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Lead generationLead generation is the process of attracting potential customers and capturing their contact details, such as a name, email address or phone number, so a business can follow up and turn their interest into a sale.Conversion and analytics
- Lead magnetA lead magnet is a free, useful resource, such as a checklist, guide, template or calculator, that a business offers on its website in exchange for a visitor's contact details, usually an email address.Conversion and analytics
- Lighthouse scoreA Lighthouse score is a 0 to 100 rating from Google's free, open-source Lighthouse tool, which tests a web page in a simulated lab setting for performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO, with 90 or above counted as good.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- llms.txtllms.txt is a proposed markdown file, placed at a website's root, that gives large language models a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. llms.txt is a community proposal, not an official web standard.AI search
- Local citationsLocal citations are online mentions of a business's name, address and phone number on websites other than its own, such as directories, review sites, maps apps, social profiles and local news or association pages.SEO
- Local SEOLocal SEO is the practice of improving how a business appears in location-based searches, such as plumber near me or dentist in Austin, across Google Maps, the local map results and the regular search results below them.SEO
- Local Services Ads (LSA)Google Local Services AdsLocal Services Ads (LSA) are Google ads for local service businesses, such as plumbers, lawyers and cleaners, that appear on Google Search and Maps and charge the advertiser for each lead, such as a call, message or booking, rather than for each click.Conversion and analytics
- Long-tail keywordA long-tail keyword is a specific search phrase that fewer people search for than a broad term but that shows a clearer need, such as "emergency plumber open Sunday in Dallas" instead of "plumber".SEO
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- Meta title (title tag)A meta title, also called a title tag, is the HTML title element that names a web page. It appears in the browser tab and is the main source Google uses for the page's clickable headline in search results.SEO
- MicrocopyMicrocopy is the small, functional text in a website or app, such as button labels, form field hints, error messages and confirmation notes, that tells visitors what to do next and reassures them at the moment they need it.Conversion and analytics
- Milestone paymentA milestone payment is a payment released when an agreed stage of a project, called a milestone, is completed and accepted, instead of paying everything up front or at the end. Website projects often split the fee across deposit, design approval and launch.Working with an agency
- Mobile-first indexingMobile-first indexing is Google's practice of crawling, indexing and ranking web pages using the mobile version of their content, fetched by its smartphone crawler, rather than the desktop version, for all search results.SEO
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- NAP consistencyName, Address and Phone numberNAP consistency means a business's name, address and phone number appear in exactly the same way on its website, Google Business Profile, directories and social profiles, so customers and search engines never see conflicting details.SEO
- Next.jsNext.js is an open-source React framework, maintained by Vercel, for building websites and full-stack web applications. Next.js adds routing, server rendering, data fetching and build tooling on top of React, so pages can reach visitors as ready-made HTML.Building and hosting
- Noindex tagA noindex tag is an instruction, usually a robots meta tag in a page's HTML head, that tells search engines such as Google not to include that page in their search results, even though people can still visit it.SEO
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- Off-page SEOOff-page SEO covers the actions taken outside a website that help it rank, mainly earning links and mentions from other sites, collecting customer reviews and keeping business listings such as a Google Business Profile accurate.SEO
- On-page SEOOn-page SEO is the work done on a web page itself to help it rank for the searches it targets, including the main content, title tag, headings, meta description, images, internal links and URL.SEO
- Orphan pageAn orphan page is a web page that no other page on the same website links to. Visitors cannot reach an orphan page by clicking through the site, and search engines may never find it or may treat it as unimportant.SEO
- OutsourcingOutsourcing is hiring an outside company or freelancer, under a contract, to carry out work or a business function that your own employees could otherwise do, such as payroll, customer support or website development.Working with an agency
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- Payment gatewayA payment gateway is the service that securely passes a customer's card or wallet details from a website checkout to the banks for approval, then returns an approved or declined result. Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay and Square are common examples.Ecommerce
- Perplexity SEOPerplexity SEO is the work of making a website easy for Perplexity, an AI answer engine, to find, read and cite, so that the numbered source links in its answers point to your pages when people ask about your field.AI search
- Pillar pageA pillar page is a comprehensive page on a website that covers one broad topic at a high level and links to a group of more detailed pages, called cluster pages, that each cover one subtopic in depth.SEO
- PluginA plugin is an add-on package of code that gives an existing platform, such as WordPress or a web browser, a new feature without changing the platform's own core files. Contact forms, SEO tools and booking calendars are common website plugins.Building and hosting
- Programmatic SEOProgrammatic SEO is the practice of creating many web pages automatically from one template and a structured dataset, with each page targeting a specific search, such as one page per city, product model or comparison.SEO
- Progressive web app (PWA)Progressive Web AppA progressive web app (PWA) is a website built with standard web technology that people can install on a phone or computer like an app, open in its own window and keep using offline or on a weak connection.Building and hosting
- Project scopeProject scope is the full set of work a project will deliver, including its features, deliverables, boundaries and exclusions, agreed before the work starts. On a website project, the scope names the pages, features, integrations and content to be built.Working with an agency
R
- Referral trafficReferral traffic is visits that reach your website when someone clicks a link on another website, such as a directory, news article, partner site or supplier page, other than search engines and social networks, which analytics tools report separately.Conversion and analytics
- Responsive web designResponsive web design is an approach to building websites so the same pages automatically adjust their layout, images and text to fit any screen, from a small phone to a wide desktop monitor, using one set of code and one URL.Building and hosting
- RetainerA retainer is a fee paid in advance, often monthly, to reserve a professional's time or services, such as a lawyer, consultant or web agency. With a website retainer, the client pays a set amount each month for ongoing updates, fixes and support.Working with an agency
- RFPRequest for ProposalAn RFP (request for proposal) is a document a business or public body sends to several vendors describing a project, its goals and requirements, and asking each vendor to submit a proposal with its approach, timeline and price. The buyer then compares proposals to choose a supplier.Working with an agency
- ROASReturn on Ad SpendROAS (return on ad spend) is an advertising metric that divides the revenue or conversion value from ads by the money spent on those ads. A ROAS of 4, often written as 400% or 4:1, means $4 came back for every $1 spent.Conversion and analytics
- Robots.txtRobots.txt is a plain text file at the root of a website that tells search engine crawlers which URLs they may and may not request, mainly to manage crawling rather than to hide pages from search results.SEO
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- Sales funnelA sales funnel is the series of steps a person takes from first hearing about a business to becoming a paying customer, usually grouped as awareness, interest, decision and action. Fewer people remain at each step, which gives the funnel its narrowing shape.Conversion and analytics
- Schema markupSchema markup is code added to a web page, usually in JSON-LD format, that uses the schema.org vocabulary to tell search engines exactly what the page describes, such as a business, product, article, event or review.SEO
- Scope creepScope creep is the gradual, uncontrolled growth of a project beyond what was originally agreed, as extra features, pages or changes are added without adjusting the budget or deadline. Left unchecked, scope creep pushes website projects past their launch date and budget.Working with an agency
- Search intentSearch intent is the goal a person has when they type a query into a search engine, such as learning something, buying something or finding a specific website. Pages that match the intent behind a search are more likely to rank and convert.SEO
- SEOSearch Engine OptimizationSEO (search engine optimization) is the work of making a website easy for search engines to find, understand and rank, so the right people reach it through unpaid results on Google, Bing and AI assistants.SEO
- SEO auditAn SEO audit is a structured review of a website that finds the technical, content and link problems stopping its pages from being crawled, indexed and ranked by search engines, and ranks the fixes by their likely impact on traffic and leads.SEO
- SERPSearch Engine Results PageA SERP (search engine results page) is the page Google, Bing or another search engine shows after someone enters a query, listing ads, unpaid results and extra features such as maps, images, videos and AI summaries.SEO
- Server-side rendering (SSR)Server-Side RenderingServer-side rendering (SSR) is a way of building web pages in which the server creates the finished HTML for each request and sends it to the browser, so visitors and search engines see the content without waiting for JavaScript to assemble it.Building and hosting
- Server-side trackingServer-side tracking is a way of collecting website analytics and ad conversion data in which the browser sends events to a server you control, and that server forwards the data to tools such as Google Analytics 4 or Meta.Conversion and analytics
- Service area business (SAB)Service Area BusinessA service area business (SAB) is a business that travels to or delivers to its customers instead of serving them at its own address, such as a plumber, cleaner or mobile mechanic. Google lets these businesses list service areas instead of a public address.SEO
- Shopify PlusShopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise plan for large or complex online businesses, adding features beyond the standard plans such as up to nine expansion stores, unlimited staff accounts, deeper checkout customization and advanced B2B wholesale tools.Ecommerce
- Single page application (SPA)Single Page ApplicationA single page application (SPA) is a website or web app that loads one HTML document once and then uses JavaScript to swap in new content as the user clicks, instead of requesting a fresh page from the server for every view.Building and hosting
- SKUStock Keeping UnitA SKU (stock keeping unit) is a code a business creates to identify each product and variant it sells, such as TSH-BLU-M for a blue medium T-shirt, so it can track stock and sales. A SKU is internal and differs from a barcode.Ecommerce
- Soft 404A soft 404 is a web page that tells visitors the content is missing or empty but sends a 200 OK success code instead of a 404 Not Found code, so Google flags it as an error and leaves it out of search.SEO
- SSL certificateSecure Sockets LayerAn SSL certificate is a small data file, issued by a trusted certificate authority, that proves a website's identity and lets browsers open an encrypted HTTPS connection to it. Modern certificates actually use TLS, the successor to SSL, but the old name stuck.Building and hosting
- Staging siteA staging site is a private copy of a live website where developers build and test changes, such as new pages, plugin updates or a full redesign, before publishing them to the real site that customers see.Building and hosting
- Statement of work (SOW)Statement of WorkA statement of work (SOW) is a project document that defines exactly what a vendor will deliver, including the scope, deliverables, timeline, milestones, acceptance criteria and price, so client and vendor agree on the work before it starts.Working with an agency
- Static websiteA static website is a site made of prebuilt HTML files that the server sends to every visitor exactly as stored, without assembling each page from a database when it is requested. Static sites load quickly, cost little to host and offer attackers little to target.Building and hosting
- Sticky headerA sticky header is a website header, usually the logo, menu and a call or quote button, that stays pinned to the top of the screen as visitors scroll, so navigation and the main action remain within reach anywhere on the page.Building and hosting
- SubdomainA subdomain is a prefix added in front of a main domain name, such as shop.example.com or help.example.com, that creates a separate section of a website. It can point to a different server or platform while still using the domain the business already owns.Building and hosting
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- Technical SEOTechnical SEO is the part of search engine optimization that makes sure search engines can crawl, render and index a website, covering site speed, mobile layout, HTTPS, redirects, sitemaps, robots.txt and structured data.SEO
- Time and materials (T&M)Time and MaterialsTime and materials (T&M) is a pricing model in which the client pays for the actual hours worked at agreed hourly or daily rates, plus the cost of materials or third-party expenses, instead of one fixed price for the whole project.Working with an agency
- Time to First Byte (TTFB)Time to First Byte (TTFB) is the time between a visitor requesting a web page and the first byte of the server's response reaching their browser. It shows how quickly your hosting and server begin delivering the page.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Topical authorityTopical authority is an SEO term for how thoroughly and reliably a website covers a particular subject, to the point where search engines and readers treat it as a go-to source for questions on that topic.SEO
U
- UI designUser Interface designUI design (user interface design) is the craft of designing the visual and interactive parts of a website or app that people see and touch, such as buttons, menus, forms, typography, colors and spacing, so they are clear, consistent and easy to use.Building and hosting
- UptimeUptime is the share of time a website or server is online and working, usually shown as a percentage over a month or year. A site with 99.9% uptime is reachable for all but about 43 minutes of a 30-day month.Building and hosting
- User journeyA user journey is the sequence of steps a person takes to complete a goal on a website or app, such as finding a service, comparing options and sending a quote request, including every page, click and decision along the way.Conversion and analytics
- UTM parametersUrchin Tracking ModuleUTM parameters are short tags added to the end of a web link, such as utm_source=newsletter, that tell analytics tools like Google Analytics which source, medium and campaign sent each visitor. UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module.Conversion and analytics
- UX designUser Experience designUX design (user experience design) is the practice of shaping how easy, useful and satisfying a website or product is for the people using it, covering everything from page structure and navigation to forms, content and speed.Building and hosting
V
- Value propositionA value proposition is a short, clear statement of the benefit a business delivers, who it is for and why that customer should choose it over the alternatives. On a website, the value proposition usually forms the main homepage headline and supporting line.Conversion and analytics
- VercelVercel is a cloud platform for building, deploying and hosting websites and web applications. Vercel connects to a code repository, builds the site on every change, gives each change its own preview link and serves the live site through a global CDN.Building and hosting
- Vibe codingVibe coding is a way of building software in which a person describes what they want to an AI tool in plain language and accepts the code it produces, usually without reading, reviewing or fully understanding that code.AI search
W
- WCAGWeb Content Accessibility GuidelinesWCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) is the international W3C standard for making websites usable by people with disabilities, including people who are blind, deaf or unable to use a mouse. WCAG 2.2, first published in October 2023, is the current version.Accessibility and privacy
- Web applicationA web application is interactive software that runs in a web browser and does work for the user, such as booking an appointment, managing an account or editing a document, rather than only showing information. Gmail, online banking and Google Docs are web applications.Building and hosting
- Web hostingWeb hosting is a service that stores a website's files on a server connected to the internet, so anyone can load its pages at any time. Businesses rent that server space from a hosting provider, usually on a monthly or yearly plan.Building and hosting
- Web serverA web server is the software, and the computer running it, that stores a website's files and sends them to visitors' browsers over HTTP or HTTPS whenever someone requests a page, image or other resource.Building and hosting
- WebhookA webhook is an automatic message that one online system sends to another the moment an event happens, such as a payment succeeding or an order being placed, by posting the event details to a web address the receiving system provides.Building and hosting
- WebPWebP is an image format developed by Google that stores photos and graphics in smaller files than JPEG or PNG at similar visual quality, while also supporting transparency and animation. All major current browsers display WebP images.Speed and Core Web Vitals
- Website care planA website care plan is a recurring service package, usually billed monthly, in which a developer or agency handles a site's routine upkeep, such as software updates, backups, security monitoring, uptime checks and a set amount of small content changes.Working with an agency
- Website maintenanceWebsite maintenance is the ongoing work that keeps a live website secure, fast, accurate and working: updating software and plugins, taking backups, renewing the domain and SSL certificate, fixing broken pages and forms, and checking speed and search performance.Building and hosting
- Website migrationA website migration is any major change to a site's domain, platform, URL structure or hosting that can affect how search engines find and rank it, such as moving from Wix to WordPress, switching domains or changing hosts.Building and hosting
- White labelWhite label describes a product or service made by one company and sold by another under the seller's own brand, with the real maker kept invisible to the end customer. Store-brand groceries and agency websites built by outside developers are common examples.Working with an agency
- WireframeA wireframe is a simple, usually black-and-white layout sketch of a web page that shows where content, navigation, images and buttons will go, without final colors, fonts or photos. It is the blueprint agreed before visual design and development begin.Building and hosting
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