There are lots of technical phrases and jargon used in website land, and for those approaching a website for the first time, it can seem a little bewildering. Here is a brief little list to try and explain in normal language what some of the ones you most commonly meet mean.
Domain – this is the www.websiteaddress.co.uk or .com or .net where your website will be sited. It is important to find a domain that links to the company name and/or may be useful to also have some keywords in the domain name (explained below) as well.
Hosting – I explain this to my clients as being like paying for line rental for your landline. It is where your website will physically sit on a server and you will pay (usually) a monthly, quarterly or annual charge for the service. You can’t have a website without hosting so always factor in those costs.
SEO – Or Search Engine Optimisation in its longer format. This is the practice of improving a website’s ranking in Google and other search engines, so people looking for your services can find your business. Important for any website if you want to compete in the marketplace.
Keywords – related to SEO, these are the words that a prospective customer might enter into Google to find your business or service. And they need to be included in your website content as well.
Metadata or metatags – This is the hidden information within a website that isn’t visible to a visitor but provides info about the page you’re on.
Social Media – Or social networking. This is an overview term to include all the various social sites e.g Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+ to name but a few.
HTML – this is the language that websites are written in and stands for Hypertext Markup Language.
Pixel – this is the measurement used for sizes of fonts or images to be included on a website. So you may be asked to provide an image that is a set size in pixels for example.
Navigation – sometimes called a menu – these are the links that allow a website visitor to move around the site to pages or other content.
Web Browser – this is the program eg Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google Chrome that you have on your computer or device that allows you to view websites.
Content Management System – or CMS for short. This is a user-friendly system that allows a non-technical person access to their website to be able to edit content and images without knowing anything about HTML code. Examples of this are WordPress, CMSMadeSimple, Magento, Expression Engine, Perch to name a few. It can also be referred to as the back end of a website.
ECommerce – stands for electronic commerce which is the facility to buy and sell via a shop online. It can be applied to physical or digital products.
There are a lot more than the above, but this is a good selection of those most commonly used but if you have heard a term you don’t understand, please contact me and I shall try and explain.
