Website Terms for Beginners
2015-06-12 04:06:50
There are numerous specialized terms referring to all sorts of aspects related to the web design industry. For someone looking to have a site designed, all the technical jargon may become overwhelming and confusing. Below is a guide to the 20 most popular industry terms that should get you well on your way to understanding the lingo of web design.
- “Above the Fold”
This term was taken from newspaper design, if elements of your website are “above the fold” then consumers do not have to scroll down in order to view them. - Analytics
Analytics is a numerical tracking of people who visit your website. It allows us to determine which pages are most popular, the geographical area in which people are viewing your site from and much more. - Backend
A website’s “back end” is another term referring to the Content Management System or Server. The back end is where admin has the ability to log in, and perform any necessary changes to content, pages, blogs, or reviewing form entries. - Browser Testing
Once a mock of the design is completed, it must be turned into a template using code. This template must be tested due to various combinations of web browsers. Web browsers also need to be tested on various platforms such as smart phones and tablets. Different browsers and platforms can render websites very differently. - Call to Action (CTA)
Call to action is a button, graphic, or text link that promotes visitors to your site to perform some type of action. This could include subscribing to a newsletter, blog or requesting product information. - Content Development
Content development is creating words and narratives for your website that will enhance and communicate your unique selling proposition, and your products benefits that will appeal to your target market. Content can also refer to the creation of video content, info graphics, or other forms of information you would like visitors to consume. - Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate is a metric used to understand the effectiveness of your website. Simply put, it is the number of visitors to your site divided by the number of leads you receive from the site. - CSS
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheet, this is a file that dictates the way things will be displayed on your site. These files contain information pertaining to font colour, font size, page margins, backgrounds and much more. CSS files are “called” by HTML files so that the browser knows how things should be arranged on the screen. - Domain Name
The domain name, is your websites address which most commonly ends in .com, .ca, .net or .org. Domains must be purchased through a domain registrar. Domain names are used as a shortcut, without people would need to know your unique IP address (a series of numbers) to visit it. - Front End
Front end refers to what you see a user visiting a website. When the front end is created, it is done through creating graphic designs, coding and implementing them into HTML and CSS. - FTP
File Transfer Protocol gives the designer of a website the ability to connect their computer to the web, and transfer files essential to running your website. - Hosting
Web hosting is the means in which you make your website available on a server to the public. When you host your site, you will have the options of shared hosting, managed hosting or dedicated hosting. - HTML
HyperText Markup Language is a web programming language that tells browsers how to render and display pictures, content, audio and video onto your web pages. - Information Architecture
This is the way you organize and label content to be put onto your site. Information architects take this information and arrange it in a way that is easy to find. This process includes deciding what the pages will be called, size of sections, paths for pages to link, etc. - Landing Page
