The web is full of jargon and development even more so. We thought we would write a little blog post about some of the common used jargon people use when talking about web design and development and simple explanation of what they mean.
Responsive Website
A website has that will work on any device – computer, tablet or phone.
Accessibility
We want your website to be accessible to all people including those with disabilities. Not having an accessible website is like not giving a person in a building the access they need.
Breadcrumbs
This is a secondary menu on the website that helps visitors see where they are at on the website. Think of this as the “you are here” icon on a map.
Front-end vs Back-end development
Front-end: this is how we make the website look visually appealing.
Back-end: this is everything you don’t see that makes the website look and function they way it does.
Cookies
A file that tells us how specific visitors use the website.
Dev Site / Dev Server
A test version of your web site that allows us to work on your website without worrying about your live website.
Database
Where all dynamic data for your web site is stored, e.g products and prices
Domain Name
The part of your website URL after the www, for example: yourbusiness.com
Host / Server
Every website has files that make it work and look the way it goes. Those files need to be stored somewhere and that is the job of the host.
Image compression
Our goal is to keep the images looking really good while making the file small in size so they load for your site visitors really fast.
Landing page
A webpage is a page dedicated to having a site visitor do 1 specific task (enter their email, fill out a form, buy a product, call a phone number) and typically there is no way to exit the page.
API
A link between two softwares that allow them to work together.
Plugin
A pre-existing piece of software that will make the website work the way you want to saving you time and money.
Content Management System (CMS)
A software that lets you make changes to your web site
Sitemap
A file that tells Google (and other search engines) how your website is laid out so they have an easier to reading it.