Jargon Buster - Website Design Glossary
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
A
Accessibility
The term used to describe the degree to which a web page is usable by as many people as possible i.e. those with visual impairments that may be using a screen reader rather than a web browser.
Artifacting (jpg)
When .jpg image files are compressed their quality can be significantly reduced. When this happens, an image will often display a loss of clarity and tone fuzziness usually on large areas of colour or around text. This is known as Artifacting.
ASP
Acronym for 'Active Server Pages' - Microsoft's server-side script engine for dynamically generated web pages i.e. those created on the fly from information stored in a database. Such pages are identified by a .asp file extension i.e. index.asp
B
Black Hat Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Methods of search engine optimisation and promotion that are considered to be unethical or that contravene a search engine's terms of service. Such techniques will often create a poor user experience or present content in a different or non-visual way. Examples include keyword stuffing,
invisible text and doorway pages.
Black hat SEO can be described as a short-sighted solution to a long-term problem as websites using such techniques may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing. See also, White Hat SEO.
Blog
A website or section of a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. Typically used as a diary.
Bounce Rate
The term used to describe the number of visitors that immediately leave a website without visiting any further pages.
C
Call to Action
A piece of text or element of a web page that encourages the visitor to take action - usually to visit another page, fill in a contact form, call a telephone number or download a brochure. e.g. For further information about our XXXXXXX please contact us or call 01234 567 890.
CMS
Acronym for 'Content Management System' - Usually a password protected area of a website where changes can be made to selected parts of its content and imagery without any prior knowledge of web design. CMS have recently become very popular with companies that don't wish to employ a full time web developer to maintain their website(s). Instead, changes are usually made by an office administrator.
CSS
Acronym for 'Cascading Style Sheet' - CSS is a language used to describe the presentation of a web page written in a markup language such as HTML or ASP. When used correctly, a web page can still be used without the styling provided by a style sheet. Style sheets commonly control elements of a web page such as font colour and image placement. A Style sheet can be identified by a .css file extension i.e. style.css.
D
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E
Exit Page
The term used to describe a page where a visitor leaves a website either by clicking on a link to another website or by closing their browser window.
External Links
Links that point to a page on another website.
F
Flash
Adobe Flash technology has become a popular method for adding animation and interactivity to web pages often with stunning results. However, like JavaScript search engines cannot read content held within a Flash document.
G
Google PR
Google Page Rank - a numeric value that represents how important a page is on the web (according to Google).
H
Html
Acronym for 'Hyper Text Markup Language' - The predominant language used to build web pages. Such pages are identified by a .html or .htm file extension i.e. index.html
I
Inbound Links
Links that point from one web page to another either from the same website or from another.
J
JavaScript
A scripting language commonly used for client-side web development. Though very useful, content held within or presented using JavaScript can be very difficult for search engines to gain access to and assess.
K
Keyword
A word, phrase or selection of words that a website may be optimised for in order to appear in organic search results when such a word is searched for.
L
Landing Page
The term used to describe a page where a visitor first enters a website.
Line Height
Describes the vertical distance (usually measured in pixels) between each line of text on your website.
Long tail Keyword
A term used to describe less searched for words but whose combined search volumes may outweigh those of the top ten keywords. As a concept, optimising a website for long tail keywords may prove extremely successful by essentially taking a big piece of a small pie.
M, N
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O
Outbound Links
Links that point to another web page either on the same website or on another.
Organic Search Results
Many search engines offer two sets of results; organic and pay per click. Organic results feature websites who's content is judged to be best suited to the keywords searched for. Pay per click advertising is usually found at the top and far right of the organic results and highlighted in a different colour - green, pink, blue etc.
P, Q
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R
Reciprocal Links
A term used to describe the trading of links i.e. websites linking to each other.
S
SE
Acronym for 'Search Engine' i.e. Google
SEO
Acronym for 'Search Engine Optimisation' - The field of SEO is concerned with maximizing the visibility of a website by making its pages appear more frequently and more prominently in organic search results. See also, White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO.
SERPs
Acronym for 'Search Engine Results Panel' - Simply the results displayed when a search is carried out.
Screen Resolution
Monitors operate at a particular resolution, such as 1024x768. These numbers refer to the number of visible pixels. Generally speaking the higher the numbers, the better the picture quality will be though this can also depend on the quality of your monitor.
T
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U
URL
Acronym for 'Uniform Resource Locator' - Also known as your Domain Name.
V
Validation
Web page Markup can be validated against W3C standards - see http://validator.w3.org
W
W3C
Acronym for 'World Wide Web Consortium' - The W3C are the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. They also engage in education and outreach, develop software and serve as an open forum for discussion about the Web.
White Hat Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
A method of search engine optimisation and promotion that is generally approved by search engines. These methods look to improve the search engine rankings of a website in an ethical manner by staying within a search engine's terms of service. In simple terms, this means the website is designed, built and optimised in a way that will naturally appeal to search engines rather than attempting to bluff or deceive them (see Black Hat SEO). White hat seo tends to produce successful long term, reliable search engine rankings.
X, Y, Z
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