Common web terms every business owner needs to know
Cotswold Web • 6 September 2019
The world wide web is a minefield of technological terms. Knowing your SEO from your CSS, or where to put your ‘Hamburger’, can be confusing if you aren’t working with an expert.
With more small business owners investing in their online presence, it’s important to understand what the common web terms mean and how to utilise the functions for your own website. Our handy list of definitions will help you get the most out of your web design process.
Getting Started – Web Design
Site plan
Just as an architect draws up detailed plans for the development of a new building, so your site plan sets the framework for your entire website, including structure, menu hierarchy and content, so that when it comes to designing your site for real all the hard work has been done and you know exactly what you need to do to achieve the perfect website.
Domain name
The name of your website should be short and easy to find. Make it memorable or catchy and relevant to your business. You’ll also need to consider what extension to use (.com, .co.uk, .org etc). It’s a good idea to research other websites in your field and see what’s already out there.
URL
URL stands for Uniform Source Locator and while it’s often confused as one, it’s not the same as a domain name (above). Your domain name is simply part of a URL. A URL directs a web browser (see below) to a specific web page, and every web page has a unique one.
Web browser
A browser is a piece of software on your computer, tablet or phone that enables you to access the web. The most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari.
CSS and HTML
Cascading Style Sheets and Hypertext Markup Language are two of the core technologies used to build website pages. CSS provides the layout (visual and aural) while HTML provides the structure of the page.
Favicon
A small, iconic image, like a logo, that is used to represent your website. You will see favicons in the address bar of your web browser , but they can also be used in feed aggregators and in bookmarks in web browsers.
CMS
A content management system, commonly known as CMS, is the software application or set of related software programs used to create and manage your digital content. CMS is used to enable collaborative updating of a website – so you can access the ‘back end’ of your site to make changes the same as your web designer.
Web Host
You can’t have a website without a host; the physical location of your website on the Internet. Your web hosting service provider will maintain the server where the data associated with your website is, as well as manage the technology that your website needs to connect to the Internet.
Web Forms
A web page that allows the user to input information – it’s simply a form that you can complete online and is a particularly useful feature for businesses.
Drag and drop
This is where you select an object or a section of text, move it to a desired location and release the mouse button to ‘drop’ it into place.
WYSIWYG
This is an acronym for ‘what you see is what you get’. It’s a web program that allows your designer to see what the end result will look like while the interface or document is being created.
Blog
A blog is a regularly updated standalone website or a web page on your website. This enables businesses to provide topical and current news and information to readers through their website. Blogs can be a very useful marketing tool for your business as it keeps your website up to date and creates a history of links for search engines.
Landing page
The sole purpose of a landing page is to convert visitors to your website into leads (contacts you can market to). It is not your home page as some people believe, as this is more about information; a page to request more information using a form would be a landing page. Every website should have them!
E-commerce
Whenever you buy or sell something online, you’re using e-commerce. It’s simply the term used to refer to online transactions. An online store would use e-commerce on its website.
Responsive
A responsive website is one that dynamically responds to the screen size and orientation in which the website is being viewed. With more people using smartphones and tablets to browse the web, this is an essential feature of all modern websites.
Hamburger
This is a name given to the menu icon found in modern web programs and websites that hides the traditional File menu. Displayed as three lines, the icon gets its name because it looks like a hamburger (a top and bottom bun with a burger in between).
Going Live – Website Launch
Cookies
When you visit a website for the first time, a cookie (a small file) is downloaded onto your device. The next time you access that website, your device checks to see if it has a cookie that contains the site name and sends the information contained in that cookie back to the site. The website can then tell that you’ve visited before and can tailor what appears on your screen.
GDPR
This regulation aims to keep customer data secure and make marketing communications clearer. For websites, you’ll need to make sure your contact forms comply with GDPR, being clear about how you’ll use the information you collect. You’ll also need to ensure you’re only contacting individuals who have opted-in to receive any marketing communication from you. Failing to do this is likely to result in hefty fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Terms of Use
Also known as ‘website terms and conditions’ or ‘terms of service’, this policy governs the use of a website by visitors. These are more about the way in which your website is used rather than the e-commerce terms and conditions of your business.
SSL
Secure Sockets Layer (commonly SSL) is a clever piece of technology that ensures your connection to a website is secure and any data you share (such as bank card details) are encrypted. You can easily tell if a site is secure as the URL will start with an ‘s’ as in: ‘https://’.
Content Delivery Network
A CDN is a geographically distributed group of servers which work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content. A CDN speeds up website loading time, reduces bandwidth costs, increases content availability and improves website security.
Google Analytics
A analytics website that gives you insights into how users find and use your website. You can use Analytics to track ROI for your online marketing, organise and sort your visitors with numerous dimensions, and seamlessly integrate Google Products like your Ads account and Search Console. You can also use tracking codes to tag and track any advertising or other marketing campaign on any platform/website.
Google My Business
Adding your website to this directory is essential if you want to appear in maps and in the listings which are returned for local queries. The majority of consumers look online before visiting a local business for the first time. So if your business relies on local customers, it’s essential it is at the top of local searches.
Online Reviews
Building a strong online presence and reputation is vital if you want to attract new customers and stand apart from your competitors. Your site will need to display your latest feedback (see our website for our TrustSpot score). With 95% of customers consulting online reviews before transacting with a business and the increase in e-commerce, your business’ reviews will be one of your most important assets to help generate new business.
Having an attractive website is one thing, but essentially you need your customers to be able to contact you and email is still a popular way to do this. It’s more professional to set up a domain name email address to use on your website, rather than one of the free domains offered by the likes of Hotmail or Yahoo, your web designer can provide this as part of their service.
After Launch – Marketing your Website
SEO
Search engine optimisation is the term used for the method of increasing the number and quality of visitors to a website by improving search engine rankings.
Pay per click & Google AdWords
Also known as PPC, this is an online advertising model where advertisers pay each time a visitor clicks on one of their online adverts . Google AdWords is a PPC platform. Paid search is the most common type of PPC ad and these are displayed when people search for products or services online using a search engine – they’re a particularly useful way to target your website to people looking to buy what you’re selling.
CRO
Conversion rate optimisation is the process of increasing the percentage of visitors to your website who take action such as filling in a form or buying something. The CRO process involves understanding how users move through your site, what actions they take, and what might be preventing them from making a purchase or sending you information.
UX
Stands for ‘user experience’, a part of the web design process which ensures your website offers a meaningful and relevant experience to your visitors. This involves integrating aspects of branding, design, usability and function to ensure the user experience is as seamless as possible.
Marketing Automation
This is automated technology that manages marketing processes and campaigns, across multiple channels. A company’s marketing team would use marketing automation to target customers with automated messages across email, web, social media and text. Using this technology helps to increase sales revenue and maximise efficiency.
Inbound Marketing
Is used to attract customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. While outbound marketing interrupts your visitors with content they don’t need, inbound marketing forms connections they’re looking for and solves their problems. Inbound marketing can include a number of different channels and types of content to encourage customers to visit your website.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management is used to manage interactions with customers. A CRM system helps build customer relationships and streamline processes to increase sales and profitability and improve customer service. CRM software is used to digitise processes and automates tasks to help get the most out of your CRM.
We hope you’ve found our web lingo lowdown useful. In future blogs, we’ll be covering more of these terms in depth. In the meantime, head to our website to find out more about how our web design service can lift your business to the next level.
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