A
A/B Testing
A/B testing is like a contest between two webpages to see which one people like more or which one helps people do what they’re supposed to do on the page (like buying a product or signing up for a newsletter).
Above the Fold
This term is about the part of a webpage you see first, without needing to scroll down. It’s like the top half of a newspaper that you see when it’s folded.
Ad Impressions
Ad impressions are how many times an online ad is shown to people. It doesn’t matter if the ad was clicked on or not, it still counts as an impression.
AdWords
AdWords is a service by Google that lets businesses pay to have their website show up at the top of search results when people search for certain words or phrases.
Affiliate Marketing
This is when a business rewards someone (an affiliate) for bringing in a new customer or visitor through their own marketing efforts.
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
AJAX is a bunch of cool techniques that web developers use to make websites more interactive and faster to use.
Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of rules that search engines like Google use to sort out which websites should show up first when you search for something.
Alt Text
Alt text is a short description of a picture on a webpage that’s written in the code. It helps people who can’t see the picture understand what it’s about.
Analytics
Analytics is like detective work for data. It’s used to find patterns in data and make sense of it.
Anchor Text
Anchor Text is the clickable text in a link. It should tell you something about the page you’re linking to.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is like a translator between two apps or softwares so they can talk to each other and work together.
B
B2B (Business-to-Business)
B2B is when one business sells products or services directly to another business.
B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
B2C is when a business sells products or services directly to people, not other businesses.
Back-end
The back-end of a website is like the backstage area in a theatre. It’s where all the behind-the-scenes stuff takes place that users don’t see.
Backlink
A backlink is when one website includes a link to another website. They’re important because they can help your website appear higher in search engine results.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is how much data can be sent over the internet in a certain amount of time. It’s like a highway: the more lanes it has, the more cars can travel on it at the same time.
Black Hat SEO
Black hat SEO is the bad guy of internet marketing. It’s when people use sneaky tactics to trick search engines into ranking their website higher than it should be.
Blog
A blog is a part of a website where articles or posts are published. They’re often updated regularly and arranged in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest).
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is like a ready-made kit for building websites. It helps web developers create websites that look good and work well on different devices faster and easier.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap is a bunch of pre-made code that developers can use to make websites look good and work well on different devices.
Bot
A bot is like a robot that can do automated tasks on the internet. For example, search engines use bots to find and index new webpages.
Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of people who leave a website after only looking at one page.
Breadcrumb
In web design, a breadcrumb is like a trail of bread crumbs that shows you where you are on a website and how you got there.
Browser Compatibility
Browser compatibility is about making sure a webpage looks good and works well on different web browsers (like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.).
C
Cache
A cache is a place where your computer can store copies of files so it can access them faster later on.
Call To Action (CTA)
A CTA is like a signpost on a website that tells visitors what to do next, like “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Here.”
Canonical URL
The canonical URL is the “official” address of a page on your website. It helps search engines know which link to show in search results.
CAPTCHA
A CAPTCHA is a test that websites use to make sure you’re a real person and not a robot.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
CTR is the percentage of people who click on a specific link out of the total number of people who see the link.
Content Management System (CMS)
A CMS is a tool that helps you build a website without needing to write all the code from scratch, or even know how to code at all.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of people who do what they’re supposed to do on a webpage, like buy a product, sign up for a newsletter, or fill out a survey.
Cookie
On the internet, a cookie is a small file that a website saves on your computer. It remembers information about you to make your web browsing more useful.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
CPC is how much an advertiser pays a website every time a visitor clicks on their ad.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS is a kind of computer language that makes websites look good. It’s like the paint and decoration for a house.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRM is a way for businesses to manage their relationships with their customers. It’s like a digital address book with superpowers.
D
Database
A database is like a big, digital filing cabinet where all the information for a website is stored.
Do-follow Link
A do-follow link is like a vote of confidence from one website to another. It tells search engines that the linked website is trustworthy and relevant.
Domain
A domain is the name of a website. It’s what you type into the address bar to go to a website.
Domain Authority
Domain authority is like a website’s reputation score. The higher the score, the more trustworthy the website is considered by search engines.
Dwell Time
Dwell time is how long someone stays on a webpage before going back to the search results.
E
E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a guideline that Google uses to assess the quality of content on a website.
E-commerce
E-commerce is buying and selling things over the internet.
Elementor
Elementor is a WordPress page builder plugin that makes it easy to keep your new website updated. It is a visual drag-and-drop editor, and requires no coding knowledge.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is when a company sends promotional emails to people who have signed up to receive them.
F
Favicon
A favicon is a small icon that shows up in the tab of your browser when you visit a website.
Firewall
A firewall is like a security guard for a network. It monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on security rules.
G
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
GDPR is a law in the European Union that protects people’s personal data. It gives people the right to know what data companies have about them and to ask for it to be deleted.
Geo-targeting
Geo-targeting is when websites show different content to users based on their geographic location. It’s like how Netflix shows different movies and TV shows depending on what country you’re in.
H
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
HTML is the basic language used to create webpages. It’s like the skeleton of a website.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
HTTP is the set of rules for transferring files (text, graphic images, sound, video, and other multimedia files) on the World Wide Web.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
HTTPS is like HTTP, but secure. It uses encryption to protect the information you exchange with a website. You get this by getting an SSL certificate.
I
Image Optimization
Image optimization is making sure that an image file is as small as possible without losing too much quality. This makes web pages load faster and use less data.
Inbound Link
An inbound link is a link from one website to another. If another website links to you, that’s an inbound link.
Index
In terms of search engines, indexing is the process of collecting, parsing, and storing data to facilitate fast and accurate information retrieval.
Internal Link
An internal link is a link that goes from one page on a website to another page on the same website. It’s like a signpost that helps you navigate around a website.
J
JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language used in web development to make websites interactive. It’s like the magic wand that brings a webpage to life, making it respond when you click a button, enter information, or scroll down the page. Without JavaScript, websites would be static and wouldn’t do much besides displaying information.
K
Keyword
A keyword is a word or phrase that someone types into a search engine to find what they’re looking for online.
L
Landing Page
A landing page is the first page that you land on after clicking a link. In marketing, it’s usually a standalone page designed to make you take a specific action.
Lazy Loading
Lazy loading is when a webpage only loads certain parts of a webpage until they are needed. This can make the webpage load faster.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into someone who has indicated interest in your company’s product or service.
M
Malware
Malware is like a computer virus. It’s software that’s designed to damage or disrupt computers or networks.
Metadata
Metadata is data (information) about data. On a website, it could include information about a page’s content, coding, creation and management details.
Mobile Optimization
Mobile optimization means making sure that visitors who access your site from mobile devices have an experience optimised for the device.
N
Navigation
Navigation refers to the process of navigating a network of information resources in the World Wide Web.
Niche
A niche is a specific, focused area of a broader market. It’s like being a big fish in a small pond.
O
Open Source
Open source means that the design or blueprint of something (like software) is publicly available. Anyone can use, modify, distribute, and contribute to it.
Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is when people come to your website as a result of unpaid (“organic”) search results.
Outbound Link
An outbound link is a link from your website to a different website.
P
Page View
A page view is when someone visits a page on your website. If they reload the page, that’s another pageview.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
PPC is a type of online advertising where you pay every time someone clicks on your ads.
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)
PHP is a popular programming language that’s used to build dynamic websites. It’s like the engine that powers a car.
Plugin
A plugin is a piece of software that you can add to a website to add new features or functionality.
Q
Quality Score
Quality Score is a metric used by Google to determine the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.
R
ROI (Return On Investment)
ROI measures the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested.
RSS Feed
RSS feed is a technology that allows you to subscribe to websites you like to read.
S
Schema Markup
Schema markup is like a cheat sheet for search engines. It helps them understand the content on a webpage so they can display it better in search results.
Search Engine
A search engine is a software system that is designed to carry out web searches.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is a set of strategies used to get a site ranking higher in search engine results.
Social Media
Social media is a term for websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.
Spam
Spam involves contacting people with unwanted content or requests.
T
Tag Manager
A tag manager is a tool that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (code snippets or tracking pixels) on your website or mobile app without having to modify the code.
Tags
Tags are like labels for content on a website. They help organise information and make it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for. For example, a blog post might be tagged with words like “recipes”, “vegan”, or “desserts” to show what the post is about.
Target Audience
Your target audience is the specific group of people you want to reach with your marketing messages. They are the people who are most likely to buy your products or services, and they are united by some common characteristics, like demographics and behaviours.
Taxonomy
In the context of web development and digital marketing, taxonomy involves the classification of things, or the principles underlying such a classification. Basically, it’s all about organising content in a way that makes sense.
Template
A template is like a pre-designed layout used to make new pages or documents. It provides a basic structure where you can fill in your own text and images. For example, many websites use templates to ensure every page has the same design.
Thumbnails
Thumbnails are small preview images used to give users a quick snapshot of a video or larger image. They’re like tiny versions of bigger pictures.
Time On Page
Time on page refers to the amount of time a visitor spends on one webpage before they click away to a different page. It’s a metric commonly used in web analytics because it can help website owners understand if visitors are engaging with their content.
Title Tag
The title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. Title tags are displayed on search engine results pages as the clickable headline for a given result, and are important for usability, SEO, and social sharing.
TLD (Top-Level Domain)
A TLD is the last part of a domain name. For example, in “www.example.com“, “.com” is the TLD. There are many different TLDs available, including “.org”, “.net”, “.gov”, and more.
Tracking Code
A tracking code is a snippet of code added to a website to track the behaviour of visitors. It’s like a digital detective that watches what visitors do on a site. This information can then be used to analyse and improve the website’s performance.
Traffic
Traffic refers to the number of people who visit a website. If a website were a physical store, traffic would be the number of people who walk through the door.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security process where users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. This process is done to better protect both the user’s credentials and the resources the user can access.
Typography
Typography is the art of arranging text in a readable and appealing way. It covers everything from font selection to text size, colour, line length, and spacing.
U
UGC (User Generated Content)
UGC is any kind of content (like photos, videos, reviews, etc.) that’s created by users (not businesses or publishers) on online platforms.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
URL is the address of a World Wide Web page.
V
Viral Content
Viral content is material, such as an article, an image or a video that spreads rapidly online through website links and social sharing.
W
Web Hosting
Web hosting refers to the business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for one or more websites.
White Space
In web design, white space isn’t always ‘white’. It’s any unmarked space in a design, like margins, padding, or the space between columns, lines of text, or images.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosted version of WordPress, which means that your website will be powered by WordPress but hosted by the company’s servers.
WordPress.com, while offering the convenience of hosting, tends to be less customisable compared to its self-hosted counterpart, WordPress.org. The platform restricts certain functionalities and doesn’t allow the use of custom themes or plugins, limiting users in their ability to fully personalise their sites. While it’s an excellent choice for beginners and casual bloggers, those seeking extensive customisation capabilities often prefer the flexibility of WordPress.org.
WordPress.org
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system based on PHP and MySQL. It’s a popular platform for creating websites, blogs, and applications. WordPress was initially released in 2003 and since then, it has grown to become the most widely used Content Management System (CMS) in the world.
As of date, WordPress powers approximately 41% of all websites on the internet. This impressive statistic attests to its popularity as a flexible, user-friendly platform, capable of accommodating a wide range of styles, from simple blogs to comprehensive e-commerce sites.
X
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
XML is a language that’s used to store and organise data in a way that both humans and computers can understand. It’s like a digital filing system for your information.
Y
Yield
In digital marketing, yield refers to the percentage of clicks (or other desired actions) relative to the number of impressions (views) an advertisement receives. It helps marketers understand how effective their ads are.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO is a popular plugin for WordPress websites that helps you with your website optimization. With it, you can get more visitors from Google, Bing and social media because it helps you improve your website with tips for writing better content and fully optimizing your site.
Z
Z-Index
In web design, the z-index property in CSS controls the vertical stacking order of elements that overlap. With it, you can control which elements are in front and which are in the back, similar to how you might stack blocks.
Zip File
A zip file is a compressed file. Web developers often use zip files to bundle several files together into one, making it easier to share and download them.
#
303 Redirect
A 301 redirect is like a change of address notice for your website. If you move a page from one URL to another, you can use a 301 redirect to automatically send visitors and search engines to the new URL.
404 Error
A 404 error is what you see when you try to go to a webpage that doesn’t exist. It’s like turning up to a friend’s house, only to find they’ve moved without telling you where.
