Web Terminology

No matter what task or project we take on in life, it’s always important to familiarize ourselves with the relevant language. Here are some common terms, acronyms, and phrases used by web designer & developers.

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)
Development techniques using web technologies to send & retrieve data from a server asynchronously (in the background) without the need to refresh a web page.

Back-End
Refers to anything going on behind-the-scenes of a website not shown on the front-end to the visitors.

Bandwidth
The rate of data transfer through a computer network.

Browser
A software application that is used to access/visit websites. (i.e. Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc.)

Blog
Journal of posts on the website (typically results in significant increase in traffic!)

Cache (also referred to as browser cache)
System for temporary storage of web documents to efficiently satisfy subsequent requests.

CMS (Content Management System)
A system that manages the creation & modification of web content (typically include web-based editing, publishing, and management of content).

Cookie
A small file created by a website or application, that is stored on a visitor’s computer, to track usage and preferences on the website.

Copy
Website text.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
Programming language used to control the style & presentation of web elements.

Database (DB)
A data structure that stores organized information that can be easily accessed, managed, and updated. Most commonly used databases are MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, MongoDB, Redis, MariaDB, Oracle, etc.

DNS (Domain Name System)
Translates plain language domain names into IP addresses and points accessing device in the right direction.

Domain
Unique name used to identify the location of a website on a web server.

Hosting
A service provided to save and deliver website files from a server connected to the internet.

HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language)
Standard programming language for creating web pages and web applications.

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure)
Secure version of HTTP, protocol over which data is sent between the browser and the connected website.

JS (JavaScript)
Programming language used to create interactive effects within web browsers.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor)
Widely-used (7 out of 10 websites!) open-source scripting language that is especially suited for web development to manage dynamic content, databases, session tracking, etc.

Responsive
Approach to website design that makes use of flexible layouts and used the visitor’s device screen size and orientation to change the layout accordingly.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Process of improving the ranking of a website in search engine “natural” or “organic” results.

Server
Physical computer or software program (cloud) specially configured to store and deliver information (i.e. web pages) to other computers/programs (i.e. browsers) over a network/internet.

TLD (Top Level Domain)
Refers to the last segment of a domain name (after the “dot”) that typically identifies the purpose or the type of organization associated with it. (also known as domain suffixes… i.e. .com, .net, .org, .gov, .biz, .mil, .edu, etc.)

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Specific address of a web resources (page, image, file, etc.) which may include protocol, subdomain, domain, tld, and the path to the resource.

Web Analytics
Data about the usage of a website (people, locations, browsers, etc. collected by special software such as Google Analytics)