Helpful Web Design Definitions

Website Design Definitions

Some of the basics.

Anchor Text

The text that a link uses. It can be used to your advantage in attracting search engines or not.

Backend

The part of a website that is not seen by regular website visitors.  It contains the files/files structure and applications that run the website.  Oftentimes in content management systems the backend has a “Dashboard” that helps you administer the website.

Backlink

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Backlinks indicate that people find your content interesting and/or important.  Many backlinks from reputable high-ranking websites will increase your page ranking.

Below the Fold

A carryover from the old newspaper days referring to the bottom half of the paper.  Now it refers to the content that you need to scroll down to see. Important information should appear above the fold and information below the fold ideally supports the important information above the fold.  Lately because of the sizes of all sorts of devices used to view your website, the fold is a moving target! .

Bounce Rate

A bounce is defined as someone who enters and exits on the same page without clicking on any other pages.  The bounce rate is the percentage of people who do this.  It could indicate poor content or poor navigation.

Content Management System

A backend tool that is used for managing a site’s content, usually making it easy for users to update their own computer, creating pages, posts, uploading images, etc.

Domain Name

Every website on the internet has a unique name that you can use to find it. That name is called a domain name, and it looks something like this: www.example.com. A domain name has two or more parts that are separated by dots. The last part is called the top-level domain (TLD), and it tells you what kind of website it is. For example, .com means it’s a commercial website, .org means it’s an organization, .edu means it’s an education website, and so on. The first part is called the second-level domain (SLD), and it’s usually chosen by the person who owns the website to show their brand or identity. For example, example is the SLD of www.example.com.

DNS

DNS stands for Domain Name Service.  The address of your webserver is a number—the IP address.  The Domain Name Service links the IP address number to your domain name so that when someone types in your domain name into their browser the domain name is translated into the IP address and the browser is pointed to your website. 

Domain Name:  A domain name is your web address. It begins with www. Pick a good domain name.  Make it short, memorable and simple

E-Commerce

The buying and selling of products online, either physical products or digital products.

Favicon

Small icons that are displayed in the web address bars in most browsers next to the web address.

Focal Point

Where the eye is drawn on a website.  Make the focal point the most important part of your site.

Fold

See Below the Fold.  The fold rests at the bottom of someone’s browser.  There are many opinions on how important the fold is in web design.

Front-End

What the website visitor sees—the pages, image and content. It is referred to as the User Interface.

HTTP

Stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. It is the set of rules for transferring hypertext requests between a web browser and a web server.

HTTPS

HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) is a set of rules for transferring hypertext requests over a secure, encrypted connection, a must for E-Commerce and recently essential for all websites.

Hyperlink

A hyperlink is a link from one web page to another, either on the same site or another one.

Hypertext

Computer-based text that includes hyperlinks.

Landing Page

A landing page is the page where a visitor first enters a website. Special landing pages are created for a visitor to land on in advertising or marketing campaigns.

Link Farm

A website or a network of websites that provide backlinks so that a website can increase its page ranking. These are usually detected by search engines and sites linking to and from them are penalized.

Lorem Ipsum

Scrambled Latin text, used as a placeholder in web design until actual content can be placed.

Mockup

An exact replica (or blue print) of what the website page will look like.  It is usually on a PDF file and is a flat image, meaning the links are not “clickable.”  It is created to make design decision before going on to code the website.

Mood Board

The early part of the design process.  A mood board is a collage of images, texts and samples of objects that suggest a design direction.

Navigation

Links that allow a website visitor to move around the website pages.  Navigation includes menus, links, breadcrumbs, etc.

Open Source

This refers to computer programs and software that is made available to the general public for free or low cost, oftentimes developed by volunteers.

Permalink

The permanent web address for a blog post.

Plug-In

A third party piece of code that extends the capabilities of a website, often used in conjunction with a content management system or blogging platform.

Really Simple Syndication

RSS also allows visitors to subscribe to a blog or other site and receive updates via a feed reader.

SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the process of making a website appear higher in a search engine (Google, Bing, etc.). SEO helps a website get more visibility in a search engine result page (SERP), which means more “free” or “organic” traffic

SERP

When you search for something on Google, Bing, or Yahoo, you get a web page with a bunch of results. That’s called a SERP, which stands for Search Engine Results Page. Some of the results are organic, which means they are the best ones that the search engine found for you. Some of the results are paid, which means they are ads that someone paid the search engine to show you. The SERP can also have other things like pictures, maps, definitions, answer boxes, or suggestions to help you find what you’re looking for.

Template

A master page used to create a consistent design across a website.

URL

The address of a website. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator.

Usability

Usability indicates how easy it is for a visitor to use your website for its intended use.

Wireframe

Simple line drawings that give a barebones representation of a website.  Typically, a wireframe consists of navigation, logo, location of header, footer, sidebars, place holders for images and content, a site map that shows how the different pages relate to one another, a simple workflow for interactive elements.

WYSIWYG

Do you know what WYSIWYG means? It stands for “what you see is what you get”. It’s a type of website builder that lets you edit your site in a way that looks almost exactly like how it will look online. It’s like painting on a canvas, but the canvas is your website.