Web Development Glossary

When completely new to web development, many people get stuck on the various terms web developers use. I created a small guide of a handy glossary to refer to that will give people a broader idea of the terms used and what they mean. Having a glossary to refer to will assist in helpful knowledge to have for building your first website whether it is a DIY job, or you hire a web developer to build your site for you.

Branding

Imagine it as the process through which a brand comes to life, embodying everything from the logo and design to the voice used in communications. To be more specific, it comes down to your logo, colors, fonts and the language you use to get your message across to your audience. Consistency is key here.

Copy Editing

Copy editing (also known as manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ("copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style and accuracy. More specifically, website copy editing is about ensuring your message is clear, consistent, and in alignment with your brand and message.

Domain Name

To have a personal domain name for your website, you will need to purchase your domain name. There is always an option to name your website without purchasing a domain name but if you are serious about your business, I do recommend purchasing a domain name. Your domain name should reflect the name of your business and is the identity of your website.

E-Commerce

A type of website where consumers can purchase your products through your website.

Hosting Provider

A hosting provider provides storage space on its servers. When you have saved your files and data from your website on a particular server, you have made this storage space your web hosting. Without a hosting provider it is not possible to develop a website. See your hosting provider as a back up of all the content on your website. Your hosting provider is also responsible for issues like your website going down among other things.

From scratch

It means to create a completely new website, without any previous base, not even an old website. If you do have an old website that has not been used for quite some time, most web developers would want to create a new website from scratch because often the old website does not reflect or align with a new business and the software used at the time the old website was created may be outdated. There are many variables to consider but these are some of the main reasons.

Responsive

Also known as ("seamless") it is a website design that responds/adapts on different devices such as tablets, smartphones, and laptops. This improves the user experience, additionally avoiding the use of horizontal scrolling, or having to zoom in/out. Having a responsive website is helpful to maintain a certain visual comfort and a user-friendly experience.

SEO

It stands for search engine optimization. This is a set of techniques that are implemented to facilitate the reading of your web page by indexing robots, so that it can appear among results in search engine. SEO is created by using targeted words that people look for when doing a search through specific search engines like google. It involves using specific and targeted words that reflect a page you want people to find through search engines.

URL

A URL is also known as a web address. Your URL's are an easy and identifiable way to share specific pages of your website and to determine what the page actually is. For example, an about page would be www. yourwebsitedomain.com/about. This would be your URL.

User Experience

How users describe feeling while navigating your website. A user-friendly experience is what most web developers would keep in mind when building a website. If you would like to be notified via email when I publish new blog posts, please subscribe to the mailing list below. Thank you.