Glossary

Websites, in plain words

Eighteen terms you meet when you build and run a website, each explained in one sentence.

18 terms

A

  • Accessibilitya11y
    Building a website so that everyone can use it, with a keyboard, a screen reader or a small screen.
  • Alt text
    A short description of a picture, read aloud to people who cannot see it and shown when it fails to load.

B

  • Backup
    A copy of your website and its data, kept somewhere else so you can restore it.

C

  • Cache
    A store of files that were already loaded, so the next visit is faster.
  • Consent bannercookie banner
    The notice that asks visitors whether optional cookies and tracking may be used.
  • Content delivery networkCDN
    Servers in many places that hand out copies of your files from the one closest to the visitor.
  • Contrast
    The difference in brightness between text and its background.
  • Cookie
    A small file a website stores in the browser to remember something, like a login or a choice.

D

  • DNSDomain Name System
    The system that turns a domain into the address of a server, like a phone book for the web.
  • Domain
    The address of your website, the name people type to find you.

F

  • Favicon
    The small icon of your website in the browser tab and in bookmarks.

H

  • Hosting
    The rented computer on which your website is stored and from which it is delivered.

P

  • Page speed
    How quickly a page appears and can be used.

R

  • Redirect301
    A rule that sends visitors and search engines from an old address to a new one.

S

  • Search engine optimizationSEO
    Everything that helps people find your website through a search engine.
  • Sitemap
    A list of all pages of a website, made for search engines.
  • SSL certificateTLS, HTTPS
    The certificate that encrypts the connection to your website, shown as a lock in the address bar.

U

  • Uptime
    The share of time your website is reachable.