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Become a cookies monster: Your free web tech-jargon glossary

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Become a cookies monster: Your free web tech-jargon glossary

Find yourself nodding in web design and development conversations without understanding the lingo?

It’s ok. We’ve all been there. Keep our handy web-tech jargon glossary close to hand and nod confidently in future conversations!

 

Web Glossary

 

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)  

The standard markup language used to create web pages, defining the structure and content of a webpage.

 

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)  

Techniques and strategies employed to increase a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results, thereby driving organic traffic.

 

Alt Text  

Descriptive text added to an image tag in HTML to provide information about the image for accessibility purposes.

 

API (Application Programming Interface)  

A set of rules and protocols allowing different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. Web APIs are commonly used to integrate external services and access data.

 

Analytics  

Tools (such as Google Analytics, Matomo, Fathom for example) and metrics used to track, measure and analyse website traffic and user behaviour, providing insights for optimising performance and user experience.

 

Assets  

Includes images, videos, digital documents, audible content, animations and videos stored in applications or online.

 

Backend  

The side of a website or application responsible for processing requests, managing data, and performing other administrative operations. This aspect is for site admins and is kept well away from visitors.

 

Graphic representing Content Delivery Network

CDN (Content Delivery Network)  

A group of worldwide servers that keep a copy of your website and distribute it to the visitors to the website nearest to them, making loading time faster and able to handle high traffic better.

 

CMS (Content Management System)  

An application to modify and manage website and application content, allowing contributors to create, edit and publish.

 

Content  

Everything that appears on a website, including copy, pictures, video, products and audio. Content gives a website personality and individuality, helping to differentiate your website from others.

 

Content block  

Groups of layout containers created for the purpose of building web pages. They can contain text, images, video or animations and are designed to provide different layouts for numerous purposes.

 

Cookie  

A small piece of data stored on a user’s device by a website to track user preferences, authentication, and other purposes.

 

Copy  

Effective copy communicates who you are and details the products or services you offer in a compelling manner. Creative use of words, phrases and sentences should entice, engage, and encourage some form of set action, such as clicking through, signing up, making a purchase, or interacting with your site.

 

DNS (Domain Name System)  

The phonebook of the internet. It converts alphabetic names into numeric IP addresses which browsers use to load internet pages. DNS servers make it possible for people to input normal words into their browsers, such as alivewithideas.com, without having to keep track of the IP address for every website.

 

Frontend  

The client-side portion of a website or application that users interact with directly, including the content, layout, design, and interactive elements.

 

FTP (File Transfer Protocol)  

A way to download, upload, and transfer files from one location to another on the Internet and between computer systems.

 

Graphic representing Functionality

Functionality  

Features put in place to improve the user’s experience, aid navigation, support finding relevant content, make effective purchases and generally improve the site’s experience. Functionality also applies to the ease of use for those using the backend of a website.

 

Grid System  

A framework used to align and organise content on a web page into columns and rows.

 

Hosting  

Is where the files of your website are stored. A hosting provider allocates space on a web server (or an entire server) for a website or app to store its files (code, images, etc.) for viewing online in a chosen URL. Providers are selected based on the required specifications, such as size, volume of traffic, complexity, security etc…

 

IP (Internet Protocol) Address  

Every device connected to the internet has its own unique identifying number (IP), which is used by other devices to locate the device. An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1.

 

JavaScript  

A programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers, enhancing the functionality of web pages.

 

Meta Tags  

HTML tags that provide metadata about a web page, such as its title, description and keywords.

 

Page templates  

A website page template lets content producers generate custom pages based on an agreed layout or design. Page templates can support various forms of content, providing a structure and appearance to work within.

 

Responsive design  

An approach to web design that makes web pages easy to view on a variety of devices and window or screen sizes, from minimum to maximum display size, to ensure a positive user experience.

 

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)  

Used to establish encrypted links between a web server and a browser, ensuring secure data transmission, commonly indicated by “https://” in URLs.

 

Graphic representing Sitemap

Sitemap  

A file that provides search engines, like Google, information about the pages, videos, content on the site, links and where they sit. Often also created in the design process to agree the structure of the site and the interconnectivity of pages and content.

 

System integrations  

Creating and building a website architecture that allows certain platforms, software or features from a third party to be used on your site.

 

Test site  

As the name suggests, the test site allows you to see, test and tweak your site without any visibility from your audience. A safe way to test the changes required to your live site, before publishing for the world to see.

 

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)  

A unique identifier used to locate a resource on the Internet. It is also referred to as the web address.

 

UI (User Interface)  

Visual elements and design of a website or application through which users interact, including buttons, forms, menus and other interactive components.

 

UX (User Experience)  

A user’s overall experience when interacting with a website, including ease of use, accessibility and satisfaction.

 

Web accessibility  

The practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful and usable for as many people as possible.

 

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)  

An internationally recognised set of recommendations for improving web accessibility for people with disabilities.

 

Wireframes  

A framework or skeleton of a website that shows its components and functionality. They are created early in the design process to agree on the structure of the site and pages.

 

Get in touch: 

Need further insight or expertise? Reach our team of experts at hello@alivewithideas.com.

Learn more about our web services and view examples of websites we have created at alivewithideas.com/websites

 

“I feel like they own and care for the project as much as we do! I would not use anyone else for my creative work and think Alive is ahead of the game.”

Jo Hobbs — Communications Manager

“Thanks for all your help. We are delighted with the campaign, both in terms of the creativity and messaging but also the thought taken over the rollout of the materials. All looks absolutely fabulous!”

Sarah Crowdy — Campaign and Media Officer Communications, South East Water

“We went to ‘Alive’ for ideas on how to run a specific employee program in Europe. Alan and his team were brilliant in coming up with fresh, creative and practical approaches. The team took charge and executed brilliantly. We are pleased with the progress made so far and hope to have the same level of partnership and commitment going forward.”

Sobha Varghese — Tata Consultancy Services

“Alive helped us create a video of our response to the floods of winter 2019. Our Chief Officer received messages from all round the country praising us for it and was really pleased with both the video and the response to it.”

Alexander Mills, Communications Manager — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“We had the privilege to work with the Alive team. It was our first time to be involved in creating an animation for our patients within paediatrics. The team were approachable, friendly, creative and very accommodating. Your vision for what you want to create, is at all times acknowledged, appreciated and accommodated by the team. They worked effectively and with great passion towards our project and worked not only alongside health professionals but also our patients who really enjoyed the experience of working with the Alive team. It has given our team the confidence and inspiration to do further projects in the future. We highly recommend Alive and their exceptional team.”

DR ELENI ATHANASAKOS, Lead Paediatric Clinical Scientist — NHS Barts Health

“‘The short animation developed in co-production with clinicians and young people is outstanding! Informative, developmentally appropriate, vitally fun and engaging. We are really grateful for the expertise of the Alive with Ideas team for their innovative approach in building children’s health literacy.'”

Kath Evans — Director of Children’s Nursing at Barts Health

“Our mission was to update our brand visuals to better reflect our innovative and forward-thinking organisation. After receiving numerous pitches from different branding agencies, Alive stood out with their clear passion and understanding of our identity and goals. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Alive Team to create an engaging new brand that we are immensely proud of.”

Lianne Springer — Communications and Engagement Lead

“Alive wowed us during the pitch process and they didn’t stop wowing us throughout the whole project. Every person we worked with at Alive were so friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about what they do. They have worked with us to really understand what we do and have created a new brand and website that really stands out from our competitors. Thank you!”

Louise Burnard, Head of Marketing and Communications UK — Be | Shaping the Future

“I think the team have done such a brilliant job, particularly with responding to our requests. It's one of the best mental health videos I've ever seen. Very proud to be associated with your exemplary work. Thank you so much.”

Dr Anna Batho — Clinical Psychologist – Critical Care, UCLH

“We have worked with Alan, Caroline and the wider Alive With Ideas team for many years. In that time, they have provided a dedicated service that is second to none. We appreciate their attention to detail and creative approach to bringing our brand, communications and stories to life. And would recommend them to anyone looking for creative communications support.”

Georgia Beech — Internal Communications Specialist, Ocado Group

“This is brilliant. I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to all of the team who worked on this. You all understood exactly what we wanted to communicate and why, and then managed to do it in a way that was far better than anything I could have imagined. I’m a bit choked up to be honest!”

Sarah Wright, Head of Communications and Campaigns — NEA

“Each time I work with the team, I am always stunned at the effort and creativity that goes into each detail and am always eager for the end result. The team is extremely accommodating and always provide a fresh approach to our projects that elevates our communications materials!”

Alana Khaytin, Communications Specialist — Braskem America

“What I really appreciate about Alive is that they work with us as partners, and care as much about getting it right for our patients as we do.”

Sara Langston, Patient Engagement & Marketing Manager — italk

“Alive are unique in how much they deeply listen and invest in you and your ideas. I have not come across a company that listens as much as they do to ensure your needs are understood and met (actually - they always exceed my needs and expectations). Everyone I recommend Alive to has an equally brilliant experience. When you work with Alive, you are not only getting some genius creativity brought into your life, you are also hanging out with some of the best examples of human beings I’ve ever known.”

Steph Tranter, Hybrid Exec Coach & Psychologist — StephTranter.com

“The (Alive) team were able to creatively pull together and document (in just over 2minutes) everything our service has achieved over the last few months, from thousands of prescriptions deliveries to hundreds of phone calls made to the vulnerable. The final product was so powerful and reflective of what our service has and continues to achieve. It couldn’t have been better received within the service – thanks Alive for once again helping us to communicate our vision!’”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire & Rescue

“We worked with the team at Alive to create our staff recognition video.
At a time like this, its never been more important to share the amazing work that our staff have done and continue to do on a daily basis under very difficult circumstances. We wanted to shout about this and recognise that when the time came, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue stepped up to the plate. We didn’t want an ordinary thank you post on social media or a basic email sent out internally, we wanted something special. Enter Alive. ”

Emma Wright — South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue

“Our company is fun, we have great brands, but most importantly we’re all about our people – and I wanted an agency who would understand that and help us bring it to life through our website and other comms. Straight away I felt that Alive ‘got’ us and provided the creative inspiration exactly where we needed it, as well as the technical expertise to deliver a well-functioning website.”

Keren McCarron, Head of Corporate Affairs & Communications — KP Snacks

“Boom!
Thank you so much. Incredible work done at incredible speed by incredible people.
Outstanding work as ever and what a turnaround. As for the concepts – wow. These are that good it would be an insult to describe them as just good. It’s a joke, quite frankly. This is exactly the Alive effect I was after. Right now I feel like I am living in an Alive With Ideas wonderland. Thank you!”

Jack Grasby, Campaigns Manager — SYFR

“If you are looking to improve creativity and build teamwork, I highly recommend a session like this for your team. No matter where you are in your creativity journey, a workshop like this can give your team a boost of energy and ideas to invigorate their creative thinking.”

Amy Lilja, IC Manager — Hennepin Healthcare

“Alive were there to help when we were working every hour to respond to the coronavirus outbreak. They gave us the creativity, ideas and support we needed to deliver campaigns which empowered our residents in the most difficult time most of us have ever seen, personally and professionally. The team understood what we needed, worked closely with us and delivered fast without any compromise on quality. Working with Alive has been a joy in the darkest of times and I have no doubt will have helped to save lives. Thanks team x”

Julie Odams, Assistant Director of Communications & Customers — Derbyshire County Council

“We got 'Alive' involved to help us shift mindsets across our organisation and they delivered! Using simple, clear and creative ideas the team have delivered us a campaign which has seen a dramatic increase in idea sharing and development. They’ve also played a significant role in creating a culture of shared success. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with again, in fact, we already are!”

Gavin Buckle — B&Q
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