Web Glossary

Web terms explained in plain English

A

Alt Text

Alternative text that describes an image for screen readers and search engines.

API

Application Programming Interface - a set of rules that allows different software applications to communicate with each other.

B

Backlinks

Links from other websites that point to your website, also called inbound links.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.

C

Canonical URL

The preferred version of a webpage when duplicate or similar versions exist.

CDN

Content Delivery Network - a network of servers distributed globally that delivers web content to users based on their location.

CMS

Content Management System - software that helps you create, manage, and modify website content without coding.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on your website.

Core Web Vitals

A set of Google metrics measuring user experience: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.

CTA

Call to Action - a prompt that encourages users to take a specific action.

D

DNS

Domain Name System - the internet's phonebook that translates domain names to IP addresses.

E

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness - Google's quality guidelines for content evaluation.

K

Keywords

Words and phrases that people type into search engines to find content.

M

Meta Tags

HTML tags that provide information about a web page to search engines and browsers.

O

Organic Traffic

Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results.

R

Responsive Design

Web design approach where layouts automatically adjust to fit different screen sizes and devices.

S

Schema Markup

Structured data code that helps search engines understand and display your content in rich results.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization - the practice of improving a website to increase visibility in search engine results.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page - the page displayed by search engines in response to a query.

Sitemap

A file that lists all the pages on a website to help search engines discover and index content.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer - a security protocol that encrypts data transmitted between a website and its visitors.

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