Many companies expect to redesign a website in the near future. Many marketers and company managers, however, feel that they hear a foreign language when website designers and developers meet them.
If you are considering a redesign of a website, you may not be familiar with a number of terms used by designers and developers. I hope this article will help you feel more ready when you start meeting prospective agencies for your next major redesign project.
Web Terms Marketers Need to know
Redirect 301 from one URL to another, usually from your old website to the new website. E.g.. “website.com / about-us ” directs visitors to the new website to ” website.com/our company. ”
404 –A user’s error page when trying to reach an inexistent page on your website. This is usually caused by a visitor typing the URL or trying to access a page that was removed from the site. An effective 404 error page should tell why the page is not available and what users can do next.
Accessibility–accessibility to the website is about making the website accessible to disabled people. All websites developed should follow the guidelines laid down in the American Disability Act.
ALT tag–Alternate descriptive text displayed in the placeholder of the image during loading of the page. ALT text plays a role in optimizing the ADA compliance website, helping with the SEO ranking and web accessibility in general.
Breakpoints– The points where the content of a website is adjusted to accommodate different screen sizes to give the user the best possible layout for viewing content. Breakpoints are often defined in responsive design (see term below) by common device widths such as smartphones, tablets and desktops over 1024px.
Caching–A cache is a temporary data storage mechanism that helps with the speed of the site by storing relevant information on your computer when you first visit a site so that your computer does not have to reload that information every time you access the site.
Call for action (CTA)–Specific text, image, banner or button that uses a website visitor’s action – oriented language. CTAs are designed to move a visitor from one page to the next and persuade them to take the predetermined action that is expected. P.g. Download a Webinar Whitepaper, Contact Us, Learn more, etc.).
Cookies – A small text file containing an anonymous unique identifier and visiting information sent from a website to a browser and stored on a visitor’s hard drive. These data can provide information on who visits the website, how often, what parts of the site they visit and their preferences.
Content Management System (CMS)–a software system that controls your website’s content. This allows you to log in to your website’s “backend “to edit text and images. Word Press and Drupal are some examples. A CMS is designed to simplify website content publishing without the need for technical code knowledge.
DNS–Domain Name Servers (DNS) are like a phone book internet version that controls the website and email settings of your domain name. When a user visits your website address, the DNS configuration controls the server to which they point.
Hosting–Web servers that store serve and maintain your web site files. A web server is a computer running a web server software connected to the Internet that enables visitors to access a website via a web browser or mobile device connected to the Internet.
HTTPS–Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a secure version of HTTP, the primary data transmission protocol between a web browser and a website. HTTPS typically uses a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to encrypt all your browser and website communications for added security.
Information Architecture (IA)–Content information blueprint and website navigation. It typically includes a website map, wireframes for each page and all necessary navigation notes, content and features on the site. Meta tags store web page information like description, author, copyright etc. Search engines categorize websites using this information and display information on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Page speed– Measurement of how long it takes to load all the content on a particular web page is page speed.
Template Page – A unique layout of a website page(s), A website has an average of 8 – 10 page templates. For example, a website’s homepage and contact page look different and contain various elements, so they are two different page templates.
Propagation –DNS propagation is a term used to describe the time needed to change the DNS settings of your domain. It can take 24 – 48 hours for ISP (Internet service provider) nodes around the world to update their caches to your domain’s updated DNS information. If you launch a new website on a different web server, some visitors may still be on your old server (website) for a while, while others may see the new website soon after the change.
Responsive design– Website that adjusts to the display on the desktop, mobile or smartphone is said to be responsive design. Media queries are used to determine the resolution of the device displayed on the website. Flexible images, fluid grids and the menu on the site are then adjusted to fit the monitor.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)–Help search engines understand the information on your website so that organic search results are rated higher. This means that you have title tags, Meta descriptions and ALT tags for your website images.
SERP–Results of search engine booths. These are the pages used by users when searching for a search term in a search engine like Google.
Sitemap– A document showing a hierarchical blueprint of the pages and content of the website is sitemap. This is usually one of the first steps in the redesign of a website, since it is important to know what content is needed on a website before the design. A website map can also be a web page that provides links to all website pages.
SSL Certificate–SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security protocol necessary to establish encrypted web browser and website communication. When a website is secured with a SSL certificate, HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) appears in the URL. The certificate details can be viewed by clicking on the lock symbol next to the URL in the browser bar.
User Experience (UX)–User interaction to an interface. From a planning point of view, the user experience is typically defined in wireframes, but every aspect of the web design and development process –from wire framing to copywriting to design and programming –affects the user experience.
Wireframe– A visual guide to display web page content without any design elements is wireframe. It suggests a page structure with no graphics or text. This helps to focus on content layout and hierarchy without distraction from design.
WYSIWYG– stands for “What You See Is What You Get.” It is the CMS interface that automatically applies text and graphics styles and allows the user to see what the content looks like. This enables marketers to edit content without coding knowledge on their website.