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Global Reach

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Web Industry Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

A

ALT attribute:

The text used to explain to the user what the image is about while the page is still loading.  Alt text is used on a website for SEO, ADA compliance, and overall web accessibility.  This text is also read out loud to a user if they are using screen reader technology and cannot view the image. 

B

Breakpoints:

Points in a website’s content that will “auto-adjust” to the best layout for the user.  These points are usually associated with mobile or tablet accessibility.  For example, a “mobile breakpoint”, is the width of the website on a mobile phone.  

C

Call to Action (CTA):

Text, image, banner, or a button that encourages the user to complete an action.

Content Management System (CMS):

Software that is used to regulate the content on a user’s website.  Some examples are WordPress and Drupal.  A CMS is used to simplify the publication of content without the knowledge of HTML or uploading files.  Global Reach has our own content management system called SiteViz.  

Conversion:

When a user acts on marketing and lead generation.  For example, completing a web form, request for information, or subscribing to a newsletter.  

Cookies:

A small text file that contains an anonymous unique identifier and call data that is sent to a browser from a website and saved on a user’s computer.  This data can be used to provide information on who visits the website, how many times they visit, and what they are utilizing the most. 

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets:

The code used by developers to designate how a web page should be seen by a user.  This is also used to format the website, style fonts, colors, pictures, and more. 

D

DNS (Domain Name Server):

Maintain a directory of domain names and translate them to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

Domain:

The name of the website that people type into a browser to visit. For example, GlobalReach.com.  

E

Email Client:

is a desktop application that enables configuring of one or more email addresses to receive, read, compose, and send emails from that email address(s) through the desktop interface.

F

Favicon:

A small icon image that is associated with a specific website.  Most of the time this is a company’s logo shown in the website’s tab at the top of the browser and in bookmarks.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol):

is a standard network protocol used for the transfer of computer files between a client and a server on a computer network.

H

Hard Refresh:

To complete a hard refresh press the 'ctrl' key and 'F5' key at the same time.  This will clear the browser's cache for the page you are on.  

Hosting:

The service of storing a website’s data on web servers.  

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language):

Language used to produce web pages and display content such as text, images, video, and links on the web.  This refers to the markup language that is used to build web pages.  

I

Information Architecture (IA):

The information design, organization of content, and navigation of a website.  

IP (Internet Protocol) Address:

A unique string of numbers, separated by periods, that identifies each computer using the Internet Protocol to communicate over a network.

M

Meta Tag:

An HTML tag that stores data about a web page.  For example, description, author, copyright, and more.  It is used to provide information about a website and its content. 

N

Navigation:

The navigation elements that are shown on a website.  For example, the “menu bar” which is usually at the top, along the side, or at the bottom of the page. 

Not Found page:

A 'Not Found' page, or 404 page, is a page that the user will see if they try to go to a page that has been deleted, no longer exists, or the user mistyped the URL. Usually, the 404 pages will say why the error occurred.  

P

Page template:

The distinctive page layout for a website, specifically websites that are built with content management systems.  

R

Redirect:

There are several types of redirects, but the one you will hear us refer to the most is a 301 redirect. This redirect is implemented to redirect users from a specific location on an old website to a new page on the new website.  It is important that we implement 301 redirects to maintain the integrity of a website’s sitemap and content structure.  301 redirects are recognized by search engines for analyzing website structure and the importance of the content provided on the website.  We often see 301 redirects implemented during the migration from an old website to a new website.  

Registrar:

The company used to register your domain name.  For example, GoDaddy and DirectNIC.  

Responsive design:

A design method for ensuring that the design responds gracefully at all breakpoints.  This means that the website design is fluid and will respond to the max width of whatever device you are accessing it from (desktop, tablet, mobile phone, etc.).  

S

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

A compilation of strategies, techniques and tactics which are employed to grow website traffic by improving a website's visibility within search engines. SEO is used in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

Site Map:

A document that shows a global, hierarchical view of a website’s pages and content.  This can also be a web page that offers links to all pages within a website. 

Slider:

A revolving banner of images that is usually on the homepage. 

U

User Experience:

The communication a user has with an interface.

W

Wireframe:

A guide to show the content of a web page without any design elements.  This advises the structure of a page without any pictures or text.  

WYSIWYG:

“What You See Is What You Get.”  This is an editing interface inside a CMS that apply styles to text and pictures and allows the user to see what the content looks like.  A CMS can be used without coding knowledge.  

Search

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