Short answer: web designers use a lot of jargon, and most of it describes simple ideas. This glossary explains the 40 terms business owners hear most, in plain English, with why each one matters to you. If something on a quote or in a meeting doesn't make sense, look it up here, then ask the person using it to explain. A good provider will.

We've kept each definition short. Where we've written more about a term, there's a link to the full guide.

Jump to a letter

0–9 · A · B · C · D · G · H · I · K · L · M · P · R · S · T · U · W

0–9

301 redirect
A permanent pointer from an old web address to a new one. It sends visitors and Google to the right page, and passes on most of the old page's standing in search. Read more →

A

AEO (answer engine optimisation)
Making your website easy for AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to read, trust and recommend. Much of it overlaps with good SEO: clear pages, structured data and real proof. Read more →
AI Overviews
The AI-written summaries Google shows above its normal results for some searches. They answer the question directly, which can mean fewer clicks to websites. Read more →
Alt text
A short written description of an image, read out by screen readers and used by search engines. Every meaningful image on a site should have one. Read more →
Analytics
Software that counts who visits your site, where they came from and what they did. Google Analytics is the most common.

B

A link to your site from someone else's. Links from relevant, trusted sites help your rankings. Paid or spammy ones can hurt them.

C

Call to action (CTA)
The thing you want a visitor to do next, like "Call now" or "Get a quote", usually a button. Every page should have one obvious one. Read more →
Canonical tag
A line of code telling Google which version of a page is the main one, when the same content can be reached at more than one address.
CDN (content delivery network)
A network of servers around the world that keeps copies of your site, so it loads quickly wherever the visitor is.
CMS (content management system)
The software you log into to edit a website, like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or Webflow. Read more →
Conversion rate
The share of visitors who do what you wanted, such as calling or filling in a form. If 100 people visit and 3 get in touch, that's 3%. Read more →
Core Web Vitals
Google's measures of how fast and stable a page feels to use: how quickly the main content loads, how quickly it responds, and whether things jump around while loading. Read more →
Crawler
A program that visits web pages to read them, like Googlebot for Google search, or the bots AI companies use.

D

DNS (domain name system)
The settings that say where your domain points: which server shows your website, and which service receives your email. Read more →
Domain name
Your web address, like yourbusiness.co.uk. You register it for a year or more at a time through a registrar, and it should always be in your name. Read more →

G

Google Business Profile
Your free listing on Google Search and Maps, with your reviews, opening hours, photos and phone number. For local businesses it's often seen before the website. Read more →
Google Search Console
Google's free tool that shows which searches your site appears for, how many clicks it gets, and any problems Google finds.

H

Hosting
The computer your website's files live on, and the service that keeps it online. Read more →
HTTPS and SSL
The encryption that puts a padlock in the browser bar. Without it, browsers warn visitors your site is "Not secure". Basic certificates are free. Read more →

I

Indexing
Google adding a page to its records so it can appear in search. A page that isn't indexed can't be found, however good it is.

K

Keyword
The words people type into a search engine. Good pages are written around the words your customers actually use, not industry jargon.

L

Landing page
A page built for one specific purpose, often for an advert or campaign, with one clear call to action. Read more →
llms.txt
A plain text file some sites publish to give AI tools a tidy summary of what's on the site. It's cheap to add, but it isn't a magic switch. Read more →
Local pack (map pack)
The block of three businesses with a map that Google shows for local searches like "plumber near me". Getting into it depends heavily on your Google Business Profile and reviews. Read more →

M

Meta description
The short summary under your page title in Google results. It doesn't directly affect rankings, but a good one gets more clicks.
MX record
The DNS setting that tells the internet where to deliver your email. If it's lost during a website move, email stops arriving. Read more →

P

Page builder
A drag-and-drop editing tool, like Elementor or Divi, used on top of WordPress. Easy to use, but often slows sites down. Read more →
Plugin
An add-on that gives WordPress extra features. Useful, but each one needs updating, and out-of-date plugins are the most common way WordPress sites get hacked. Read more →

R

Registrar
The company you register your domain through, like 123 Reg, IONOS or Cloudflare. You should be able to log into it yourself. Read more →
Responsive design
A website that rearranges itself to fit any screen, from a phone to a desktop. Every modern site should be.
robots.txt
A small file that tells search engine and AI crawlers which parts of a site they may and may not visit.

S

Schema markup (structured data)
Extra code that describes your business to search engines and AI tools in a format they understand: your services, area, reviews and opening hours. Read more →
SEO (search engine optimisation)
Everything that helps your site appear in search results for the things your customers search for: good pages, sound technical setup, and trust from links and reviews. Read more →
Sitemap
A file listing the pages on your site, usually at /sitemap.xml, so search engines can find them all.
Static site
A website made of ready-built pages rather than one assembled by a database each time someone visits. Usually faster, cheaper to host and harder to hack. Read more →

T

Title tag
The page title shown in Google results and the browser tab. One of the most important things on a page for search.

U

UX (user experience)
How easy and pleasant a website is to use, from finding information to getting in touch.

W

WCAG
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the international standard for making websites usable by disabled people. Level AA is the usual target. Read more →
Website builder
A subscription platform like Wix or Squarespace where you build and host a site yourself from templates. Quick to start, but the site can't usually be moved elsewhere. Read more →
WordPress
The most widely used website software in the world. Free to use, but it needs hosting, updates and security looking after. Read more →

Still stuck?

If a quote or proposal uses a term that isn't here, or the explanation you were given doesn't add up, book a free 15-minute call and we'll translate it for you, whoever wrote it. Or start with our guide to domains, hosting and email, which covers the parts people find most confusing.

Keep reading: Website launch checklist: what to check before you go live · How we do local SEO · How we get local businesses found in AI search