Website glossary: terms you need to know

Creating or redesigning a website can be a complex task, requiring a good understanding of various technical terms. This glossary has been created to help you navigate the essential concepts you need to know to successfully complete your project.

What is a lexicon for redesigning a website?

A website redesign lexicon is a list of technical terms and concepts you need to understand to optimize and modernize your site. This guide will cover everything from site audit to performance analysis, SEO, design and more.

Definitions of key terms

Here are a few technical terms frequently used when redesigning a website:

Backend

The part of the website responsible for managing data and functionalities.

Frontend

The visible part of the website with which users interact.

CMS (Content Management System)

Software that lets you create, manage and modify the content of a website without needing coding skills. Here are some examples of popular CMS:

• Webflow
• Wordpress
• Wix
• Squarespace

Domain name

The domain name is theaddress of your website on the Internet, such as digidop.fr.

Sitemap

The sitemap is a map of your website that lists all the important pages and helps search engines index your content.

Site audit

A site audit is essential to assess your site's current performance and identify areas for improvement.

SEO analysis

SEO analysis allows you to check your site's visibility on search engines. It includes :

• Keywords: Identify the keywords for which your site should be optimized.
• Backlinks: Check the external links pointing to your site.
• Site structure: Make sure your site is well structured to facilitate indexing by search engines.

Content analysis

Content analysis involves assessing the quality and relevance of your current content.

• Content quality: Ensure that content is both informative and engaging.
• Relevance: Check that your content meets the needs of your target audience.

Performance analysis

This analysis measures the speed and efficiency of your site.

• Loading speed: Check page loading times.
• Bounce rate: Measures the percentage of visitors who leave the site after viewing a single page.

Design and ergonomics

Design and ergonomics are crucial to a good user experience.

Responsive design

A responsive design allows your site toautomatically adapt to different screen sizes, offering an optimal user experience on all devices.

UX (User Experience)

UX focuses onimproving user satisfaction by making the site easy to use.

UI (User Interface)

UI concerns the design of the interface with which users interact (buttons, menus, illustrations and all other visual elements).

Navbar

The navbar is a section generally located at the top of the page containing links to the main sections of the site.

Sidebar

The sidebar is a column on the side of a web page containing additional links, information or widgets.

Hero header

The hero header is the first section at the top of a page designed to capture visitors' attention.

Footer

The footer is the section at the bottom of the web page that often contains links to legal information, contacts and other resources.

Homepage

The homepageis the first page visitors see when they access your website.

Landing page

A landing page is a web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign.

Waterline

The waterline is the part of the web page visible without having to scroll.

Anchor

An anchor is a link that allows you to navigate to a specific section of the same page.

Breadcrumb trail

The breadcrumb trail is a secondary navigation system that indicates the user's position in the website hierarchy.

Web development

Web development involves the use of various programming languages and content management systems.

HTML

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard language used to create web pages.

CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is used to describe the appearance and formatting of an element written in HTML.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a programming language used to make web pages interactive.

No-Code

No-code refers to tools that let you create applications and websites without writing code.

Low-code

Low-code is an approach that enables applications to be developed with a minimum of manual coding, using mainly visual tools.

Web hosting

Web hosting is a service that makes your site accessible on the Internet.

DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) is like a directory for the Internet: it translates human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses that computers use to connect to each other. This simplifies web browsing by using easy-to-remember names rather than strings of numbers.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO is theset of techniques used to achieve free (natural) search enginepositioning (such as Google). It is essential for improving your site's visibility on search engines.

Complete guide to Webflow SEO

Keywords

Keywords are search terms that users type into search engines.

Headings (H1, H2, H3)

Headings are HTML tags used to structure the content of a web page and improve its SEO.

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites pointing to yours, which can improve your search engine rankings.

ALT Text

Alternative text (ALT Text) is used to describe images on a web page for search engines and screen readers.

Title tags

Title tags define the title of a web page, displayed in search engine results and at the top of browsers.

Meta Description tags

Meta description tags define the description of a web page, displayed in search engine results.

Crawler

A crawler is a robot used by search engines to index website content.

Robots.txt

The robots.txt file gives instructions to crawlers on which pages of your website they can and cannot index.

Canonical

The Canonical tag is used to indicate the preferred version of a web page to avoid duplicate content.

SERP

The SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page displayed by a search engine in response to a user query.

Digital marketing

Digital marketing includes various strategies for promoting your website.

Inbound marketing

Inbound marketing aims to attract customers by creating relevant, high-quality content.

Long tail

The long tail refers to the strategy of using less popular but more specific keywords to attract niche traffic.

Copywriting

Copywriting is the art of writing compelling, engaging texts to promote products or services.

CTA (Call to Action)

A CTA is an element on a web page that encourages visitors to perform a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter or purchasing a product.

Analysis and follow-up

Analysis and tracking are essential to measure the success of your site.

A/B Testing

A/B testing involves comparing two versions of a web page to see which performs better.

Leads

Leads are potential contacts who have shown an interest in your product or service.

Other technical terms

Here are some other useful technical terms:

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)

SSL encrypts data between the user's browser and your server, ensuring secure transmission.

Cookies

Cookies are small files stored on the user's computer to save session information and personalize the user experience.

Favicon

The favicon is a small icon associated with a website, displayed in the browser tab.

WEBP

WEBP is a modern image format that provides superior compression without loss of image quality.

Static page / Static section

Static pages don't change often and display fixed information.

Dynamic page / Dynamic section

Dynamic pages change frequently and are generated from databases based on user interaction.

Template

A template is a predefined model used to create consistent web pages.

Slug

The slug is the part of the URL that identifies a specific page on a website, usually based on the page title.

Workflow

Workflow describes the process or steps required to complete a specific task on a website.

Wireframe

A wireframe is a simplified mock-up of a web page used to plan structure and layout before final design.

FAQ

A FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) is a list of questions and answers frequently asked by users.

RSS feed

RSS feeds enable users to receive regular updates on the content of a website.

404

The 404 page is displayed when a requested page cannot be found on the server.

MVP

The MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest version of a product that can be launched to gather user feedback.