Web Glossary
Alt Text
A short written description of an image on a web page. You can't see it on screen, but search engines read it to understand what the image shows. It also helps blind or visually impaired users who use software that reads web pages aloud. Example: a photo of a dog might have the alt text "Golden retriever sitting on a garden lawn."
Analytics
Data about who is visiting your website and what they do when they get there. It tells you things like how many people visited today, which pages they looked at, how long they stayed, and where in the world they were. Google Analytics is the most widely used free tool for this. Think of it as a visitor book that fills itself in automatically.
Backlink
When another website includes a clickable link that points to your website. Google treats backlinks a bit like votes of confidence — the more websites link to you (especially well-known or trusted ones), the more Google thinks your site is worth showing to people. Getting backlinks from reputable sources is one of the most effective things you can do to improve your search ranking.
Bandwidth
The amount of data your website is allowed to send and receive each month. When someone visits your site, data travels from the server to their screen — that uses bandwidth. Most modern hosting plans include more than enough for a typical small business site, so it's rarely something you need to worry about unless your site gets a lot of traffic.
Browser
The program you use to look at websites. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge are all browsers. The browser's job is to take the code that makes up a web page and turn it into something readable on your screen. Different browsers can occasionally display the same website slightly differently, which is why good web developers test their work across more than one.
Cache
A saved copy of a web page stored on your computer or phone so it loads faster next time you visit. If you've ever updated your website and wondered why you're still seeing the old version, the cache is usually why. Pressing Ctrl + F5 (or Cmd + Shift + R on a Mac) forces your browser to ignore the cache and load the fresh version.
CMS (Content Management System)
A system that lets you update the content of your website — text, photos, pages — without needing to know how to code. Think of it like writing for a newspaper: the layout is already designed, you just fill in the words and pictures. JWBIZ Easy CMS is an example of a hosted CMS built specifically for people with no technical background.
Cookie
A small file a website saves on your computer to remember things about you. Some cookies are useful — they remember that you're logged in, or what's in your shopping basket. Others track your browsing habits across multiple websites for advertising purposes. That's why websites ask for your consent before setting non-essential cookies.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
The code that controls how a web page looks — colours, fonts, spacing, layout, and so on. If HTML is the bricks of a house, CSS is the paint, wallpaper, and furniture. You don't need to know how to write CSS to have a website, but understanding what it does helps when talking to a developer.
Domain Name
The address people type to find your website — for example, jwbiz.com. You rent a domain name, usually annually, from a domain registrar. It's separate from hosting (where your website files actually live), though many providers sell them together. A good domain name is short, easy to spell, and ideally ends in .co.uk or .com for a UK business. All JWBIZ fixed-price packages include a domain.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The internet's address book. When you type a domain name into your browser, DNS translates it into a numerical address (called an IP address) that computers understand, then points your browser to the right server. You never interact with DNS directly, but changes to it — like pointing a domain to a new host — can take up to 48 hours to take effect worldwide.
E-commerce
Selling products or services online through a website. An e-commerce site lets customers browse items, add them to a basket, and pay — all without speaking to anyone. Building a proper e-commerce system from scratch is more involved than a standard website, which is why it typically costs more.
Extension (file)
The letters at the end of a file name that tell the computer what type of file it is. For example, .jpg is a photo, .pdf is a document, .php is a web script file, and .html is a web page. Web pages use extensions like .html, .php, or sometimes none at all if the server is configured to hide them.
Favicon
The tiny icon that appears in the browser tab next to a website's name. You've seen them thousands of times — the little bird for Twitter, the f for Facebook. For your own site, it's usually a small version of your logo. Small detail, but it makes a site look professional and finished.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A method used to transfer files between your computer and a web server. Developers use FTP clients (programs like FileZilla) to upload files directly to a hosting account. As a non-technical website owner you're unlikely to ever need it, but you may hear the term when a developer is working on your site.
Hosting (Web Hosting)
A service that stores your website's files on a computer (called a server) that is connected to the internet 24 hours a day. Without hosting, your website would have nowhere to live and no one could visit it. You pay for hosting annually or monthly. All JWBIZ website packages include 12 months of hosting.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
The basic building blocks of every web page. HTML uses tags to tell a browser what each piece of content is — a heading, a paragraph, an image, a link, and so on. Every page you've ever visited was built with HTML at its core, whether the person who made it wrote it by hand or used a tool that generated it automatically.
HTTPS
The secure version of HTTP, which is the system used to transfer data between a website and a visitor's browser. If a website address starts with https:// and you see a padlock icon in the browser bar, the connection is encrypted — meaning information sent between you and the site can't easily be intercepted. All modern websites should have HTTPS. Without it, browsers show a "Not Secure" warning, which puts visitors off and damages your search ranking.
IP Address
A unique numerical address assigned to every device connected to the internet — computers, phones, servers, everything. An IP address looks something like 192.168.1.1. Your domain name is essentially a human-friendly label that points to your server's IP address, because nobody wants to memorise a string of numbers.
Indexing
The process by which Google and other search engines discover and store information about your web pages so they can show them in search results. A page that isn't indexed simply won't appear in search results, no matter how good it is. You can check whether your pages are indexed using Google Search Console.
JavaScript
A programming language that runs inside the browser and makes web pages interactive. Things like dropdown menus, image sliders, pop-up messages, and form validation are typically built with JavaScript. Unlike HTML and CSS, JavaScript can react to what a user does — clicking a button, typing in a box, scrolling down a page.
JSON-LD
A way of adding structured data to a web page so that search engines and AI systems can understand exactly what the page is about. It's invisible to visitors but machine-readable. For example, a JSON-LD block on a product page might tell Google the price, description, and availability in a standardised format — which can result in that information appearing directly in search results.
Keyword
A word or phrase that people type into a search engine when looking for something. "Web designer Cardiff", "cheap website for small business", and "what is a CMS" are all keywords. Good SEO involves making sure your web pages naturally contain the keywords that your potential customers are likely to search for.
Landing Page
A single web page designed with one specific goal in mind — usually to get a visitor to do something, like fill in an enquiry form, sign up to a mailing list, or buy a product. Landing pages strip away distractions and focus entirely on one message and one action. They're often used in advertising campaigns where you want to send clicks to a specific, targeted page rather than your general homepage.
Load Time
How long it takes for a web page to fully appear on screen after someone clicks a link or types an address. Slow load times frustrate visitors and damage your search ranking — Google actively penalises slow pages. Common causes include oversized images, too many plugins, or poor quality hosting. A well-built site on good hosting should load in under 2–3 seconds.
Meta Description
A short summary of a web page that appears underneath the page title in Google search results. It doesn't directly affect your ranking, but a well-written meta description encourages people to click your link rather than someone else's. It should be around 150–160 characters and describe clearly what the page is about.
Mobile Responsive
A website that automatically adjusts its layout to look good on any screen size — phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. If a website isn't mobile responsive, it will appear tiny and difficult to use on a phone, with text too small to read and buttons too small to tap. Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites in search results. All JWBIZ websites are fully mobile responsive.
PHP
A programming language that runs on a web server rather than in the browser. Most of the dynamic things a website does behind the scenes — logging you in, submitting a form, pulling information from a database — are handled by PHP or a similar server-side language. You don't need to understand it to use a website, but you'll see .php file extensions on many web pages.
Plugin
An add-on piece of software that adds extra features to a website platform. Platforms like WordPress rely heavily on plugins for things like contact forms, SEO tools, and security. The downside is that plugins can slow a site down, conflict with each other, and create security vulnerabilities if not kept updated. Handcrafted sites like those built by JWBIZ avoid plugins wherever possible, keeping the code clean and fast.
Redirect
An instruction that automatically sends a visitor from one web address to another. A 301 redirect is permanent — used when a page has moved to a new address — and tells search engines to transfer the ranking value from the old URL to the new one. A 410 tells search engines the page is gone for good. Getting redirects right when rebuilding a website is critical, otherwise existing search rankings simply disappear.
Robots.txt
A small text file that sits on your web server and gives instructions to search engine crawlers about which pages they are and aren't allowed to look at. Most of the time you want crawlers to index everything, but there may be pages — like admin areas or thank-you pages — that you don't want appearing in search results. Getting robots.txt wrong can accidentally block your entire site from Google.
Schema Markup
Code added to a web page that describes its content in a structured way that search engines and AI systems can understand precisely. It's a bit like adding a label to a box so you don't have to open it to know what's inside. Schema can tell Google whether a page is about a product, a business, a recipe, an event, and much more — and can result in richer, more detailed results appearing in search.
Server
A powerful computer that stores files and delivers them to anyone who requests them via the internet. When someone visits your website, their browser sends a request to your server, which sends back the web page files to display on their screen. Servers run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Web hosting is essentially the service of renting space on someone else's server.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Everything done to help a website appear higher in search engine results pages without paying for ads. This includes using the right keywords, writing clear page titles and descriptions, building backlinks, ensuring the site loads quickly, and having a logical structure. Good SEO is an ongoing process rather than a one-time job. All JWBIZ websites are built with SEO-friendly structure from day one.
Sitemap
A file (or page) that lists all the pages on your website. There are two types: an XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console to help search engines find and index all your pages, and an HTML sitemap page on your site to help human visitors navigate. The XML version is the more important of the two from an SEO perspective.
SSL Certificate
A digital certificate that activates the padlock in your browser's address bar and enables HTTPS — the secure, encrypted connection between a visitor and your website. Without one, browsers display a "Not Secure" warning that puts people off immediately. SSL certificates are now a standard inclusion with any reputable hosting package.
Subdomain
A prefix added to a domain name to create a separate section or address. For example, if your domain is mybusiness.com, a subdomain might be shop.mybusiness.com or demo.mybusiness.com. Subdomains are useful for separating distinct parts of a website — JWBIZ uses them to host Easy CMS customer sites independently from the main jwbiz.com domain.
Template
A pre-made website design that you fill with your own content. Templates are quick and cheap, but every other business using the same template will have a website that looks essentially the same as yours. They can also be bloated with unnecessary code, slowing your site down. JWBIZ custom websites never use templates — every site starts from a blank canvas.
Traffic
The number of visitors coming to your website. "Getting more traffic" means getting more people to find and visit your site. Traffic is measured and analysed using tools like Google Analytics. Not all traffic is equal — a visitor who finds you through a relevant search query is far more valuable than one who landed on your site by accident.
TLD (Top-Level Domain)
The last part of a domain name — .com, .co.uk, .org, .net and so on. For a UK business, .co.uk and .com are generally the best choices. Newer TLDs like .shop or .agency exist but are less familiar to most people and may be viewed with more scepticism. Wherever possible, secure both .com and .co.uk versions of your domain to prevent competitors or squatters from registering the other one.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The full web address of a specific page. For example, https://jwbiz.com/easy-cms is the URL for the Easy CMS page on the JWBIZ website. URLs should be clear and readable — both for visitors and for search engines. A URL like /easy-cms tells everyone exactly what the page is about; a URL like /page?id=47 tells no one anything.
UX (User Experience)
How easy and pleasant it is for someone to use your website. Good UX means visitors can find what they're looking for quickly, the site is easy to navigate, nothing is confusing, and completing a task — like filling in an enquiry form — is straightforward. Poor UX sends visitors away and loses you business, regardless of how good your product or service actually is.
Web Designer vs Web Developer
Often used interchangeably, but they're different things. A web designer focuses on how a site looks — layout, colours, fonts, and the overall visual experience. A web developer focuses on how a site works — writing the code that makes things function. Many professionals do both, but a specialist developer who also designs tends to produce cleaner, faster, more reliable results than a designer who dabbles in code.
Website Builder
A drag-and-drop tool that lets non-technical people assemble a website by moving blocks around on screen. Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly are well-known examples. They're quick to get started with, but they tend to produce bloated, slow websites, lock you into their platform, and charge ongoing monthly fees. They also all look very similar to each other. A CMS is a different thing entirely — it doesn't require you to design anything.
WordPress
The most widely used website platform in the world — powering roughly 40% of all websites. It's flexible and capable, but it relies heavily on plugins, requires regular updates and maintenance, and is a constant target for hackers because of how widespread it is. It is not the only option, and for many small businesses it is more complicated than they actually need.
JWBIZ offers a range of solutions from a simple hosted CMS from £29/year to fixed-price business websites from £650 to fully bespoke custom development. Get in touch and we'll point you in the right direction.
