Website Terminology - Complete List to Understand Website Builders(2024)

Are you planning to build your website for your business, to sell products or showcase your work online? You don't have to spend big dollars on web design agencies to get started.

There are tons of website builders out there to easily create a website with a premade templates. You won't need coding experience to build your own website. However getting to understand the terms related to website are important to understand what you see in the dashboard of the website builder or making changes on website on your own.

Here's a list of website terminologies which we aim to be informative for both total beginners and those more familiar with web design:

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Website Builder: A tool or platform that helps you create a website without needing to write code. These builders offer drag-and-drop features and pre-designed templates to simplify the design process.
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Hosting: This refers to the service that stores your website's files and makes them accessible on the internet. It's like renting space on a server to ensure your website is always available to visitors.
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Domain Name: The unique address of your website on the internet, often ending in extensions like .com, .org, or .net. Think of it as the digital equivalent of a street address for your online presence.
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Templates: Predesigned layouts provided by website builders. Templates offer a starting point for designing your website, often customizable to suit your specific needs.
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Responsive Design: A design approach that ensures your website looks good and functions well on all devices, whether it's a desktop, tablet, or smartphone.
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Techniques used to improve your website's visibility in search engine results. This includes using keywords, creating quality content, and ensuring your site has a user-friendly structure.
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CMS (Content Management System): Software that helps you create, manage, and modify content on your website without needing specialized technical knowledge. Examples include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
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Analytics: Tools that track and report website traffic. This data helps you understand visitor behavior, enabling you to optimize your site for better engagement and performance.
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Plugin/Extension: Software components that add specific features or functionalities to your website. They can range from social media feeds to security enhancements.
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Landing Page: A standalone web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign. It's where a visitor lands after clicking on a link in an email or ads from Google, Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or similar places on the web.
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Homepage: The main page of a website, often the first page visitors see.
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Navigation Bar (Nav Bar): A set of links typically found at the top of a website that helps users find information.
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Footer: The bottom section of a website, containing contact information, links, or disclaimers.
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Sidebar: A vertical column on either side of a website's main content, often containing additional information or links.
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Header: The top section of a website, often containing the logo, navigation bar, and sometimes a search bar.
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Blog: A section or page on a website dedicated to regularly updated articles or posts.
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Gallery: A collection of images or videos displayed on a website.
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Contact Form: A form on a website allowing visitors to send messages to the site owner.
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Social Media Integration: The ability to connect and display social media accounts on a website.
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Favicon: A small icon associated with a website, visible in browser tabs.

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Meta Tags: Snippets of text that describe a page's content; important for SEO.
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Breadcrumb Navigation: A type of web page navigation that shows where a page is in the website hierarchy.
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Parallax Scrolling: A visual effect where the background moves slower than the foreground, creating a sense of depth.
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Domain Transfer: The process of moving a domain name from one registrar to another.
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Web Font: Custom fonts used on websites to enhance design and readability.
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Alt Text: A description of an image on a website, used for accessibility and SEO.
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Cache: Stored web data that helps websites load faster.
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301 Redirect: A permanent redirect from one URL to another, useful for maintaining SEO value when pages are moved or deleted.
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Widget Area: A section of a website where widgets can be placed, typically in the sidebar or footer.
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Custom CSS: Custom code used to further personalize the design of a website beyond the basic templates.

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API (Application Programming Interface): A set of protocols for building software and applications, allowing different systems to communicate.
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Canonical URL: The preferred URL for a page, important for SEO to avoid duplicate content.
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Responsive Breakpoints: Points at which a website's content and design will adapt to accommodate different screen sizes.
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Lazy Loading: A technique that delays loading of non-critical resources at page load time, improving performance.
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Content Delivery Network (CDN): A network of servers that deliver web content based on the user's geographic location.
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A/B Testing: A method of comparing two versions of a webpage to see which performs better.
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SSL Encryption: Secure Sockets Layer, a standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a server and a client.
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Webhook: A method of augmenting or altering the behavior of a web page, or web application, with custom callbacks.
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Payment Gateway Integration: The process of enabling an online store to accept payments from customers.
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Microdata: A specification used to nest metadata within existing content on web pages for better search engine optimization.

Additional Terms Common in Website Builders

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Hero Image: A large, prominent image on a website, often placed in the header.
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Sticky Menu: A menu that remains at the top of the screen even when scrolling down the page.
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Lightbox: A script used to overlay images and videos on the current page.
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Wireframe: A basic layout drawing of a webpage, used for planning website structure.
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Retina Display Optimization: Ensuring that images and graphics are clear and crisp on high-resolution screens.
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SEO Audit: The process of analyzing how well a web presence relates to best practices for SEO.
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Multilingual Support: Offering content in multiple languages on a website.
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Tag Manager: A tool to manage tracking and marketing optimization tags on a website.
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Heatmap Tool: A tool that shows where users click, move, and scroll on your website.
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Cart Abandonment: When a user adds products to their online shopping cart but leaves the site without completing the purchase.
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Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): An additional layer of security used to ensure the security of online accounts beyond just a username and password.