301 redirect
A permanent forward from an old web address to a new one. It keeps old links and bookmarks working and passes most of the old page’s search value to the new one.
Resources
The words your developer, your SEO report and your hosting company use, explained the way we would explain them across the table. Each one links to where we go deeper.
A permanent forward from an old web address to a new one. It keeps old links and bookmarks working and passes most of the old page’s search value to the new one.
How well people with disabilities can use your website, including people who use screen readers, keyboards instead of a mouse, or captions. An accessible site is also easier for everyone else to use.
The part of the Americans with Disabilities Act that covers state and local government, including counties, cities, school systems and public universities. A federal rule now requires their websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA.
The part of the ADA that covers businesses open to the public. It does not name a technical standard for websites, but courts and lawsuits generally measure sites against WCAG.
A short written description attached to an image. Screen readers read it aloud to people who cannot see the image, and search engines use it to understand what the picture shows.
Short for Application Programming Interface. It is a doorway one piece of software opens so another can talk to it, for example your website sending a new lead straight into your CRM.
A link to your website from someone else’s. Links from real, relevant sites (a local chamber, a partner, a news story) are one of the strongest signals Google uses to decide how much to trust you.
A saved copy of your website’s files and database that can be restored if something breaks, gets hacked or is deleted by mistake. A backup you have never tested restoring is only a hope.
The full visual and verbal system that makes a business recognizable: logo, colors, typography, photography style and tone of voice. A logo is one piece of it, not the whole thing.
A stored copy of a page or file kept closer to the visitor so it loads faster the next time. Caching is why a site can feel instant, and also why a change sometimes takes a few minutes to show up.
Short for Content Delivery Network. A network of servers around the world that keeps copies of your site’s files and serves each visitor from the one nearest to them, which makes pages load faster.
Short for Content Management System. The dashboard you use to edit your website’s pages, posts and images without touching code. WordPress, Squarespace and Sanity are all examples.
Any action you want a visitor to take, such as calling, booking, filling out a form or buying. Your conversion rate is the share of visitors who do it, and it is usually a better measure of a site than traffic.
Three measurements Google uses to judge how a page feels to real visitors: how fast the main content appears, how quickly the page responds to a tap or click, and whether things jump around while it loads.
Short for Customer Relationship Management. The system that keeps track of your leads, clients and conversations in one place, such as HubSpot or Salesforce.
A site designed and built around your business rather than adapted from a template. It costs more up front but can fit your content, workflow and goals exactly, and it is not limited by what a builder allows.
Short for Domain Name System. The internet’s address book. It translates your domain name into the address of the server that hosts your site and email, and a wrong setting can take either offline.
Your address on the web, like elfatranydesign.com. You rent it yearly from a registrar. Keep it registered in your own name and account, not your developer’s.
Your free listing on Google Search and Maps, with your hours, phone, photos and reviews. For local businesses it is often seen more than the website itself.
A CMS that only stores and manages content, while a separate, custom-built front end displays it. It usually means faster, more secure sites with more design freedom.
The rented server space where your website’s files live so people can reach it. Cheap shared hosting is a common cause of slow sites and security problems.
The padlock in the browser bar. An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your site and its visitors, and browsers warn people away from sites without one.
When Google adds a page to its database so it can appear in search results. A page that is not indexed cannot rank, no matter how good it is.
The words people type into a search engine, like “web designer near me”. Good SEO starts with the words your customers actually use, not the ones your industry uses.
A page built for one audience and one action, usually where an ad, email or search result sends people. It stays focused on a single offer instead of the whole business.
The work of showing up when people nearby search for what you do, especially in the map results. It leans on your Google Business Profile, reviews, directory listings and location pages.
Malicious code planted on a website, often through an outdated plugin. It can redirect visitors to spam, steal data, or get your site flagged and hidden by Google.
The short summary under your page title in search results. It does not directly change your ranking, but a clear one gets more people to click.
Designing for phones first and scaling up to larger screens, rather than squeezing a desktop design down. Most small business visitors arrive on a phone, and Google judges your site by its mobile version.
Short for Name, Address and Phone. Keeping these exactly the same on your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings helps Google trust that they all describe one real business.
An add-on that gives a WordPress site extra features. Plugins are convenient, but every one is more code to update, and outdated plugins are the most common way small business sites get hacked.
A layout that adjusts itself to any screen size, from a phone to a wide monitor, so there is one website instead of separate mobile and desktop versions.
Hidden labels in a page’s code that tell search engines exactly what things are, such as your business hours, a price, a review or an event. It can help your listing show richer details in results.
Google’s free tool for site owners. It shows which searches your site appears for, which pages are indexed, and any problems Google found while crawling.
Short for Search Engine Optimization. Everything that helps the right people find your site through search: clear content, a sound technical setup, and trust signals like reviews and links.
A file that lists the pages on your website so search engines can find them all. It helps Google discover pages, but it does not guarantee they get indexed.
UX (user experience) is how easy and pleasant it is to get something done on your site. UI (user interface) is what the visitor actually sees and taps: buttons, menus and layout.
Short for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The international standard for accessible websites. Level AA of version 2.1 or 2.2 is the benchmark most laws and lawsuits point to.
The ongoing work of keeping a site secure, fast and current: software updates, backups, monitoring, fixes and small content edits. Skipping it is how sites get slow, broken or hacked.
A simple black-and-white sketch of a page’s layout, made before any visual design. It settles what goes where, and in what order, while changes are still cheap.
Connecting the tools you already use so routine steps happen on their own, like a form submission creating a CRM contact, a task and a welcome email without anyone copying and pasting.
Heard a term that is not here, or not sure what it means for your site? Ask. We would rather explain it than sell you something you do not need.
Tell us about your project and we will come back with a real number. Or book a call and talk it through.