Able to construct your first web site however confused by the technical lingo?
On this put up, we’ll present a glossary of phrases you may encounter as you construct an internet site. We advocate bookmarking this web page for straightforward reference—like a pocket dictionary you possibly can return to everytime you encounter an unfamiliar time period.
We’ll concentrate on WordPress web sites all through, however many of the ideas and definitions apply to web sites constructed on any platform.
- Technical components of an internet site
- Web site code
- Web site metadata
- Navigational parts
- Web site content material
- Web page parts
- Frequent web site pages
- Weblog
- Contact and content material sharing
- Ecommerce
- WordPress-specific web site components
- Construct your web site: Simple as ABC
Technical components of an internet site
Each web site requires just a few key technical parts. Understanding what every does can assist you select the appropriate location on your web site and consider totally different suppliers.
Web site internet hosting
Your web site have to be saved on bodily servers by an internet site host. Internet hosting is actually your web site’s place of residence on the web.
Managed internet hosting (like the internet hosting plans we’ve on WordPress.com!) is usually a really perfect alternative for web site house owners as a result of they tackle an energetic position in working your web site. Within the case of WordPress.com, we maintain your server setup and the day-to-day administration of your web site, together with safety, uptime, and software program updates, all for one flat value.
Domains
A area is an internet site’s tackle, like mygroovywebsite.com. Like bodily addresses, each web site will need to have a novel area identify.
Area costs range relying on the net extension (like .com, .web, .org) and which area supplier you select, and you should utilize a area lookup software to see what domains are at the moment out there.
WordPress.com presents inexpensive domains with over 350 totally different area extensions and averaging simply $13/yr!
URLs, permalinks, and slugs
Much like domains, URLs are the particular web page addresses on your internet pages. URLs are a model of your area with added info that tells your pc which web page to load.
So if an internet site’s homepage is mygroovywebsite.com, subpages have extra path info, like mygroovywebsite.com/about, which might load the web site’s about web page.
Permalinks are everlasting URLs that time to a particular piece of content material (you possibly can replace your default permalink construction on a WordPress web site with just some clicks), whereas slugs are a part of the URL that identifies a particular web page (like “about” in our instance above).
CDN
A content material supply community, or CDN, hosts your web site on a system of distributed servers as a substitute of 1 particular person server. By using location-specific servers, a CDN improves web site pace by delivering content material from a server that’s geographically nearer to your guests. A number of servers additionally create redundancy, making certain your web site works even when you’ve got a whole lot of guests or if a server goes down.
All WordPress.com plans have a CDN, powered by 28+ information facilities throughout 6 continents, that places your content material as near your guests as potential.
XML sitemap
An XML sitemap is an inventory of the entire crawlable URLs in your web site in order that search engines like google (like Google) can index and present them in search outcomes. A sitemap helps search engines like google higher perceive your web site’s construction and the way your content material is said.
Content material administration programs (CMS)
A CMS is a software that helps you construct and handle an internet site without having to code it from scratch. It supplies a user-friendly interface to make it straightforward to construct pages, write posts, and share different content material.
What’s the hottest CMS on the earth? WordPress!
Web site code
“Code” is a computer-readable course written in programming languages. Even in case you use a CMS like WordPress to construct your web site, there’s nonetheless a bunch of code working behind the scenes to make every little thing work and run easily. There are lots of programming languages, however some that you just’ll mostly see when working with WordPress are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP.
HTML
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) defines the content material construction of your web site. Consider this as a computer-readable model of your web site that features all of the web page’s core content material, together with titles, textual content, lists, buttons, and pictures.
HTML makes use of “tags” to outline every of those constructing blocks of your web site, like <H1> for top-level headings and <p> for paragraphs.
CSS
CSS (Cascading Type Sheets) defines the fashion of your web site. It’s a design reference glossary for the browser, indicating what fonts, colours, sizes, and different parts to make use of when displaying your web site. The cool factor about CSS is that your web site updates robotically in all places while you change a mode in your glossary.
For instance, if in case you have an <H1> major header tag in your HTML, the pc will look to the CSS to see what <H1> headers ought to appear like. The CSS may outline an <H1> as Arial font, bolded, and 36 pixels. Wherever that the pc sees the <H1> in your web site, it’s going to present that textual content in Arial font, bolded, and 36 pixels.
JavaScript
JavaScript controls the interactive parts of your web site that transfer or change in your in any other case static internet pages. JavaScript runs on the person’s aspect to create animations, popups, banners, alerts, and extra.
For instance, you may use JavaScript to alert customers in the event that they didn’t correctly fill out a type or to alter the display screen as soon as they submit it to indicate them that their response has been obtained.
PHP
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is much like JavaScript in that it “makes issues occur” in real-time in your web site. One massive distinction with PHP is that it runs “server-side,” that means it modifications information or dynamically updates a web page’s content material earlier than it hundreds for guests.
PHP is an open supply programming language and the language that powers the WordPress software program.
Web site metadata
Metadata helps search engines like google establish what sort of content material is in your web site. This enables search engines like google to know when your web site is related to somebody looking the net for particular info.
Title tags
A title tag is an HTML ingredient utilized by each search engines like google and guests to grasp what your webpage is about. Normally, this is identical because the put up or web page’s headline or title.
Meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are brief paragraphs (ideally 120 to 160 characters) that provide extra info to engines about your content material. These typically embrace necessary key phrases and phrases.
These descriptions could seem in search engine outcomes, so it’s necessary to write down sturdy, clear descriptions to make your web site shine.
Schema markup
Schema markup is computer-readable info added to your web site’s code to establish various kinds of content material in your webpage. This helps search engines like google higher perceive your web site’s goal. Schema markup improves web site web optimization, contributing necessary info for search engine snippets and AI-powered search outcomes.
For instance, recipe plugins present search engines like google with this type of markup, enabling them to showcase recipes in search outcomes with further particulars resembling photos, elements, and prepare dinner occasions.
Navigational parts
Your web site’s navigation parts outline how web site guests transfer throughout your web site. You’ll possible use a wide range of navigation parts throughout your web site to satisfy the particular objectives of every web page.
Menu
Your menu is the first navigation software on your web site, linking to its high-level sections. Menu choices could range relying in your template, together with major navigation menus in your header and footer, sidebar menus from particular pages, and dropdown submenus.
“Hamburger menus” are widespread on cellular views, the place detailed headers can take up an excessive amount of area. These menus are hidden inside a button as a substitute of at all times being seen within the header.
Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks are clickable textual content that take the positioning customer to a different web page. They might direct customers to a different web page in your web site (inner hyperlinks) or an exterior web site (exterior hyperlinks).
Additionally they assist search engines like google higher perceive the significance of your web site pages—when a web page has many related hyperlinks that permit customers to navigate to it, search engines like google will perceive that it’s a worthwhile web page in your web site.
Breadcrumbs
Web site breadcrumbs present customers the “path” they took to achieve their present web page. For instance, on a weblog, a person could go from Dwelling > Class > Weblog Put up.
Breadcrumbs are helpful on websites with many layers of interconnected pages like shops, boards, or Wikis.
Buttons
Buttons are clickable visible parts that encourage customers to take a particular motion or navigate to a particular web page. A web site often has three “ranges” of buttons, with the first buttons being the most important and brightest, adopted by secondary and tertiary buttons for much less necessary navigation gadgets.
Buttons must be strategically positioned in your pages to nudge guests to a very powerful content material or motion, resembling your storefront or weblog.
Sharing buttons
Sharing buttons allow web site guests to simply share content material out of your web site on different platforms, resembling Fb, Instagram, or Pinterest. They’re a good way to advertise your content material cross-platform and construct your following organically.
Sharing buttons are included free of charge on WordPress.com with Jetpack.
Header
The web site header is the content material on the high of each web page. This part often contains your emblem, web site identify, tagline, and top-level web site navigation (your menu!).
Footer
The footer is the underside part of your web site, seen beneath your content material on each web page. It could comprise extra info resembling web site copyright, contact varieties, e-newsletter subscription packing containers, bodily addresses, social media hyperlinks, or lower-priority navigation gadgets like your privateness coverage or refund coverage.
Web site content material
Your web site content material is what makes your web site distinctive. Whether or not you’re a blogger or a digital retailer, your content material lets you create a customized presence on the net.
Textual content and replica
Your web site’s textual content or copy is something you write or customise, from menu labels to web page titles, weblog posts, about pages, and extra.
Wish to discover ways to write actually glorious weblog copy? Use this blueprint.
Photos
Excessive-quality and related photos are a vital a part of any web site. You need to use your personal high-quality photos, license photos by a inventory picture firm, get free unlicensed imagery from websites like Pexels, or generate photos with instruments like Jetpack AI.
Take a look at our WordPress picture measurement information to make sure your photos are optimized for the net.
Video
Movies are extensively used on web sites as a result of they’re typically extra participating than static photos. If in case you have a WordPress web site, you should utilize the YouTube block to simply embed YouTube-hosted movies in your posts or pages.
You can even add your movies immediately onto your web site. WordPress.com presents 4K video internet hosting with VideoPress on the Premium plan and above.
Web page parts
Sandwiched between your header and footer is your important web page. Whatever the web page content material or structure, many pages have just a few customary components.
Headline
Your headline, identified in HTML lingo because the <H1>, describes what your web page is about; this may very well be one thing brief like “About” or extra particular, just like the title of your weblog put up.
It’s best to solely ever have one <H1> on a webpage.
Tagline
A web site tagline, much like a model tagline, is a brief, memorable phrase that explains your web site’s goal. Web site taglines are often displayed within the web site header subsequent to or below the positioning title or emblem, in search engine outcomes, and in social media blocks.
Physique content material
The physique content material is the meat of your webpage, positioned between the header and footer. It’s particular to every web page and contains all of its content material parts, resembling textual content, photos, and movies.
WordPress makes it extremely straightforward so as to add totally different sorts of content material to your posts or pages with its block editor. There are lots of totally different blocks that come customary with any WordPress web site, permitting you to customise your content material precisely the way you need.
Frequent web site pages
Web site pages can range relying in your web site’s goal, however we advocate just a few customary web page varieties for each web site.
Homepage
Your homepage is the primary web page individuals will go to in your web site, so it’s key that it’s visually interesting, explains who you might be and what you do, and directs guests to different necessary pages throughout your web site.
Product and repair pages
Companies use services or products pages to clarify their merchandise and supply pricing. These pages range in complexity, from easy textual content lists to full ecommerce shops.
Some product and repair pages are purely informational; others are interactive, permitting customers to buy merchandise immediately from the web page.
About web page
An about web page tells your web site’s story, whether or not you’re a person or a enterprise. This could cowl who, what, and why—that’s who you might be, what you do, and why you do it.
You might embrace your private or firm historical past, awards or accolades, model values, and particular person or group biographies.
Contact web page
Your contact web page is the place web site guests can discover info on the right way to attain you, whether or not they wish to schedule a gathering, contact you by way of e mail, or go to a bodily location. This generally is a easy textual content web page or embrace varieties, maps, and scheduling instruments.
404 error web page
A 404 error web page alerts guests if they’re making an attempt to go to an online URL that gained’t load as a result of the web page they’re making an attempt to entry doesn’t exist. Customers might even see a 404 in the event that they mistype a URL or attempt to entry a web page that you just haven’t created in your web site. For instance, they might attempt to go to instance.com/about-me when your about web page URL is definitely instance.com/about.
You might wish to optimize your 404 web page to offer help to anybody who unintentionally sees it with a search bar and hyperlinks to useful pages in your web site.
Weblog
For a lot of private {and professional} web sites, the weblog is the center of your web site: that is the place you’ll usually create and put up new content material. Not like customary internet pages, a weblog is designed for straightforward, ongoing publishing, engagement, and sharing.
Want to start out a weblog? Take a look at our 12-step information.
Posts
A put up is a bit of content material in your weblog. Posts can embrace textual content, pictures, and movies, however additionally they have distinctive parts like standing, publish date, creator, tags, and classes. These parts allow higher navigation, search, and sorting.
Posts will be structured in many various methods, however there are just a few widespread varieties of posts, together with lists, how-tos, private tales, case research, options, interviews, product opinions, and information articles.
Classes
Classes provide help to catalog and type your weblog posts. Classes cut up your content material into just a few high-level buckets. Classes must be broad sufficient to arrange your whole posts however particular sufficient to be significant to your readers.
Class pages function an archive for all content material grouped collectively below a particular class.
Tags
Equally, tags group posts collectively, however they’re extra particular methods to explain your content material. For instance, you might have a “Films” class and “Journey,” “Rom-Com,” “Horror,” and “Sci-Fi” tags.
You need to use a number of tags on a single put up, however to keep away from muddle and to make sure your tags are helpful for locating related content material, you need to solely add tags for key phrases that recur steadily throughout your web site.
Contact and content material sharing
There are a number of causes individuals could wish to attain out to you thru your web site. Contact info—whether or not it’s a public e mail tackle, bodily tackle, or type—is a vital facet of any web site.
You’ll additionally wish to guarantee that you’ve methods for guests to remain within the loop with what you’re as much as. Whether or not you’re sending out an everyday e-newsletter to your subscribers or sharing your content material on social media, content material sharing is a key part of a sustainable model.
Contact varieties
Contact varieties permit web site house owners to obtain messages—like questions, service requests, or suggestions—with out sharing their e mail addresses publicly. Guests put their contact info and requests right into a contact type, and the submitted type info is securely forwarded to an e mail tackle of your selecting.
There are lots of contact type plugins out there, and the Type block is free to make use of for WordPress.com customers with Jetpack.
E-newsletter signup varieties
E-newsletter signup varieties permit web site guests to join your e-newsletter. These varieties have inputs for a customer’s e mail tackle and typically their identify, after which this info is added to your mailing checklist.
Subscribe blocks can be found out-of-the-box for websites hosted on WordPress.com. Plugins are additionally out there for third-party e-newsletter suppliers.
Social media integrations
Social media integrations can help you join your weblog to your social media platforms. As soon as these integrations are in place, you possibly can simply cross content material forwards and backwards between your web site and your social media platforms, posting immediately out of your weblog to your social media websites or embedding your social media feeds immediately in your web site.
Ecommerce
An ecommerce web site sells items or providers on-line. WooCommerce, an open supply plugin, is a sister firm to WordPress.com. This plugin provides key ecommerce options like product pages, buying carts, and cost processing to your web site.
Checkout carts
Checkout carts are digital buying carts that permit guests to pick out or save merchandise they wish to purchase in a single place. Checkout carts allow customers to maintain monitor of their gadgets and purchase a number of merchandise in a single transaction.
Fee processors
To ensure that web site guests to have the ability to make a cost on-line, you must use a cost processing software program to securely settle for bank card info and finalize funds.
For websites hosted on WordPress.com, you possibly can simply gather funds by Stripe, the Paid Content material block, and PayPal.
WordPress-specific web site components
WordPress web sites have their very own inner language for various facets of your web site. When you use WordPress as your CMS or WordPress.com for internet hosting, these phrases will provide help to higher perceive the software and all that’s potential with it.
Themes
WordPress themes are professionally designed templates you could set up and customise. Themes make it easy to start out with a base design you actually like to then make your personal with fonts, colours, photos, textual content, and layouts.
WordPress.com has many various themes out there to swimsuit each web site’s wants and visible fashion, together with free themes and paid third-party themes. You can even set up your personal third-party themes on the Marketing strategy and above.
Plugins
Plugins are like apps on your web site—they lengthen your web site’s performance and options. The WordPress plugin library presents free and paid plugins for safety, web optimization, advertising and marketing, varieties, and extra.
All WordPress.com customers obtain free important performance by the Jetpack plugin, with extra Jetpack options out there at greater tiers. Third-party plugins will be added to websites on the Marketing strategy and above.
Patterns
Patterns are professionally designed web page layouts for generally used internet pages, like about pages, picture galleries, storefronts, and speak to pages. Patterns use a collection of WordPress blocks to construct eye-catching layouts which might be straightforward to customise.
Blocks
Blocks (aptly named) are the constructing blocks of your WordPress web site. Blocks are drag-and-drop parts you could add to any put up or web page. There are round 100 distinctive block varieties out there for textual content, media, formatting, embedded content material, theme-specific designs, varieties, and extra, with new block varieties added usually.
With WordPress.com, you get much more with Jetpack-enabled block varieties.
Backup
Web site backups save earlier variations of your web site in an effort to simply revert your web site if one thing breaks. This may be helpful when including or updating plugins or updating your WordPress model or theme. WordPress.com presents backups with VaultPress on the Marketing strategy and above.
Safety
Internet safety is important to make sure that each your information and your guests’ information are protected. Security measures embrace normal web site safety to confirm your web site and block phishing or spam assaults, user-based permissions, and area privateness to guard your private information.
One good thing about utilizing a managed internet hosting supplier like WordPress.com is that many core safety features—like automated updates, SSL certificates, firewall safety, brute drive assault prevention, downtime monitoring, and vulnerability scanning—come included, offering peace of thoughts for non-technical professionals.
Reader
The Reader is an aggregator from WordPress.com that compiles content material from Jetpack-enabled WordPress websites. Your Reader feed will present each put up from the blogs you comply with in a single place. You can even discover new blogs or be found by different readers in searches that make the most of classes and tags.
Construct your web site: Simple as ABC
When you’ve learn by this whole put up, congratulations! You’re basically an online growth linguist. When you’re nonetheless seeking to get oriented, WordPress.com has tons of extra assets for web site builders on our weblog, guides, and boards.
WordPress.com is constructed to help web site house owners of all ranges, so you possibly can really feel assured that we’ve bought your again as you dive into the thrilling world of constructing your personal web site. Get began with WordPress.com right this moment:
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