This article talks about the general technical terms we come across during web design. I will attempt to explain these terms in simple language so that our fellow bloggers can grasp them quickly.
While installing and configuring a WordPress site, everybody encounters these technical words. After going through this article, you will understand the customization resources (e.g. Plugins, technical videos, technical articles, etc.) correctly. Because of this, you can reduce the time and efforts that go into your web design.
I am covering more than twenty terms in this post and hope that will suffice your requirement.
Web design glossary
1. Web design
Web design or website design refers to layout, colors, contrasts, images, user interface, navigation ergonomics, etc. It is a process that involves planning and creation of a website keeping in mind the requirements of points as mentioned earlier.
2. Theme and Child Theme
A WordPress theme can be described as a group of template files that provide a graphical interface to a user. These files work together and control the look and presentation of a website contents. Many themes are available for free at the official WordPress site. If required, you can also go for premium themes which are available at some price at different vendor sites.
Every child theme is also a theme but collects all its functionality from the parent theme. For example, if you are using a Twenty Seventeen theme and decide to have a child theme, then Twenty Seventeen will become parent theme, and all its functions will be performed by the child theme. You can use child theme configurator plugin to install a child theme.
When you modify a theme directly, you run a risk of losing all the changes once the theme is updated. Therefore, the best practice is to make modifications only in the child theme that will preserve the changes.
3. Plugin and Widget
A WordPress plugin is a software that enhances the functionality of a theme. With the help of various plugins, you can customize your website to your needs. Thousands of plugins are available for free at WordPress site. But you will need to pay for the premium versions which have enhanced features.
WordPress widget is a software and represents a small block that carries out a particular function. You can put the widgets in the blog sidebar, or footer areas of your web page. A WordPress theme includes some default widgets like – search, category, recent posts, etc. Some plugins also offer custom widgets.
4. Excerpt and Featured image
A WordPress excerpt is a post summary which is optional. It can be used on a page which has recent posts. I am also using excerpts on the home page and blog page. There are several ways to generate an excerpt – you can write contents in the excerpt field on the edit post screen, or you can use <!-more–> tag inside the post content, or you can use some plugin to generate it.
Featured image is also known as post thumbnail, and it is a theme feature that represents an image for a post or a page. All the current themes have an option for a featured image. This option is available on edit post/page screen. If you don’t find it, then check with screen option on the top right of the edit post/page.
5. Blog and Taxonomy
A blog is an acronym for weblog and represents a website with informational contents. These contents also known as posts, are regularly updated and displayed in reverse chronological order, i.e. latest post first and oldest post last.
In WordPress, taxonomy is a way of grouping related posts (or links or post types). The main WordPress taxonomies are — category, tag, link category, and post formats.
6. Backlink, Anchor text, and Landing page
Backlink is a hyperlink coming from a web page to another website. Backlinks are crucial for SEO and you as a blogger, need to create backlinks for your website pages regularly. They help in driving organic search traffic to your website.
Every hyperlink has a clickable text called anchor text. For example, hari for you has an anchor text – hari for you – while hyperlink will take you to https://hariforyou.com/.
Any web page that lands a visitor on a particular section of a website is a landing page. A landing page is used for marketing of a product or collecting email information of the visitors.
7. Frontend and Backend
Frontend is the part of a website a visitor interacts with, whereas backend includes the server, database, and application used for this website. A visitor cannot see the backend.
8. Alternative text and Image title attribute
Alt text or alternative text is an attribute added to an image. Alt text appears if an image cannot be displayed. Alt text also tells the search engines about the image.
When we hover over an image, then a text pops up. This text is the image title attribute.
9. Permalink and slug
Permalink is an acronym for the permanent link. It is the URL of a website or its page. For example, one of my website pages has a permalink — https://hariforyou.com//dofollow-backlink-google-plus/.
A slug is a part of a web page permalink that tells the title of a post or a page. For example, in the above URL, ‘dofollow-backlink-google-plus’ is the slug.
10. Bounce rate and Breadcrumb
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that move away from the website after viewing only one page. For example, if 5 out of 50 visitors to your site see only one page and then navigate away from the site, then your website bounce rate will be 10%.
Breadcrumb is a secondary navigation system and tells a visitor about the position of a web page to the home page. A web page may have a breadcrumb like – site home page > category > post.
11. Parallax scrolling and Responsive website
Parallax scrolling is a method in which if we scroll a web page, the background image changes position slower than the foreground contents. This technique gives an impression of depth and motion. The outcome is extremely impressive for visitors.
A responsive website is one which looks nice on all devices, whether it is a laptop, a mobile phone or a tablet. The website responds to a user’s screen size, orientation, and platform.
Conclusion
Once you are through with these terms, you will feel comfortable while confronting these technical words during your website customization process. Moreover, you will be ready for the next level of technical terms which you will face if you opt to dive deep into the development field.
