The jargon can
wait outside.

Accessibility

Designing and building so more people can perceive, understand and use the website, including people with disabilities.

Picture it: Think of a welcoming shop: the entrance, signs and counter should work for more people. Websites need that same consideration.

Call to action

The next useful action you invite someone to take: request a quote, read an example or start a conversation.

Picture it: “Request a quote” is a call to action. “Welcome to our website” is not a next step.

Canonical URL

The address you identify as the preferred version of a page. It is a signal, not an instruction that search engines must obey.

Picture it: A preferred address label, rather than a roadblock that forces Google to use it.

Content hierarchy

The order and emphasis that help someone understand what to read first and what comes next.

Picture it: A menu has headings before meal descriptions. Your website needs a similar reading order.

Conversion

A defined useful action. It could be an enquiry or purchase. A click is not automatically a sale.

Picture it: A plumber might count a suitable quote request. A shop might count a completed order.

Design system

Reusable decisions and components that keep the interface coherent, rather than inventing every button again.

Picture it: A small recipe book for your website’s buttons, colours, spacing and type.

Domain

The website address people recognise, such as digithat.com.au. It is separate from the service hosting the files.

Picture it: Your street address on the internet. Hosting is the place the website actually lives.

Hosting

The infrastructure that makes website files and services available online.

Picture it: The premises behind the address: files, delivery and often services that keep the site running.

Information architecture

How the pages and information are organised so people can find what they need.

Picture it: Which shelf should this information live on, and what label will help someone find it?

Progressive enhancement

Keeping core content and tasks available, then adding richer features where the browser can support them.

Picture it: Serve the useful cake first; add the interactive icing where it works.

Responsive design

A layout that adapts to the available screen space. It is not just a desktop page made smaller.

Picture it: The same helpful information, arranged for the space available—from phone to desktop.

SEO

Search engine optimisation: helping search engines discover and understand useful, relevant pages. It does not guarantee rankings.

Picture it: Make useful answers easy to discover and understand. There is no secret button for first place.

UI

User interface: the visible controls and presentation people interact with.

Picture it: The menu, buttons, labels and forms you can see and use.

UX

User experience: the person’s overall experience of understanding and using the website.

Picture it: Whether the whole visit feels understandable and gets you where you need to go.

Viewport

The area of the browser available to display a page. We use matching viewport sizes for fair concept comparisons.

Picture it: The window you see the page through—not necessarily the full size of the device.

WCAG

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: a technical standard for web accessibility, not a badge an automated score can award.

Picture it: A set of testable accessibility criteria. A green automated score is only one piece of evidence.

Customer journey / funnel

The steps from discovering your business to taking a useful action. People may enter at different steps or leave and return.

Picture it: For a shop: product → confidence → basket → checkout → confirmation.

Landing page

A page built for a particular audience, question or campaign, with a clear next step.

Picture it: A page about switchboard upgrades should answer that need before asking for a call.

HTTPS

An encrypted connection between a browser and a website. It does not prove the business is trustworthy.

Picture it: The connection is protected in transit; you still need to judge the site and its claims.

DNS

The system that tells browsers and email services where a domain’s services live.

Picture it: An address book with different entries for your website and email.

API

A defined way for one software service to request information or actions from another.

Picture it: Your site can ask a booking service for available times without running its own calendar system.

AI prompt

The instructions and context you give an AI tool. Good prompts state the goal, audience, facts and desired output.

Picture it: “Draft a homepage for this audience using only these facts” gives more direction than “make my site good”.

Token

A small piece of text or other content processed by an AI model. It is not always a whole word.

Picture it: Both your instructions and the model’s reply can contribute to usage costs.

AI credit

A service’s own unit for managing an allowance. It is different from a token and needs a clearly explained cost rule.

Picture it: A long review may use more credits than a short headline draft.

Alt text

Text that conveys an image’s relevant meaning when the image is not seen. Decorative images usually need an empty alternative.

Picture it: Describe what matters to this page, rather than repeating “image of” for every picture.

Engagement

Evidence of people interacting with a site, interpreted alongside the goal of their visit.

Picture it: Someone who quickly finds your phone number may have had a successful visit.

CMS

A content management system: software that lets you edit site content without changing every page’s code.

Picture it: The editor behind the scenes where you update services, articles or opening hours.

Webhook

A message one service sends to another when an event happens. The receiving service must verify it.

Picture it: A payment provider can notify your server that an invoice was paid.

Responsive image

An image served in a suitable size for the space and device, while keeping useful detail.

Picture it: A phone usually does not need the same image file size as a large display.

Conversion rate

The proportion of a defined audience that takes a defined action, over a stated period.

Picture it: Ten purchases from 500 visits is 2%, but decide what counts as a visit and purchase first.

Plain-language learning definitions. For technical requirements, follow the references in the relevant lesson.