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If you don’t live and breathe the world of web development, there’s a great chance that you’ve come across several technical terms that you never understood or were exposed to. Because the tech world can often seem like it’s (and literally be) speaking its own language, I decided to break down some of the more common terms you might need to know when working with your development team. After reading this, you’ll be able to streamline project planning and even impress your team.
1. Domain Name
Think of a domain name like the address of a house. If the internet were a neighborhood, a domain name (like “www.yourdomain.com”) is how people know where to find you. It’s your home on the web!
2. Hosting
If the domain name is your address, hosting is the house itself. It’s where all your stuff (pictures, text, videos, etc.) lives. Even though the internet feels like this invisible world in the sky, hosting still requires all your data to be stored on the ground in a physical server somewhere. This can be a service that lets you rent their server space or a computer running in your closet (with obvious benefits to having a service look over it for you).
3. HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
HTML is like the blueprint for your house. It decides where the walls go, the windows, and how everything is structured. Though many call it a coding language, HTML is technically a “markup language,” which generates the skeleton of your web pages. No matter what service you use to create your website, all fancy tools eventually boil down to basic HTML so that web browsers know how to read it.
4. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS is the interior decorator. It’s what makes your house look fabulous. It chooses the colors, the fonts, and even where the furniture goes (or, in web terms, where the buttons and images appear). CSS is like the designer that makes your HTML look pretty.
5. JavaScript
JavaScript is the magic. This little helper makes things move, pop, or sparkle. Imagine your fridge automatically opening when you’re near it—that’s JavaScript in action. This is the first actual coding language we are encountering. This is the more complicated part, which uses variables and functions to bring your website to life and make it function.
6. API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is like a waiter at a restaurant. You tell the waiter what you want, and they go back to the kitchen to get it. You don’t need to know how the pizza is made—you just get the delicious result. APIs help different systems talk to each other similarly. APIs talk with existing functionalities on the internet to utilize them for yourself without having to recreate them from scratch.
7. Cookies
Cookies aren’t just tasty treats. On the web, cookies are like little notes your browser keeps to remember things for you—like your favorite pie recipe or your login info for grandma’s recipe blog. You have to accept a cookie when visiting a website because they ask your permission to save information on your browser on your behalf. This may sound intrusive, but in reality, it just makes your experience faster and more convenient. Keep in mind that cookies can be cleared at any time.
8. Responsive Design
Responsive design is like a stretchy pair of pants. The website adjusts to fit perfectly, no matter how big or small the device is. This can look like font sizes changing, sections shifting, navigation condensing, or anything else needed to make your website fit the user’s device.
9. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is the process of making your house easy to find in a giant city. You’d put up signs, advertise in the newspaper, and maybe even have a giant neon arrow pointing to your door. That’s what SEO does for your website in search engines. This is extremely helpful when trying to gain traffic to your website. You can see some tips and tricks mentioned in the article here.
10. CMS (Content Management System)
A CMS is like a filing cabinet that organizes all your website’s content. Systems like WordPress let you add, edit, or delete things without building everything from scratch every time. This user-friendly interface is excellent for editing your website without touching complicated code.
So there you have it—a little crash course on web development terms explained in a clear and relatable way. Hopefully, this gave you some insight into communicating effectively with your developers.
