Knowledge base

The glossary

Every term we use with clients, defined plainly. Browse a subject area, jump to a letter, or search.

Browse by subject

Each area collects the concepts that belong together.

Web Development The terms that come up when we build or rebuild a website or a web application. 4 Cybersecurity How systems are attacked, and the words we use for defending them. 31 Hosting & Infrastructure Where software actually runs, and what the numbers in a hosting contract mean. 2 SEO & Marketing The vocabulary of being found — search, content and measurement. 30 Programming Languages The languages software is written in, and what each one is genuinely good at. 12 Frameworks & Platforms The toolkits built on top of a language so teams do not rewrite the same foundations every time. 6 Databases & Data Where your records actually live, and why the choice changes what the system can do. 4 Cloud & Operations How software gets shipped, run and kept alive after it is written. 5 AI & Automation What the machines are actually doing when a product says it uses AI. 4 Design & User Experience How a screen is laid out, and why some sites feel easy while others feel confusing. 0 Mobile Apps The words you meet when you build an app for a phone and put it in a store. 28 Digital Marketing Paid ads, email, offers and the numbers that tell you whether any of it worked. 29 Social Media Posts, followers, reach and the everyday words of running an account well. 0 E-commerce Systems Selling online: the cart, the checkout, the stock and everything after the order. 29 Shops & Point of Sale The counter, the barcode, the till and the stock room of a real shop. 1 Maintenance Centres Repair jobs, spare parts, warranty and getting a device back to its owner. 0 School & University Systems Students, classes, attendance, marks and fees — the software a school runs on. 0 Hospital Management Beds, admissions, departments and the file that follows a patient through a hospital. 0 Clinic Management Appointments, visits, prescriptions and payments in a small medical practice. 0 Medical Laboratories Samples, tests, reference ranges and how a result reaches the person who ordered it. 0 Radiology Centres Scans, images, reports and the systems that store and share them safely. 0 Property & Rentals Units, tenants, contracts and rent — the paperwork of property, done in software. 0 Property Developers Projects, phases, instalment plans and selling a unit that is not built yet. 0 Salons & Spas Bookings, chairs, staff commission and keeping regulars coming back. 0 Gyms & Fitness Memberships, check-ins, classes and trainers — how a gym keeps track of everyone. 0 Web Applications Software that runs in a browser and does real work — dashboards, portals and systems staff use all day. 23 Custom Software Building a system around how a business actually works, instead of changing the business to fit a product. 0 Integrations & APIs Making two systems talk to each other, so the same number does not get typed twice. 0 Payments & Billing Taking money online, sending invoices and knowing exactly who has paid and who has not. 0 ERP & Accounting One set of books behind every department, so the numbers agree at the end of the month. 0 Software Projects How a software project is scoped, priced, built and handed over — and where they usually go wrong. 0 CRM & Customer Support Keeping track of who your customers are, what they asked for, and what you promised them. 0

Where people start.

PHP PHP is a programming language that builds a web page on the server before sending it to your screen, and much of the web still works that way. Programming Languages Application Programming Interface API An API is an agreed way for one program to ask another for information or for an action, so neither program needs to know how the other works inside. Web Development C# and .NET C# and .NET are Microsoft's pair for business software, where C# is the language you write in and .NET is the toolkit that runs it. Programming Languages Dashboard A dashboard is the first screen a person sees after logging in, and a good one carries today's numbers and the decisions still waiting for an answer. Web Applications JavaScript JavaScript is the language every web browser understands on its own, which is why anything that changes on a page without reloading it is written in it. Programming Languages TypeScript TypeScript is JavaScript with labels on the data, so a mistake is caught while the code is still being written instead of after it reaches customers. Programming Languages Two-Factor Authentication 2FA Two-factor authentication is a sign-in that asks for your password and then for something you are holding, so a stolen password alone is not enough to get in. Cybersecurity Backend The backend is the part of a system you never see, where the records are kept and the rules are checked for every screen that asks. Web Applications Java Java is the programming language large organisations settled on long ago, because a program written in it keeps running even when the computers underneath it are replaced. Programming Languages Chatbot A chatbot is an automated conversation that answers your customers in writing on your website or in WhatsApp, with nobody sitting on the other end. AI & Automation CSS CSS CSS is the language that decides how a web page looks, and because it sits in its own file, one change there restyles every page at once. Web Development Python Python is a programming language written to read almost like plain English, which is why it became the usual choice for data work, automation and artificial intelligence. Programming Languages

All concepts, A to Z

A

A/B Testing A/B testing shows two versions of the same page to different visitors at the same time, so you can count which version got more people to act. Read the definition Abandoned Cart An abandoned cart is a basket a customer filled in your shop and then left without paying, which happens to roughly seven baskets out of every ten. Read the definition Account Takeover ATO Account takeover happens when a stranger signs in to a customer's shop account with a password stolen somewhere else, then spends the saved card and the points. Read the definition Anchor Text Anchor text is the clickable wording of a link, and it tells the reader what they will find before they decide to click. Read the definition App Download Size App download size is the number of megabytes someone has to spend before your app will even open on their phone for the first time. Read the definition App Localization App localization is making an app feel as if it were built in the country using it, from its language and screen direction to its dates and prices. Read the definition App Maintenance Cost App maintenance cost is the money you spend every year after launch to keep an app working, and it is the part owners forget to budget for. Read the definition App Permissions App permissions are the yes-or-no questions your phone asks before an app is allowed to touch something private, like the camera or your location. Read the definition App Ratings and Reviews App ratings and reviews are the stars and short comments on your store page that most people judge your app by in about three seconds. Read the definition App Store Optimization ASO App store optimization is the work of getting your app to show up in the App Store and Google Play when someone searches for the thing it does. Read the definition App Store Review App store review is the check that Apple and Google run on every app and every update before they let it into their store. Read the definition Application Programming Interface API An API is an agreed way for one program to ask another for information or for an action, so neither program needs to know how the other works inside. Read the definition Artificial Intelligence AI Artificial intelligence is software that works out useful answers from examples, instead of following rules that a person wrote out in advance. Read the definition Attribution Model An attribution model is the rule that decides which of your adverts gets the credit when a customer finally buys something. Read the definition Audit Trail An audit trail is the record a system keeps of who changed what and when, so an argument about a cancelled invoice can be settled in two minutes. Read the definition Authenticator App An authenticator app is a free app on your phone that produces the six-digit code a website asks for after your password, so a stolen password is not enough. Read the definition Average Order Value AOV Average order value is the money you take divided by the number of orders, which tells you how much a typical customer spends in one visit. Read the definition

B

Backend The backend is the part of a system you never see, where the records are kept and the rules are checked for every screen that asks. Read the definition Backup A backup is a second copy of your files, kept somewhere safe from whatever destroys the first copy, so you can get your work back. Read the definition Biometric Login Biometric login lets you open an app with your fingerprint or your face instead of typing a code, because your phone does the checking for it. Read the definition Bounce Rate Bounce rate is the share of your visitors who look at a single page and then leave again without clicking anything else. Read the definition Broken Link A broken link points at a page that no longer exists, so the visitor gets a short 404 message instead of what they clicked for. Read the definition Buy Now, Pay Later BNPL Buy now, pay later is a checkout option that splits the price into instalments for the customer while a finance company pays the shop in full straight away. Read the definition

C

C# and .NET C# and .NET are Microsoft's pair for business software, where C# is the language you write in and .NET is the toolkit that runs it. Read the definition Canonical URL A canonical URL is the line in a page's code that tells search engines which copy of that page is the original one to show. Read the definition Cash on Delivery COD Cash on delivery lets your customer hand the money to the courier at the door instead of paying on the website when the order is placed. Read the definition Change Request A change request is anything you ask a software team to add or alter after the price was agreed and the work began. Read the definition Chatbot A chatbot is an automated conversation that answers your customers in writing on your website or in WhatsApp, with nobody sitting on the other end. Read the definition CI/CD CI/CD CI/CD is an automatic path that tests every change to your software and puts it live once the tests pass, so a release stops being an event people dread. Read the definition Click-Through Rate CTR Click-through rate is the percentage of people who clicked your result out of everyone who was shown it in the first place. Read the definition Cloud Computing Cloud computing is renting computer power by the hour from a company such as Amazon, Microsoft or Google instead of buying servers of your own. Read the definition Conversion Rate CR Conversion rate is the share of your visitors who do the one thing you wanted them to do, such as booking, calling or paying. Read the definition Cost Per Lead CPL Cost per lead is what a single enquiry costs you once you divide everything you spent on getting enquiries by the number that actually arrived. Read the definition Coupon Code A coupon code is a short word or number that a customer types at checkout so the shop takes an agreed amount off the order. Read the definition Cross-Platform App A cross-platform app is one system that opens in a browser, on an Android phone and on an iPhone, with all three sharing the same records. Read the definition CSS CSS CSS is the language that decides how a web page looks, and because it sits in its own file, one change there restyles every page at once. Read the definition Customer Relationship Management CRM Customer relationship management is one shared place where every enquiry, quote and conversation about a customer is kept, so nobody has to remember it alone. Read the definition Cyber Insurance Cyber insurance is a policy that pays for the clean-up after an attack, as long as you kept the security promises you made on the application form. Read the definition

D

Dashboard A dashboard is the first screen a person sees after logging in, and a good one carries today's numbers and the decisions still waiting for an answer. Read the definition Data Breach A data breach is the moment private customer information leaves your control, whether a thief took it or someone simply sent it to the wrong address. Read the definition Data Synchronisation Data synchronisation is the work of keeping the same numbers on every device, so the phone in a van and the office computer never disagree. Read the definition Deep Link A deep link is an address that opens one exact screen inside an app, such as a single invoice, instead of leaving the person on the home screen. Read the definition Disaster Recovery Plan DRP A disaster recovery plan is a short written document that says exactly what your business does, and who does it, on the morning the systems stop working. Read the definition Django Django is the main framework for building web applications in the Python language, best known for turning a description of your data into a working back office. Read the definition Docker Docker packs a program and everything it needs into one sealed bundle, so it runs the same on a developer's laptop as it does on the live server. Read the definition Drip Campaign A drip campaign is a fixed run of emails sent on a timer, so a new subscriber gets the right message on the right day without anyone pressing send. Read the definition Dropshipping Dropshipping is selling goods you never keep in stock, because the supplier packs each order and posts it straight to your customer. Read the definition Duplicate Content Duplicate content is the same text appearing at more than one web address, so a search engine picks one page to show and quietly ignores the rest. Read the definition

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