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 Native App A native app is built in the phone's own language, which makes it fast but means paying for an iPhone version and an Android version separately. Mobile Apps

All concepts, A to Z

P

Push Notifications A push notification is a short message that lands on someone's phone or browser without them opening your app, which is why they have to give permission first. Read the definition 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. Read the definition

Q

QR Code Phishing (Quishing) QR code phishing, also called quishing, is a scam where a fake code is stuck over a real one so your phone opens a fake payment page. Read the definition QR Code Scanning QR QR code scanning lets a phone camera read a printed square of dots, so a price, ticket or stock item appears without anyone typing a number. Read the definition Qualified Lead A qualified lead is an enquiry you have checked, so you know the person asking could genuinely buy from you before a salesperson calls them. Read the definition Quality Content Quality content is writing that leaves the reader satisfied, which usually means real experience on the page and nothing added just to reach a word count. Read the definition Quick Commerce Q-commerce Quick commerce is selling with delivery counted in minutes instead of days, so the hard part is not the driver but knowing exactly what is on your shelves. Read the definition

R

Ranking Factors Ranking factors are the handful of things a search engine really weighs when it decides which page deserves to sit at the top of the results. Read the definition Ransomware Ransomware is a program that locks every file on a company's computers and then demands a payment before it will hand them back. Read the definition React React is a free tool from Meta that builds browser screens out of small reusable pieces, so you describe the result and React works out the changes. Read the definition Redis Redis is a store that keeps data in the computer's memory instead of on a disk, so the same expensive question can be answered instantly the second time. Read the definition Remarketing Remarketing is showing your advert again to people who visited your site and left without buying, so your offer meets them somewhere else online. Read the definition REST REST REST is a way of designing web APIs where every item gets its own web address, so programs can read or change it with the same few standard actions. Read the definition Return On Ad Spend ROAS Return on ad spend compares the money your adverts brought in with the money you paid for them, so a result of four means four back for every one. Read the definition Return Policy A return policy is the short set of rules on your website that tells a customer when an item can come back and what happens to their money. Read the definition Ruby Ruby is a programming language designed to be pleasant to write, which is why a small team can often put a working product in front of customers unusually fast. Read the definition Rust Rust is a programming language that refuses to build your program at all if it contains the memory mistakes behind most serious security holes. Read the definition

S

Sales Funnel A sales funnel is the path a stranger takes from seeing your advert to paying you, counted at every step so you can see where people drop out. Read the definition Scalability Scalability is how well a system keeps its speed as more people use it at the same time, instead of slowing to a crawl. Read the definition Search Intent Search intent is what a person really wants when they type a phrase into Google, which is why the page that gives them exactly that ends up on top. Read the definition Security Awareness Training Security awareness training is the short, regular practice that teaches your staff to spot a fake email or phone call before they act on it. Read the definition Service Level Agreement SLA A service level agreement is the part of a contract that promises how well a service will work, and says what you get back when the promise breaks. Read the definition Shipping Zones Shipping zones are groups of places you charge and promise the same way, so a parcel to a far village is not priced like one across the street. Read the definition SIM Swap Fraud SIM swap fraud is a scam in which a criminal moves your phone number onto their own SIM card, so your calls and security codes reach them instead. Read the definition Single Sign-On SSO Single sign-on is one username and password that opens every system a member of staff is allowed to use, on the computer and on the phone. Read the definition SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) SKU An SKU is the short code you give to one exact thing you sell, so every stock count and every sales report points at the same item. Read the definition Social Engineering Social engineering is an attack on the person rather than the computer, where someone uses fear or hurry to talk you into handing over a code or a payment. Read the definition SQL SQL SQL is the language software uses to ask a database a question, so every sales report you read on screen is an SQL question asked on your behalf. Read the definition Structured Data Structured data is a short note hidden in your page code that tells search engines what the page is about, in a form every one of them understands. Read the definition Swift Swift is the programming language Apple wrote for its own devices, so it is the supported way to build an app that people install on an iPhone or iPad. Read the definition

T

Technical SEO Technical SEO is the work of making sure a search engine can reach your pages, load them quickly on a phone and trust the connection. Read the definition Third-Party Risk Third-party risk is the chance that your data leaks through a supplier, a freelancer or a plugin you trusted, rather than through your own team. Read the definition Total Cost of Ownership TCO Total cost of ownership is what a system really costs over five years once hosting, support, changes and training are added to the build price. Read the definition Tracking Pixel A tracking pixel is a small piece of code hidden on a page that tells an advertising company who visited your site and what they did there. Read the definition 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. Read the definition 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. Read the definition

U

Uninstall Rate Uninstall rate is the share of people who delete your app after installing it, and the fastest honest signal that something on the first screen is wrong. Read the definition Upselling Upselling is offering a customer a better or bigger version of what they already chose, at the moment they have decided but have not yet paid. Read the definition Uptime Uptime is the share of time a system stays available and working, usually written as a percentage over a month, such as 99.9%. Read the definition URL Redirect A URL redirect is a note left at an old web address that quietly sends every visitor and every search engine to the page's new home. Read the definition User Acceptance Testing UAT User acceptance testing is the buyer's own check of a new system before signing it off, run on the real machines over a few ordinary working days. Read the definition User Access Review A user access review is a regular check of who can still log into your systems, including the accounts nobody remembers creating. Read the definition User Roles and Permissions User roles and permissions decide who may do what inside a system, so a receptionist can book an appointment without ever seeing what the treatment cost. Read the definition UTM Parameters UTM UTM parameters are short tags added to the end of a link so your reports can tell you which advert, email or post actually brought the sale. Read the definition

V

Vanity Metrics Vanity metrics are numbers like likes and followers that look good in a report but never turn into a booked job or a paid invoice. Read the definition Vendor Lock-In Vendor lock-in is what you discover on the day you try to change supplier and find out how little of your own system you actually own. Read the definition Virtual Private Network VPN A virtual private network is a sealed tunnel through a public connection, so what your staff send on café or hotel wifi cannot be read by anyone nearby. Read the definition Virtual Try-On Virtual try-on is a feature that lets a shopper point a phone camera at their face or room and see glasses or a sofa in place before paying. Read the definition

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