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

V

Vulnerability Scan A vulnerability scan is an automatic check that searches a website or an app for weaknesses attackers already know about and reports what it finds. Read the definition

W

Web App vs Website The difference between a web app and a website is that a website tells people things, while a web app does real work for them once they sign in. Read the definition Web Application A web application is a program you use in a browser that does real work and remembers it, so it keeps your accounts, records and reports. Read the definition Web Application Firewall WAF A web application firewall is a filter that reads every request arriving at your website and blocks the ones that look like a known attack. Read the definition Website Migration A website migration is any move that takes a site to a new address, platform or server without losing the visitors it already had. Read the definition WebView App A WebView app is a phone app whose screens are your live website shown inside a window, with the browser address bar taken away. Read the definition WhatsApp Marketing WhatsApp marketing is using WhatsApp to send customers real messages about their orders and bookings, under rules stricter than most owners expect. Read the definition Wishlist A wishlist is the list where a shopper saves items to come back to later, which tells a shop exactly what the people who did not buy still want. Read the definition

X

XML Sitemap An XML sitemap is a list of your pages written for search engines, saying what exists on the site and when each page last changed. Read the definition

Y

Year-over-Year Growth YoY Year-over-year growth compares a month with the same month a year earlier, so the season itself cannot fool you into seeing a rise or a fall. Read the definition YouTube Ads YouTube ads are video and banner adverts bought inside Google Ads that run around other people's videos, usually with a Skip button after five seconds. Read the definition

Z

Zero Trust Zero trust is a way of working where nobody is trusted just for sitting inside the office, and every single login is checked again. Read the definition Zero-Click Search A zero-click search is one that ends on the results page itself, because the person found what they needed without ever opening a website. Read the definition Zero-Day Vulnerability A zero-day vulnerability is a hole in software that has just been found and has no fix yet, so everyone using that part is exposed until one arrives. Read the definition Zero-Downtime Deployment A zero-downtime deployment puts a new version of a system live while customers keep using it, with a quick way back if something goes wrong. Read the definition Zero-Party Data Zero-party data is what a customer types in on purpose, such as a shoe size or a delivery note, so the shop can serve them better. Read the definition

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