B
Back End
All of the behind-the-scenes digital operations that it takes to keep the front end of a website running, such as the coding, style, and plugins. If the front end of your website is what the audience sees onstage, the back end encompasses the stagehands, makeup artists, costumers, tech crew, stage managers, etc. simultaneously running the show from backstage.
Browser
The program you use to access the Web — such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. When you experience an issue with a website, it’s best to send the browser type and version you’re using to your developer as oftentimes these issues are browser specific. You can figure this out easily thanks to WhatsMyBrowser.org.
Bug
An error or flaw in the website or app that keeps it from running as expected.
C
Cache
The storage of certain elements to help with faster load times from repeat website visitors. Often developers will tell you to clear your browser’s cache if they make a change on the website that you can’t see — most likely your cache is holding onto an older version and hasn’t made room for the new one yet. (Kind of like that period of time between you moving to college and your parents converting your childhood bedroom into a home-office–slash–exercise-room.)
Classes
In CSS, an identifier for specifying exactly what you what to target with styling.
In other programming languages, classes are a bit more broadly used as the blueprint for creating something — similar to using the blueprint of an existing car to create a new type of car.
CMS
“Content Management System.” The program that you use to create and maintain your website’s content. These are usually designed for non-developers for ease-of-use. Our personal favorite at Whole Whale is WordPress.
Conversion
A tangible and more importantly a measurable interaction you can build into a website, such as a contact form, donation form, email signup form and document downloads. Good conversions often ensure a website is operating at peak performance.
Cookies
The source of all that is good, chocolatey, and sugary in the world… Kidding. (Sort of.) This is the data sent by an Internet server to a browser. Each time the browser accesses the same server, it sends the data back as a means of tracking how (and how often) it accesses the server. This is why your home computer always knows your Netflix login.
Crawl
When search engines send bots to your website in order to gather intel on pages that exist and don’t exist in order to determine what content should be displayed or removed on search engines.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management in website development this refers to the software and applications used to gather, analyze, and maintain information on customers, donors, and prospects.
CTA
“Call to Action.” The buttons on your website that drive certain conversions or goals such as donations, newsletter signups, or user registrations.
D
DevOps
“Development Operations.” System of working that helps to keep development, IT operations, and quality assurance departments on the same page to make for better end-products and collaborations.
DOM:
In HTML, when a web page is loaded, the browser creates a Document Object Model of the page. It defines the HTML elements as objects, the properties of all HTML elements, the methods to access all HTML elements and the events for all HTML elements. If your raw code contains Javascript, the object model supplies all the power it needs to create dynamic HTML including changes to all the HTML elements or attributes in the page and changes to all the CSS styles in the page. So the DOM is essentially the rendered code of a web page within your web browser.
Domain
The address for a website as entered into the browser (ours is www.wholewhale.com!). If your server is the land your website is built on and the hosting is its house, the domain is its mailing address.