Web Design & SEO Glossary
(A to Z)

Written with real humans in mind! Whether you’re new to websites or just want a clearer idea of what all the techy stuff means, this page is for you.

A

Accessibility – Making sure your website works for everyone, including people with disabilities. It’s good for people, SEO, and sustainability.
Alt Text – The text that describes an image on your site. Helps with accessibility and image SEO.
Analytics – Tools (like Google Analytics) that track how people use your website.

B

Backlinks – Links from other websites to yours. They’re like votes of confidence for Google.
Bounce Rate – The percentage of visitors who leave your site without interacting. Lower is usually better.
Breadcrumbs – A small navigation aid that shows people where they are on your site.

C

Caching – Saves parts of your website to load faster for repeat visitors. Call to Action (CTA) – Buttons or text encouraging users to take action (like “Get in Touch”).
CMS (Content Management System) – A tool like WordPress that makes it easy to update your site without code.
Core Web Vitals – Google’s measures of page speed, responsiveness, and visual stability.

D

Domain Name – Your website address, like navitasdesign.co.uk.
Duplicate Content – Content repeated on your site (or across the web). Google doesn’t like it.

E

Eco-Friendly Hosting – Hosting powered by renewable energy. Great for sustainable websites.
E-E-A-T – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. A Google framework for good content.

F

Footer – The bottom section of your website, often home to contact info, links, and legal bits.
Favicon – The little icon that appears next to your website name in a browser tab.

G

Google Business Profile – Free listing that helps your business show up in local searches and on Google Maps.
Google Search Console – A free tool to monitor your site’s presence in Google Search.

H

Heading Tags (H1, H2, etc.) – Structure your content for readability and SEO.
Hosting – Where your website lives online. Some hosting is greener than others.

I

Image Optimisation – Reducing image file sizes to make your site load faster and use less energy.
Indexing – When Google adds your pages to its search results.

J

JavaScript – A type of code that adds interactive features to websites. Useful, but too much can slow things down.

K

Keywords – Words or phrases people search for. Good SEO includes these naturally in your content.
Keyword Stuffing – Overusing keywords in your content. Google frowns on this.
Long-Tail Keywords – More specific search phrases like “vegan web designer in Brighton.” Lower competition and better targeting.

L

Local SEO – Optimising your website to show up in local searches, especially helpful for small businesses.
Lazy Loading – Images and videos only load when needed – good for speed and sustainability.

M

Meta Description – A short page summary that appears in search results.
Mobile-First Design – Designing your site for mobile devices first, then scaling up for larger screens.

N

Navigation – How users move around your site. Clear menus and structure are key for usability and SEO.
NoFollow Link – A link that tells Google not to pass SEO credit. Often used in comments or ads.

O

Open Graph Tags – Code that controls how your site looks when shared on social media.
Organic Search – Visitors who find your site via search engines without paid ads.

P

Page Speed – How fast your site loads. Faster is better for visitors, SEO, and the environment.
Plugins – Add-ons for your CMS (like WordPress) that extend functionality.

Q

Queries (Search Queries) – The words people type into Google. Understanding these helps tailor your content.

R

Responsive Design – Your site automatically adjusts to look great on any screen size.
Redirect – A way to send users (and search engines) to a different page if content has moved.

S

Sitemap – A list of all the pages on your site, helping search engines find everything.
Sustainable Web Design – Building websites that are lightweight, energy-efficient, and user-friendly.
SSL Certificate – Encrypts your site for secure browsing (and gives you the HTTPS in your URL).
Structured Data – Code that helps search engines understand your content better.

T

Title Tag – The clickable title in search results. A key part of on-page SEO.
Typography – Your fonts and how text looks across your site. Important for accessibility and brand vibe.

U

URLs – The web address of a page. Clear, short, and keyword-rich URLs are best.
UX (User Experience) – How people feel when using your website. A good UX = better results all round.

V

Viewport – The visible area of a page on someone’s screen. Designs need to adapt to it.
Visual Hierarchy – The way your design guides visitors through content in a logical order.

W

Website Carbon Calculator – A tool to measure the environmental impact of your website.
Wireframe – A basic layout or blueprint of a web page.

X

XML Sitemap – A version of your sitemap made specifically for search engines.

Y

Yoast SEO – A popular plugin that helps optimise WordPress websites for search engines.

Z

Zero-Waste Design – Make up your own definition to this one 😉

Still confused or curious? Drop me a message – I’m always happy to translate tech into human. Or check out my blog for more tips on sustainable web design and local SEO.