Glossary

There will be words, phrases, acronyms, and brand/supplier names that you’re not familiar with, so we created a page with links to assist. We’ve tried to make it easy to read and understand, but simplification can lead to misunderstanding (if you’re a techie then you may spot things that you’d phrase differently, that are open to interpretation, or are too general), so feel free to pick up the phone and chat with us about your specific query.

Please note that just because you see a definition on this page it doesn’t mean that your site already has it (or can have it), or that it’s been styled, so if you see something that you’re interested in, ask if your site can be modified to add the functionality.

Use CONTOL and F to start a search.

Components of a site

Content: Website content is the words, images, videos, and other information on your site.

Content Page: Pages are used for static content, and won’t change much. Examples of content pages are FAQs, Terms and Conditions, Cookies, About, and Contact.

Product page: Products are typically a category. On a site that sells clothing, it might be a t-shirt. On a learning site it might be a course, event or webinar.

CMS: CMS stands for content management system. It’s what we create for you so that you can add your content and publish it. Find out more about CMS on the Wiki page. If you have a Parent-Carer or a GP website then you have a Creative Stream CMS. If you have an e-learning website then it’s typically a WordPress CMS. Much of this page is phrases and terminology that is linked to a WordPress CMS.

Post Type: Post Type pages are for more timely content that is regularly updated, such as news, articles, blogs, events, and posts.

Resources: is the generic phrase for all types of products, for instance, a download, a link, an event, or a course.

Resource Types: A type of resource might be a download, a link, an event, a podcast, or a course.

Holding Page: We recommend putting up a holding page while your website is under construction. This page can include your branding, logo, an image, and your contact details, along with a brief message about your new site coming soon. It can be a helpful way to generate interest and provide some information to your clients.

Home Page: A homepage, or home page, is the front page of any given website. It’s usually (but not always) the page you first click on from a search engine result. Essentially, it functions as a crucial landing page for visitors, capturing their interest and informing them about the website’s purpose, be it for business or personal use. These days, every page should be considered a landing page.

Landing Page: A landing page is an independent web page that an individual arrives at after clicking a link from an email, advertisement, or other online source. A more in-depth read about landing pages

Listing page: A page that lists grouped items (events, news, etc) with an enticement (a sentence or two, and sometimes an image) that encourages you to choose one to view. Example of a listing page on M&S of their armchairs

Pagination: Pagination is a way to divide content into separate pages on a website. Users can move between these pages by clicking on links, usually shown as numbers at the bottom of the page.

Excerpts: An excerpt is typically seen on the listing page and is an enticement to read more. We found a page with information about excerpts

Page Headers and Footers: The page header and footer sections are generally consistent throughout all web pages visited by users, and they are seen at the top and bottom of the page respectively. These sections play a vital role in establishing the website’s style and design, while also providing links to additional pages, a logo or website title, and contact details.

Content Headers: Headers go above paragraphs to help visually and structurally organise your content. The correct header structure allows assistive technology users (e.g. people with screen readers) to go directly to the content most relevant to their search. Page titles are typically H1, and subsequent headers are H2, H3, H4, etc. This video shows you how headers and screen readers work. Read more about headers on Accessible Content Considerations

Introductions: Grammarly says that “this is the first paragraph, which explains the topic and prepares the reader for the rest of the work. Because it’s responsible for both the reader’s first impression and setting the stage for the rest of the work, the introduction paragraph is arguably the most important paragraph in the work.” and they have a page on how to write an introduction

Accordions: An accordion is a type of menu that displays a list of headers stacked on top of one another. You typically open/close them by clicking them with your finger or mouse (but they can also be triggered by a keyboard interaction or via a screen reader). The headers then reveal or hide associated content. Advice on using them: https://blog.hubspot.com/website/accordion-design and https://designtlc.com/when-should-you-use-accordions-on-your-website

Cookies: The ICO pages will tell you about cookies, and you should check the page on our site about pages you should consider

Menu: A website menu is a collection of interconnected items designed to facilitate easy navigation between various pages or sections of a website. There are different types of menus, and it’s worth noting that when you view websites on a smaller device (eg a mobile phone) the menu becomes a “hamburger”.

Hamburger Menu: We’re specifically mentioning this type of menu as it’s the ‘go-to’ for a menu on a mobile device. A hamburger menu icon is a common feature in user interfaces (UI) that utilizes three lines, resembling a burger positioned between two buns, to portray a menu containing various items. The hamburger menu serves as a compact button that unveils a concealed menu and is typically symbolized by a three-line icon, hence earning its informal moniker as the “hamburger menu”. Read about Hamburger Menu Examples and Alternatives

Functionality: This is an all-encompassing word that means what your website can do and how it works. It encompasses everything and examples are the search bar, the ability to submit a form, embed a video, good navigation, and sharing to social media. For instance, the Creative Stream site doesn’t have a search bar as it wasn’t required when we created it, but it can be retrospectively fitted.

Block Quote: The main purpose of a blockquote is to separate a large section of text — quoted from an outside source — that is relevant to the source material at hand.

Pull Quote: A pull quote is a section of the article pulled out of its context and repeated to give either emphasis or to aid the reader in scanning the article. Advice on using them: https://www.studiopress.com/how-to-use-block-quotes/

Pop up/Pop-up: A website popup is a window that appears without any deliberate action from the user (they spontaneously appear) Pop-ups are predominantly employed by marketers to endorse offers and produce leads, but they can also apprise users regarding other matters such as cookie usage.

Hyperlinks/links: On this page, you’ll notice that some words are underlined and coloured differently from the majority of the text. These are hyperlinks. Wiki can explain more about hyperlinks Please consider reading about how to make links accessible in order to better serve your users.

Lorem Ipsum: This is just ‘dummy’ text we add to test your site. You can read more about lorem ipsum. If we don’t think you’ll mind we use other types, so you might see pirate, gangsta, cupcake, cheese, hipster, or bacon versions of lorem ipsum.

Camel Case: Camel case is the practice of writing phrases without spaces or punctuation and with capitalized words. The format indicates the first word starting with either case, then the following words having an initial uppercase letter. Common examples include YouTube, iPhone, eBay, and PayPal.

Responsive: All of our websites are responsive, meaning that they resize neatly onto all devices, so regardless of looking at them on a desktop, laptop, or mobile, they look good.

Staging site: Your website might go on a staging site, where no one can find it while you add your content and get it ready for launch. You’ll have a URL and login to access the site, and that’s typically the only way it can be found and seen.

Go Live / Launch: Your website can now be seen by everyone, and Google will start to ‘crawl’ the pages and content. Our key advice is don’t launch on a Friday.

Soft Launch: You don’t advertise the new website to the world, just some close, trusted friends, family, key stakeholders etc so that they can provide feedback, allowing you to make corrections before you hard launch. Our key advice is don’t launch on a Friday.

Hard Launch: You advertise the website to everyone and hit the ground running. Our key advice is don’t launch on a Friday. We found a source dated January 2024 that talks about the difference between soft and hard launch

Hard Line Break (Return) vs. Soft Line Break (Shift+Enter): When typing content you typically press Enter or Return on your keyboard at the end of the sentence/paragraph, and this creates what is known as a ‘hard break’ or ‘hard return’.
This means that the previous block has ended, and a new block will be created. Doing this creates a space below each block, but there are times when content is better suited to a more compact grouping.

Below left: the hard break is used throughout.
Below right: Hard breaks after ‘to:’ and ‘follows:’, then the soft break is used for the address and the bank details.

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Devices, browsers, tabs, search engines, URLs…

Browser: A web browser is an application for accessing websites, and the Internet. Your browser might be Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Vivaldi, etc. Google is not a web browser, it’s a search engine (you might be confused as Chrome is made by Google, but Google is a search engine.

How do I know what browser I have? Go to https://www.whatismybrowser.com/ and it will tell you. It will also give you clear instructions on how to update it if it’s out of date.

Tabs: You open tabs in your browser to see web pages. You open a new one by clicking the + symbol at the top of the page. You can have several tabs open at the same time, and each can show a different web page (eg BBC news, Creative Stream, and Google, plus this tab that you already have open).

Domain or top-level domain, Sub-domain, Slug or Path, Permalinks vs. Slugs: You need to know about parts of a URL The domain of this website is www.creativestream.co.uk/ and the URL of this specific page is www.creativestream.co.uk/glossary/

URL: A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a unique identifier used to locate a resource on the Internet. You see them in the top of the browser and they tell you what web page you’re on. The URL for this page is https://cs.isarriving.com/glossary/ You can find out more about URLs and the page has a video

What is a search engine? A search engine is a software system that finds web pages that match a web search. Popular search engines include Google, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, etc

SEO: Search Engine Optimisation. Google is the usual entity that you’ll want to be mindful of, and they have a beginner guide to SEO for Google but don’t forget about analytics

Permalinks regarding SEO: Yoast is a reliable source of information, so this link to their page about SEO and permalinks will assist

Devices: When we talk to you about devices, we typically mean the way that people get to your website. It could be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a mobile phone, or a tablet. Need a helpful infographic about devices?

VPN: Not sure you’re not sure what a VPN is you can educate yourself with this easy read VPN for Dummies: A Handbook for Beginners or watch their ‘What is a VPN’ video on YouTube

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OPTRA: This is a sandbox site that is closely linked to our clients who utilise e-learning and Moodle

Little Healing Well: This is a sandbox site that is closely linked to our clients who are typically GPs

Sandbox: A sandbox is a site typically used to test new code and functionality (without affecting the application, system or platform for which it’s intended) before being pushed to a live site.

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Themes and Topics (in OPTRA): Themes are the overarching way to group topics. Topics are what someone might study. For instance, on the Southwell site, they have a Theme “EXPLORING THE CALL OF GOD” and 3 Topics: Serving God In The 9-5, Lay Ministries, and Ordained Vocations. Your ‘Themes’ are not the same as a WordPress Theme.

Themes in WordPress: A WordPress theme comprises a set of templates, code files, and stylesheets. These components work together to enhance the appearance and layout of a WordPress website on the front end while leaving the core WordPress software untouched.

Sorting and filtering:

• When you sort data, you are putting it in order. On a consortium site, users can sort by (e.g.) A-Z or Z-A, Featured, or Newest.
• Filtering data lets you hide unimportant data and focus only on the data you’re interested in. On a consortium site, users can filter by duration, and resource type (e.g.) download, video, podcast

Sorting enables users to methodically navigate through the product list in a logical manner. On the other hand, filtering narrows down the options to solely include those that align with the criteria selected by the user. This encompasses various attributes of the products such as colour, size, or type. Previously we had a link to the M&S armchair listing page and now we have a link to the M&S armchair listing page filtered to show blue products

Search: Users can also search for content by using a search bar (it often has a magnifying glass as the icon) and this typically searches for a match against pages and titles.

Tags/Tagging: This helps users to find information that can be on a variety of topics.

Front End and Back End: Front-end development is centred around the visual components of a website, specifically the elements that users can see and engage with. On the other hand, back-end development encompasses the overall architecture, system functionality, data management, and logical operations of a website. Think of the ‘front end’ as the live site that your clients, end-users, parishioners, or customers see, and the ‘Back End’ as the place where you add your content.

Plugins: Plugins enable the adaptation of website content to meet specific requirements. They are software additions that allow for the customization of computer programs, apps, and web browsers. You can read more about plugins.

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Images:

Banner/Hero: A hero image is a large or oversized web banner image that is pinned to the header section of a webpage, typically positioned at the top of the page. Because of its prominent place in the site’s visual hierarchy, the hero header is often the first thing users see when arriving on a website.

Featured image (sometimes called a listing image): This is a WordPress term, and they said “A featured image represents the contents, mood, or theme of a post or page and is used throughout your site”.

Product image: This is a WooCommerce term, and they said “The Product Image is the main image for your product and is reused in different sizes across your store.”

The location of a featured or product image depends on the theme used on your site, but typically you’ll see them on a listing page.

Alt Tags / Alt Text / Alternative Tags / Alternative Text: This is regarding the accessibility of images to those using a screen reader. You’ll find information and links about website accessibility on this site, and you must read it.

Aspect Ratio: The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height Read about aspect ratios
Use a calculator to work out what dimensions fit a specific aspect ratio:

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A little about accessibility:

Accessibility: Web accessibility means that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can use them. We often use a widget on most of our sites to help users. You’ll find information and links about website accessibility and we strongly advise you to read about up.

Userway accessibility widget: We use an accessibility widget from Userway.

Screen Reader: A device used by people who have a visual impairment or dyslexia to enable web pages to be read aloud. You’ll find more information and videos on our accessibility page.

WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) defines how to make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. AA standard is fine, AAA standard is better.  WCAG 2.2 became a W3C recommendation in October 2023

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Brand names (some might be linked to your site):

WordPress: WordPress is the world’s most popular website builder. It allows you to easily create websites, blogs, eCommerce stores, and more.

WordPress Permissions: WordPress has several different permission levels for you and your colleagues to log into the site. We can tweak the permission levels to suit your individual needs.

WooCommerce: WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform for WordPress. It is designed for small to large-sized online merchants using WordPress.

Stripe: Stripe powers online and in-person payment processing and financial solutions for businesses of all sizes. If you are part of OPTRA, this will manage your site’s monetary side.

MailChimp: MailChimp is an email and marketing automation platform for growing businesses. Read about MailChimp

Mailgun: Mailgun says they are “…the all-in-one, intelligent email delivery platform trusted by businesses, loved by developers.” Read about Mailgun

Moodle: Moodle is a Learning Management System (LMS) designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments. You can learn more about Moodle from their website.

Edwiser Bridge: Edwiser Bridge integrates WordPress with a Moodle LMS (learning management system).

LMS: Learning Management System. They’re software platforms used to manage, deliver, and track online learning programs. Examples include Blackboard Learn, Moodle, Canvas, and Docebo.

VLE: Virtual Learning Environment. They’re online platforms that facilitate teaching and learning activities, enabling distance education. Examples include Moodle, WebCT, and Blackboard. These platforms allow educators to share educational materials, conduct online assessments, and engage students in learning activities.

Userway: This is the Userway accessibility widget.

Civic Cookies: This is a javascript module to assist users decide about cookies. It’s typically an open panel on the left when you first visit one of our sites (so that you can make choices about cookies) and from then on it moves to the bottom right corner. Civic Cookie site can tell you more.

Outlook: Microsoft Outlook is primarily an email and calendar application (it also handles contacts and tasks). There is both a web version and an app that can be installed on a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Accounts such as outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, or msn.com are managed by Microsoft, and therefore Microsoft accounts.

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What are UI and UX?

UI = User Interface (the space where interactions between humans and machines occur). Examples include the interactive aspects of computer operating systems, hand tools, heavy machinery operator controls, and process controls. The design considerations applicable when creating user interfaces are related to, or involve such disciplines as, ergonomics and psychology.

UX = User Experience. User experience (UX) design is the process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experiences to users. This involves the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function.

Widget: A web widget is a web page or web application that is embedded as an element of a host web page but which is substantially independent of the host page, having limited or no interaction with the host. Some web widgets though serve as user-selectable customizations of the host page itself. We use a widget from Userway to help accessibility on this site, and it’s found in the bottom right corner.

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Google Analytics: Until June 2023, Google was using UA (Universal Analytics), but it transitioned to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in late 2022 and completely took over in July 2023. UA and GA4 are small bits of code on a website to measure how a site is used (what pages are visited, how visitors arrive at your site, how they flow through the site, etc). We have a page about analytics with links to more information

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Caching/cache: You may have noticed that when you return to a website you’ve visited before, it loads faster than it did when you first visited it. This is because your browser stores a copy of the information on your computer (because it’s a lot faster for your browser to load the info again, as opposed to downloading the website from the internet again). Caching is generally good unless you’re populating or updating your website’s content. If you can’t see the new content, you’ll need to ‘hard refresh’.

Hard Refresh: A hard refresh helps to remove the cache so that you can see changes made to your site/content, and we have a page dedicated to the combination that will assist your specific set-up. Hard Refresh

Dead Links: A link that points to a webpage or website that is permanently unavailable. Over time, links can cease to point to their originally targeted file, web page, or server due to that resource being relocated to a new address or becoming permanently unavailable. You can use a dead link checker (there are free and paid-for versions) to find them and take action.

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SSO/Single Sign On: SSO occurs when a user logs in to one application and is then automatically signed in to other applications, regardless of the platform, technology, or domain the user is using. For example, if you log in to a Google service such as Gmail, you are automatically authenticated to YouTube, AdSense, Google Analytics, and other Google apps. Likewise, if you log out of your Gmail or other Google apps, you are automatically logged out of all the apps.

Single Sign-on provides a seamless experience for users when using applications and services. Instead of having to remember separate sets of credentials for each application or service, users can simply log in once and access your full suite of applications.

If your learning platform is linked to (eg) Moodle, then your end users will create an account on your learning platform and when they go from there to a Moodle course the SSO is created, and the user has no idea that it happened.

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Password Protected Content: This is typically an access control technique that helps keep important pages away from the public view by ensuring they can only be accessed with the right credentials. This is something that you need to request that we add to your site. You might see the option there, but it may not have been fully enabled (or styled). We have a page about passwords that you should read.

2FA: Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security system that requires two separate, distinct forms of identification to access something. The first is typically a password and the second commonly includes a text with a code sent to your smartphone, or biometrics using your fingerprint, face, or retina. We often use an authenticator from Google or Microsoft. If you want to read more: 2FA explanation in more detail

MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication. MFA requires users to present at least two, if not more types of authentication. You can read about 2FA vs. MFA

You can read about the 2FA we can provide, on our support page, and our passwords page.

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This page is a work in progress, so do tell us about anything you feel should be explained here, or if you find a link that explains something in a simple fashion that would benefit others. Please note that we are not responsible for external links.