Glossary and guides

Glossary

A record

A DNS record that points a domain name to the numeric IP address of a server. It is one of the records you change when you connect a domain to a host.

Alt text

A short written description of an image, stored in the page code. Screen readers read it aloud, and search engines use it to understand the image.

Analytics

A tool that counts and reports what visitors do on a website, such as which pages they view and which buttons they press. It tells you whether the site is doing its job.

CAN-SPAM

The US law that sets rules for commercial email, including honest subject lines, a real postal address and a working way to opt out. Other countries have their own rules, so check the ones that apply to you.

CASL

Canada's anti spam law for commercial electronic messages. It is generally stricter than US rules and usually requires consent or a narrow exception before you send.

CDN

A content delivery network: a group of servers around the world that keep copies of your site's files. Visitors get the files from a server near them, so pages load faster.

Churn

The share of recurring clients who cancel in a given period. For an agency it usually means clients who do not renew their maintenance plan.

CMS

A content management system: software that lets someone edit a website's text and images without touching code. Useful when clients want to update their own content.

CNAME

A DNS record that points one name to another name instead of to an IP address. It is often used to point the www version of a domain at a host.

Cold email

A first email to a business that has not heard from you before. Done well, it is short, specific to that business and easy to say no to.

Conversion

When a visitor does the thing the site wants them to do, such as calling, booking or filling in a form. The conversion rate is the share of visitors who do it.

Core Web Vitals

A set of measurements search engines use to judge how a page feels to use: how fast the main content appears, how quickly it responds to a tap, and how much the layout jumps around while loading.

CTA

Call to action: the button or line that tells a visitor what to do next, such as "Book an appointment" or "Call now". Each page should have one main CTA.

Deliverability

How reliably your emails reach the inbox instead of the spam folder. It depends on your domain setup, your sending habits and whether people want your emails.

Deploy

Putting a new version of a website onto the server where visitors see it. A good setup lets you deploy in one step and undo it just as easily.

Discovery call

An early conversation with a prospect to understand their business, their goals and what they need from a website. You listen more than you pitch.

DKIM

An email authentication method that adds a digital signature to messages you send. Receiving servers check it against a DNS record to confirm the email really came from your domain.

DMARC

A DNS record that tells receiving mail servers what to do with email that fails SPF or DKIM checks, and where to send reports. It helps protect your domain from being spoofed.

DNS

The domain name system: the internet's address book that turns a name like example.com into the address of the server hosting it. You manage it through records at your DNS provider.

Domain registrar

The company where a domain name is registered and renewed. The client should own this account, because whoever controls it controls the domain.

Follow up

A later message to someone who has not replied yet. A good one adds something new and stops after one or two attempts.

GDPR

The European Union's data protection law, which also shapes rules in the UK. It affects how you collect, store and use personal data, including for outreach.

HTTPS

The secure version of the web protocol, shown by the padlock in the browser. It encrypts traffic between the visitor and the site and needs a valid certificate.

Lead

A business or person who might become a client. A qualified lead is one you have checked and believe has a real need and the means to pay.

Margin

What is left of the price after your costs, often shown as a percentage of the price. A project can look big and still have a thin margin if it takes too many hours.

Meta description

A short summary of a page stored in its code. Search engines may show it under the page title in results, so it should tell a searcher why to click.

MRR

Monthly recurring revenue: the income you can expect every month from ongoing plans, such as maintenance. Yearly plans are divided by twelve to count toward it.

MX record

A DNS record that says which servers receive email for a domain. Deleting or changing it by mistake can stop a client's email from arriving.

Objection

A concern a prospect raises before buying, such as price or timing. It is usually a question about whether saying yes is safe.

PECR

The UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, which cover electronic marketing such as email, alongside data protection law. Similar rules exist across the EU.

Proposal

A written document that sets out what you will build, by when, for how much and on what terms. Once accepted, it is the reference for the whole project.

Qualification

Checking whether a prospect is worth your time before you contact them or quote: do they have a real problem, can they afford a fix, and are they likely to care.

Redirect

A rule that sends visitors and search engines from an old address to a new one. Use them when you replace an old site so existing links keep working.

Responsive design

Building a site so its layout adapts to any screen size, from a small phone to a wide monitor. Starting with the phone layout is usually the easiest way to get it right.

Retainer

An ongoing agreement where the client pays a regular fee for a defined amount of work or care. Its scope should be written down so both sides know the limits.

Rollback

Putting the previous working version of a site back after a change goes wrong. Knowing how to roll back before you launch makes every deploy less stressful.

Scope creep

When a project slowly grows beyond what was agreed, without more time or money. A written scope and a polite "happy to quote that separately" prevent it.

SEO

Search engine optimization: making a site easier for search engines to understand and more useful to searchers, so it shows up for the right searches. For local businesses, the basics matter most.

Sitemap

Either a plan of all the pages on a site, or a file that lists every page for search engines. You need the first to build the site and the second to launch it.

SOP

Standard operating procedure: a short written checklist for a job you repeat. It lets the job be done the same way every time, by anyone.

SPF

A DNS record that lists which servers may send email for your domain. Receiving servers check it to help decide whether a message is genuine.

SSL certificate

The file that lets a site use HTTPS by proving the domain's identity and enabling encryption. Many hosts issue and renew one automatically.

Staging

A private copy of a website where you test changes before they go live. Clients can review work there without visitors seeing it.

Warmup

Gradually increasing how much email a new mailbox sends, so mail providers learn to trust it. Sending a large volume from a brand new mailbox tends to land in spam.