The Plain English Tech Dictionary for Small Business Owners

A plain English glossary of every technical term small business owners need to understand about their website, security, and online presence.

Your developer says things. You nod. You leave the meeting none the wiser. This page exists so that stops happening. Every term below is explained the way I'd explain it to you across a table in a pub. No jargon, no condescension.

A

A/B Testing

Showing two different versions of a page (version A and version B) to different visitors to see which one performs better. Maybe one has a green button and the other has a blue button. You run both, measure which gets more clicks, and keep the winner. It is just a controlled experiment for websites.

Accessibility

Making your website usable by everyone, including people with visual impairments, motor difficulties, hearing loss, or cognitive differences. This means things like screen readers being able to read your content, buttons being large enough to tap, and videos having captions. It is also a legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010, not just a nice-to-have.

Alt Text

A short written description attached to an image on your website. If the image fails to load or a blind person is using a screen reader, the alt text tells them what the image shows. "Photo of our Ipswich showroom" is good alt text. "IMG_4829.jpg" is not.

Analytics

Tools that track what people do on your website — how they found you, which pages they visited, how long they stayed, and where they left. Google Analytics is the most common. Think of it as a security camera for your website, except instead of catching shoplifters it shows you which pages are working and which ones people ignore.

API

Application Programming Interface. A way for two pieces of software to talk to each other. When your website sends order details to your accounting software automatically, that happens through an API. You do not need to understand how they work, but you should know the word because your developer will say it a lot.

B

Backlink

A link from someone else's website to yours. Google treats these like votes of confidence — if reputable sites link to you, Google assumes your content is worth showing to people. Not all backlinks are equal. A link from the BBC is worth more than a link from a random blog with three readers.

Bandwidth

The amount of data your hosting can transfer to visitors in a given period. Think of it like the width of a pipe. More visitors and bigger pages need more bandwidth. If you exceed your limit, your site either slows to a crawl or goes offline. Most modern hosting plans offer enough that you will never think about this.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who land on your website and leave without clicking anything else. A high bounce rate usually means people are not finding what they expected, or your page loaded so slowly they gave up. Some pages naturally have high bounce rates though — if someone Googles your phone number, finds your contact page, and calls you, that is a bounce but also a success.

Browser Cache

A temporary storage area on your visitor's device where their browser saves copies of your website's files. When they visit again, the browser loads the saved copies instead of downloading everything fresh, making the site load faster. This is why your developer sometimes tells you to "clear your cache" when you cannot see a change they have made.

Bug

Something on your website that does not work the way it should. The word comes from an actual moth that got stuck in a 1940s computer. These days it refers to anything from a broken button to a page that crashes on iPhones. Bugs are normal. Every piece of software has them. What matters is how quickly they get fixed.

C

CDN

Content Delivery Network. A network of servers around the world that stores copies of your website's files. When someone in Australia visits your UK-hosted site, the CDN serves them from a nearby server instead of making the data travel halfway around the planet. Your site loads faster for everyone, everywhere. Cloudflare is the most popular one.

CMS

Content Management System. Software that lets you edit your website without knowing how to code. WordPress is the most famous example. A CMS gives you a dashboard where you can add pages, edit text, upload images, and publish blog posts. If your developer has built you a site and you can log in to change things yourself, you are using a CMS.

Cookie

A small file your website stores on a visitor's device. Some cookies are essential — they remember that someone is logged in, or what is in their shopping basket. Others are used for tracking and advertising. That annoying banner asking you to accept cookies exists because of GDPR. You need one if your site uses any non-essential cookies.

Core Web Vitals

Three measurements Google uses to judge how fast and pleasant your website feels to use. LCP measures how quickly your main content appears. INP measures how quickly things respond when someone clicks. CLS measures whether stuff jumps around while the page loads. Google uses these as ranking factors, so they directly affect whether people find you.

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets. The code that controls how your website looks — colours, fonts, spacing, layout. HTML is the structure, CSS is the paint and wallpaper. You will never need to write it yourself, but knowing the word helps when your developer says "that's a CSS change" (meaning it is usually quick and cheap).

CTA

Call to Action. The button or link that tells visitors what you want them to do next. "Get a free quote", "Book a consultation", "Add to basket". A page without a clear CTA is like a shop without a till — people browse, enjoy the experience, and leave without buying anything.

Cyber Essentials

A UK government-backed certification scheme that proves your business meets a baseline of cyber security standards. Some government contracts require it. It covers things like firewalls, software updates, access control, and malware protection. It is not expensive or difficult to get, and it gives your clients confidence that you take security seriously.

D

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service. An attack where someone floods your website with so much fake traffic that it cannot serve real visitors. Imagine a thousand people phoning your reception at once so genuine customers cannot get through. Cloudflare and similar services can protect against this. Most small businesses will never be targeted, but it is worth knowing the term.

DNS

Domain Name System. The internet's phone book. When someone types your website address into their browser, DNS translates it into the numerical IP address of the server where your site actually lives. You interact with DNS when you set up a new domain or change hosting providers. Your developer will handle this, but you might need to give them access to your DNS settings.

Domain Name

Your website's address. Like "staghillsoftware.co.uk". You do not buy a domain permanently — you rent it, usually annually. If you forget to renew it, someone else can buy it. Set up auto-renewal and make sure the domain is registered in your name, not your developer's. That last point is important.

E

E-commerce

Selling things online. If your website has a shop, a basket, and a checkout, you are doing e-commerce. This can range from a simple Stripe payment link to a full online shop with stock management, shipping calculations, and customer accounts.

Encryption (SSL/TLS)

Scrambling data so that only the intended recipient can read it. When your website uses HTTPS (the padlock in the browser bar), the connection between your site and the visitor is encrypted. This means nobody can intercept what they type into your forms. SSL and TLS are the technologies that make this happen — TLS is the newer version, but everyone still calls it SSL.

F

Favicon

The tiny icon that appears in the browser tab next to your page title. Usually your logo, shrunk down to 32x32 pixels. A missing favicon makes your site look unfinished. It takes five minutes to add one. There is no excuse for not having one.

Firewall

A security barrier that monitors incoming and outgoing traffic and blocks anything suspicious. Think of it as a bouncer for your website. A web application firewall (WAF) specifically protects against common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. Cloudflare offers a free one that handles most threats.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol. A way to upload files to your web server. Think of it as a courier service for code. Mostly replaced by better tools now, but some hosting providers still make you use it, which tells you something about how modern they are.

G

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation. European data protection law that applies to any website collecting personal data from UK or EU visitors. If you have a contact form, use analytics, or set cookies, it applies to you. You need a privacy policy, a cookie consent banner, and a legitimate reason for collecting any data. The fines for non-compliance are enormous, but for small businesses the ICO is more likely to send a stern letter than bankrupt you.

Google Analytics

Google's free tool for tracking website visitors. It tells you how many people visit, where they come from, what they look at, and how long they stay. The current version is called GA4, and it is noticeably harder to use than the previous version. Still the industry standard though, and it is free.

Google Business Profile

The free listing that appears when someone Googles your business name — the box on the right with your address, phone number, opening hours, reviews, and photos. Previously called Google My Business. If you have a physical location or serve a local area, this is arguably more important than your website for getting found.

Google Search Console

A free tool from Google that shows you how your site performs in search results. It tells you what people search for when they find you, which pages appear most often, and alerts you to any problems Google finds with your site. If your developer is not using this, ask them why.

H

Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)

The headings on your webpage, ranked by importance. H1 is the main title (you should have exactly one per page), H2s are section headings, H3s are sub-sections. They help both readers and Google understand the structure of your content. Using them correctly is one of the easiest SEO wins there is.

Hosting

The service that stores your website's files and makes them available to visitors on the internet. Without hosting, your website exists on nobody's computer and nobody can see it. Hosting ranges from a few pounds a month for a shared server to hundreds for a dedicated one. For most small business websites, cheap hosting is perfectly fine.

HSTS

HTTP Strict Transport Security. A security setting that tells browsers to only ever connect to your site over HTTPS, never plain HTTP. It prevents a type of attack where someone intercepts the initial unencrypted connection before the redirect to HTTPS kicks in. Your developer can enable it with a single line of configuration.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language. The code that defines the structure and content of every webpage. It is the skeleton that everything else hangs on. When you "view source" on a webpage, the text with all the angle brackets is HTML. You do not need to learn it, but it helps to know that this is what your website is made of at the most basic level.

HTTP / HTTPS

HTTP is how browsers and servers communicate. HTTPS is the encrypted version. If your website address starts with https:// and shows a padlock, the connection is encrypted. If it starts with http:// without the S, it is not, and browsers will warn your visitors that your site is "not secure". There is no good reason for any website to still be on plain HTTP in 2026.

I

Indexing

The process of Google reading your website and adding it to its database so it can appear in search results. If your page is not indexed, it does not exist as far as Google is concerned. You can check whether your pages are indexed using Google Search Console. New sites can take days or weeks to get fully indexed.

IP Address

A numerical address that identifies a device on the internet, like a postal address for computers. Every website has one. Every visitor has one. Your website's IP address points to the server where your site is hosted. You will rarely need to think about this unless you are setting up DNS or dealing with security.

J

JavaScript

A programming language that makes websites interactive. Dropdown menus, form validation, animated elements, live chat widgets, Google Maps embeds — all JavaScript. Too much of it slows your site down. Your developer should use it where it adds genuine value, not just because they can.

K

Keyword

A word or phrase that people type into Google when searching for something. If you are a plumber in Ipswich, "plumber Ipswich" is an obvious keyword. Good SEO means understanding which keywords your potential customers actually use and making sure your content addresses those searches naturally, not by stuffing the same phrase into every paragraph.

KPI

Key Performance Indicator. A number you track to measure whether something is working. For a website, typical KPIs include monthly visitors, contact form submissions, phone calls from the site, online sales, and bounce rate. If you cannot name three KPIs for your website, you probably do not know whether it is doing its job.

L

Landing Page

A standalone page designed for a single purpose, usually tied to a marketing campaign. If you run a Google ad for "emergency boiler repair", the landing page is where people end up when they click it. A good landing page has one clear message and one clear action. It is not your homepage — it is a focused page built to convert a specific audience.

Lazy Loading

A technique where images and other heavy content only load when the visitor scrolls down to them, rather than all at once when the page first opens. This makes the initial page load much faster. If your site has lots of images, lazy loading should be enabled. It is a quick win for performance.

M

Meta Description

The two-line summary that appears under your page title in Google search results. Google does not always use the one you write — it sometimes generates its own — but writing a good one increases the chances of people clicking through to your site. Think of it as a tiny advert for each page.

Mobile Responsive

A website that adjusts its layout to work properly on any screen size — phones, tablets, laptops, desktops. Over 60% of web traffic in the UK comes from mobile devices. If your site is not mobile responsive, most of your visitors are having a bad time. Google also prioritises mobile-friendly sites in search results.

MX Record

A DNS setting that tells the internet where to deliver emails for your domain. If you use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for your business email, your MX records point to their servers. If your email stops working after a DNS change, the MX records are the first thing to check.

N

NAP (Name, Address, Phone)

Your business name, address, and phone number. For local SEO, these need to be identical everywhere they appear — your website, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yell, industry directories, everywhere. Even small differences ("St" vs "Street", "01234 567890" vs "01234567890") can confuse Google and hurt your local search rankings.

O

Open Graph

Tags in your website's code that control how your pages look when shared on social media. They determine the title, description, and image that appear when someone shares your link on Facebook, LinkedIn, or WhatsApp. Without them, social platforms grab whatever they can find, which usually looks terrible.

Organic Traffic

Visitors who find your website through unpaid search results, as opposed to clicking on an ad. Organic traffic is free (in the sense that you do not pay per click), but earning it requires time and effort through SEO. It is generally more valuable than paid traffic because people who find you organically are actively searching for what you offer.

P

Page Speed

How fast your website loads. Measured in seconds, but also broken down into specific metrics like Core Web Vitals. Slow pages lose visitors — research consistently shows that every additional second of load time increases bounce rates significantly. Google's PageSpeed Insights tool will score your site for free and tell you exactly what is slowing it down.

Plugin

An add-on that extends the functionality of a CMS like WordPress. There are plugins for SEO, security, contact forms, e-commerce, backups — almost anything you can think of. The catch is that every plugin adds code to your site, which can slow it down, create security holes, or break things when it conflicts with another plugin. Use as few as possible.

PPC

Pay-Per-Click. Online advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Google Ads is the biggest PPC platform. You bid on keywords, and your ad appears at the top of search results for those terms. It can deliver immediate traffic, but it stops the moment you stop paying. PPC and SEO work best together, not as alternatives.

Privacy Policy

A page on your website that explains what personal data you collect, why you collect it, how you store it, and who you share it with. You are legally required to have one if you collect any personal data at all — and if your site has a contact form or analytics, you are collecting personal data. Do not copy someone else's. It needs to accurately describe what your site actually does.

R

Redirect (301 / 302)

An instruction that automatically sends visitors from one URL to another. A 301 is permanent ("this page has moved forever, update your records"), and a 302 is temporary ("this page has moved for now, but it might come back"). If you redesign your site and the page addresses change, you need 301 redirects so that anyone with the old links — including Google — ends up in the right place.

Responsive Design

See Mobile Responsive. Same thing, slightly more technical name. Your developer might say either.

Robots.txt

A file on your website that tells search engines which pages they are allowed to crawl and which they should ignore. It sits at yourdomain.com/robots.txt. It is not a security measure — it is more of a polite request. Search engines usually honour it, but it will not stop a determined person from viewing pages you have listed there.

ROI

Return on Investment. What you get back compared to what you put in. If you spend £2,000 on a website and it generates £20,000 of business in its first year, that is a very good ROI. If it generates nothing, it is an expensive brochure. Every decision about your website should be made with ROI in mind.

S

Schema Markup

Code you add to your website that helps search engines understand your content in a structured way. It can tell Google that a piece of text is a business address, a product price, a review rating, or an FAQ answer. When Google understands this, it can display rich results — those enhanced search listings with star ratings, opening hours, or FAQ dropdowns. Worth having. Often overlooked.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation. The work you do to make your website appear higher in Google search results. It covers everything from the words on your pages to how fast your site loads to how many other sites link to you. It is not a dark art, and anyone who tells you they can "guarantee" first-page rankings is lying. Good SEO is steady, honest work that compounds over time.

Sitemap

An XML file that lists all the pages on your website, submitted to Google so it knows what to index. Think of it as handing Google a table of contents for your site instead of making it wander around and find pages on its own. Your CMS probably generates one automatically. If not, your developer should create one.

SSL Certificate

A digital certificate that enables HTTPS encryption on your website. It proves to browsers that your site is who it claims to be and encrypts the connection. Without one, browsers will show a "Not Secure" warning and Google will rank you lower. Most hosting providers include a free one through Let's Encrypt. If someone tries to charge you £100+ for an SSL certificate, get a second opinion.

Staging Site

A private copy of your website where changes can be tested before going live. It is like a rehearsal before a performance. Your developer makes changes on the staging site, you review them, and once everyone is happy, those changes get pushed to the live site. If your developer makes changes directly on your live site without testing them first, that should concern you.

T

TLS

Transport Layer Security. The protocol that encrypts connections between your website and visitors. It is the successor to SSL, and it is what actually runs when people say "SSL". Everyone calls it SSL anyway. Even certificates called "SSL certificates" use TLS. The naming is a mess, but what matters is that your site uses it.

Title Tag

The text that appears in the browser tab and as the clickable blue link in Google search results. Each page should have a unique, descriptive title tag. It is one of the most important on-page SEO factors. "Home" is a bad title tag. "Emergency Plumber in Ipswich | Available 24/7 | Smith Plumbing" is a good one.

Tracking Script

A snippet of code added to your website that sends data to a third-party service. Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, and LinkedIn Insight Tag are common examples. Each tracking script adds weight to your page and raises GDPR considerations. Only add tracking scripts for services you actually use and look at. If nobody checks the data, the script is just slowing your site down for no reason.

U

UI / UX

UI (User Interface) is what your website looks like — the buttons, colours, layout, and typography. UX (User Experience) is how it feels to use — whether people can find what they need, whether the flow makes sense, whether anything is confusing or frustrating. A beautiful site with terrible UX is like a gorgeous restaurant where nobody can find the front door.

Uptime

The percentage of time your website is accessible and working. Good hosting providers guarantee 99.9% uptime, which sounds impressive until you realise that still allows for about 8 hours of downtime per year. You can monitor your site's uptime with free tools like UptimeRobot, which will email you the moment your site goes down.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. The full address of a specific page on the internet, like "https://staghillsoftware.co.uk/blog/jargon-buster.html". Good URLs are short, readable, and describe the page content. Bad URLs look like "example.com/page?id=48271&ref=nav3". Clean URLs help both humans and search engines understand what a page is about.

W

Web Hosting

See Hosting. Same thing. People use both terms interchangeably.

WordPress

The most popular CMS in the world, powering roughly 40% of all websites. It is free, open-source, and enormously flexible. It is also a frequent target for hackers (because of its popularity), and it can be slow if loaded with too many plugins. WordPress is a tool, not a solution — a well-built WordPress site is excellent, and a badly-built one is a liability.

WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. Pronounced "wizzy-wig". A type of editor that shows you roughly what the finished page will look like while you are editing it, rather than showing you raw code. The WordPress block editor is a WYSIWYG editor. They are convenient but sometimes produce messy underlying code, which is a trade-off your developer can explain.