Web Design 1.2

Copy

A term used in publishing, marketing, and other related fields that refers to written text or written materials.

Hero Header

The top part of a webpage that serves as the visitor’s first glimpse into what the company has to offer.

Hyperlink

A webpage element that, when clicked, triggers the browser to request and navigate to another page from the web server.

Storyboard

A simple method of planning the flow of a site visitor’s journey through the site and the site’s functions, features, and services using sketches of the pages arranged in a sequence.

Wireframe

A simple, low-detail, rapid visual method used to design the layout of an application or website’s interface.

Accessibility

The ability of individuals with disabilities to access the same benefits and resources from a site, system, or application.

Alpha Channel

A component of digital graphics that refers to the opacity of an object or color.

Alternative Text Description

A written description of an image’s content that is included with the image. Used when an image cannot be displayed or when using screen reader software.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

A U.S. civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on a person’s disability.

Branding

The use of colors, logos, and typography to establish brand recognition, allowing individuals to quickly recognize a particular company based on these elements.

CMYK

Stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. It is the color mode used primarily for printing.

Loading Spinners

Active visual indicators that software is currently loading or processing and has not stalled or frozen.

Opacity

The opposite of transparency; how solid an object appears.

Progress Bars

Visual indicators of how far along something is in a process.

RGB

Stands for red, green, and blue. It is the color mode used primarily for digital work.

Responsive Web Design (RWD)

A design approach for user interfaces that addresses a range of device types and screen sizes and enables a user interface to automatically adjust.

Screen Reader Software

Specialized computer software that reads content on the screen out loud for the user and is primarily used by individuals with visual impairment.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

A requirement that federal agencies ensure their electronic information and communication technology are accessible to people with disabilities.

Usability

The effectiveness, efficiency, and overall satisfaction of users interacting with a website or application.

User Interface/User Experience (UI/UX)

Refers to the field of study on how the design of a computer application or website’s interface can impact the perception of the user.

User-Centered Design

A design approach wherein all aspects are designed to be focused on the user’s needs and convenience.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)

Guidelines developed as part of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative to provide detailed documentation and guidance for developers to ensure accessibility on websites, web applications, and other electronic resources.

Call to Action (CTA)

A message designed to prompt the user to take a specific action.

Content Priority Hierarchy

The strategic arrangement of information on a website emphasizing more important content over less important content. Also called information priority.

Homepage

The page that users first see when they visit a site using only the domain name, such as [www.example.com](http://www.example.com), and that usually links to the other pages on the website.

Landing Page

A page within a website that is built for marketing purposes and often does not include a typical navigation menu.

Display Typeface

A special character set that is unique, heavily stylized, and often used as a novelty or in graphic design.

Font Attributes

Different design, layout, and arrangement characteristics of typefaces that change their appearance and readability.

Font Family

A group of typefaces that possess the same design elements and style but vary by weight, width, italics, and possibly other attributes.

Google Fonts API

An online service for accessing and embedding free and open-source font families into websites.

Kerning

The amount of horizontal space and overlap of individual characters that helps visually group letters into a word.

Key-Value Pair

In a key-value pair, the key is the name or identifier of a piece of data, while the value is the actual piece of data being referenced by the key.

Leading

The amount of space between the baseline of one line of text to the baseline of the upper or lower line of text.

Lorem Ipsum

Placeholder text commonly used to demonstrate the visual form of a document, webpage, or typeface without relying on meaningful content.

Monospaced Typeface

A set of characters in which all characters take up the same horizontal space and are evenly spaced apart.

Sans-Serif Typeface

Any set of characters that do not include the small projections or “serifs” on the ends of each letter’s stroke.

Script Typeface

A set of characters whose design resembles natural handwriting.

Serif Typeface

Any set of characters that include small projections on the ends of the strokes of each letter.

Text Alignment

The direction from which lines of text begin and extend from.

Text Contrast

The amount of visual difference between different text, such as color, size, and weight.

Typeface

A collection of characters with consistent properties and visual attributes, often referred to as a “font.”

Typography

The art and technique of arranging type or text, including letters, numbers, and symbols, in a visually appealing and readable manner.

Typography Hierarchy

The use of font size and weight to visually guide viewers to important content.

Web-Safe Fonts

Typefaces and font families that are preinstalled and available on most computer operating systems.

White Space

The space between text and visual elements that contains no content and creates a visual separation.

Bots

Software that is programmed to autonomously perform programmed operations on behalf of a site, application, or organization.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

A markup language that provides a set of rules for defining any data structure in plain text.

Privacy Statement

A document that outlines how a website or online service collects, uses, and protects the personal information of its users or visitors. Also called privacy policy or privacy notice.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The process of optimizing a website to improve the overall quality and quantity of visitor traffic by enabling search engines to better understand and categorize the site and its content.

Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

A search engine’s response to a user’s search query that displays the relevant results of the search.

Site Map

A file that contains a master list of links to the pages on your site.

Terms and Conditions

A document that defines the contractual rights and obligations of any party in any contract.

Website Log

A text-based document used to record a chronological history of activity that occurred on a specific website.