Below you will find a list of terms and their definitions pertaining to website terminology.
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Inclusive web content that will assist those with physical and cognitive disabilities. |
| Alt text | Typically used for screen readers and to improve the user experience for the visually impaired. Alt text is the descriptive text you see if an image doesn’t load, or when you roll over an image on a webpage. |
| Anchor links | An anchor tag, or anchor link, is a web page element that links to another location on the same page. They are typically used for long pages, so visitors can jump to a specific part of the page without having to scroll as much. See also in-page navigation. |
| Assets | Files in the CMS (pages, docs, images, etc.) are all known as assets. Altogether, these are referred to as the Asset Tree. |
| Asset Tree | The University website is laid out in a parent page/child page(s) structure. All together, these are referred to as the Asset Tree. Each asset added to the system shows in the Asset Tree. |
| Content components | Let you add different types of content into your web page e.g. Video component, WYSIWYG component. |
| Content Management System (CMS) | A CMS is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content. |
| Hidden link | The asset will NOT appear in the left-hand navigation menu as a link. |
| Homepage | A homepage is the main webpage of a website and includes navigation. For example the main homepage for the University of Otago website is www.otago.ac.nz |
| Hyperlink | A hyperlink is generally a link within text pointing to another resource. The link could point to another webpage, a document or an image. |
| Hypertext markup language (HTML) | HTML is a language used by web browsers to render the information onto the webpage. |
| Information Architecture (IA) | IA, takes the combined skills and efforts of designers, developers and content strategists. These three areas of expertise come together to ensure you, the user, know exactly where you are in reference to where you want to be. |
| In-page navigation | Provides a snapshot of what is on the page and is determined by a heading level, e.g. Heading 2. Clicking on the link will take you directly to that section on the page. |
| Landing page | A landing page is a standalone web page that a person "lands" on after clicking through from an email, ad, or other digital location. Landing pages have no navigation. |
| Left hand navigation menu | The sidebar menu is the set of links on the left-hand side of the page. |
| Menu link | The asset will appear in the left-hand navigation menu as a link. |
| Search engine optimisation (SEO) | SEO refers to optimising your website and online activities for search engines to easily find you. The coveted first place on Google is often the goal. |
| Squiz Matrix | The CMS platform used at the University of Otago. |
| User Experience (UX) Design | The process design teams use to create products that provide meaningful and relevant experience to users. |
| Web page | A document which can be displayed in a web browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge, or Apple Safari. |
| Web server | A computer that hosts a website on the internet. |
| WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) | Editing software that allows you to see and edit content in a way that appears as it would on the webpage. |
| 404 | If you stumble across a 404 message this means the page is no longer on the server. This could mean the typed URL is incorrect or the pages does not exist. |
Reference: 51 common website terms defined