Glossary

I decided that if I was going to spout off about what’s wrong with people’s sites, I should at least provide definitions for the terms I will most likely use. The glossary is a work in progress. Feel free to comment and add your suggestions for terms and/or definition modifications.

banner/header: The top (usually graphical) portion of a web site or blog. The banner will usually contain the site’s name, logo, and tagline. On a blog, the site name is usually a link back to the blog’s main page.

banner ad: An advertisement in the form of a wide, banner-type image. Banner ads are usually long in length and short in height.

CSS: Cascading Style Sheets. A standard for specifying the appearance of text and other (usually graphic) elements. CSS lets you separate your content from your design which allows you greater control over both.

design: Generally in graphic form, design is the artistic and technical work prepared in the early stage of web development. (See web design.)

eye candy: A graphic element that is used for design purposes and does not reinforce any content.

footer: The footer of a website or blog is generally used for repeating navigation and including any ‘fine print’ content. That’s not to say, however, you can’t use the footer for more creative purposes. Just be sure the footer content works as a good closing section, and incorporates the rest of your theme.

header/banner: The top (usually graphical) portion of a web site or blog. The banner will usually contain the site’s name, logo, and tagline. On a blog, the site name is usually a link back to the blog’s main page.

Layout: The general appearance of a web page; the positioning of navigation, content, ads, graphics, etc.

Look-and-Feel: The look-and-feel of a website is how its branding and content are reflected in its design. ‘Look’ refers to the appearance of the web elements: text color, font size, header treatments, navigation design, etc. ‘Feel’ refers to the reader’s experience of using the website. For example, is the site easy to navigate, is the content clear and readable, etc.

Navigation: Navigation is the method readers use to move around a website, and comes in many forms:

• global navigation
• bread crumbing
• page-turner
• footer links
• target-anchors (like a table of contents)

Navigation encompasses not just the linking, but the visual elements involved. Website navigation has two primary purposes:

1. provide a means for the reader to go somewhere else;
2. tell the reader where they are.

Secondary purposes include informing readers where they have been and providing complementary design elements for a website’s look-and-feel.

tag line: A catchy phrase or statement that succinctly sums up a site and provides a branding “motto.”

web design: Using visual elements such as images, graphics, icons, and content formatting to display (i.e design) content on the internet. Web design is NOT web development. Think of it this way: web design is how it looks.

web development: Using internet technologies such as HTML, XML, CSS, PHP, etc. to develop content on the internet. Web development is NOT web design. Think of it this way: web development is how it works. (Web development does incorporate web design–you need the development technology to layout the design.)