In one of our past blog posts, we laid out some of the key email terms that a service professional needs. Here, we want to help clarify some of the many website terms floating around. It’s impossible to cover every topic, of course, but this post is designed to narrow down those that are most appropriate for financial advisors.
A
AdWords – AdWords is Google’s paid search marketing program, where businesses can pay to have their website shown on search results.
Algorithm – The formulas that search engines use to categorize websites in searches. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) seeks to work with these algorithms to place their website higher.
Analytics – The collection of data about a website, which provide useful metrics for marketing. An example is Google Analytics, Google’s free analytic software (all of our websites come ready to be integrated with Google Analytics).
B
Backlinks – Links from other websites that point back to your site. Backlinks can add to your site’s credibility and rank you higher on search results (but be careful of trying to trick the system, you could get punished!).
Bandwidth – The amount of information your connection to the Internet can carry. A better connection usually means more bandwidth, and vice versa.
Blog – Short for Web log, blogs are long-form posts that can live on a website or blogging platform like WordPress.
Browser – The software you use to view web pages, such as Safari, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.
C
Cookie – A piece of information used to help identify website users who have visited a website in the past. Using cookies, developers can use customized content and advertisements.
CSS – A type of code that developers and designers use for websites. Our websites come with a custom CSS section where users can make changes if they feel comfortable.
D
Domain Name – The name that identifies a computer and website, such as www.fmgsuite.com/insights (fmgsuite is the domain name).
E
eCommerce – A website that sells things online, such as Amazon or eBay.
404 Error – A 404 error message shows up on a site when the page can’t be found. This can happen if the link doesn’t exist, or it’s an old link and the page has been taken down.
F
Favicon – The small image that appears before a domain. In our system, you can personalize your favicon just like you can personalize your logo.
H
Header – The titles on a page that stand out with key ideas. Headers and sub-headers can help with SEO and organization on your site.
Sub-Header – The secondary headers on a website that break up information. Like headers, they can help with SEO purposes.
HTML – Short for HyperText Markup Language, HTML is a type of code that developers use to build and make changes to websites and other material online.
Hyperlink – The connection between different web pages, either internally (within the same website) or externally (between different websites).
J
Javascript – A version of code that can make pages more animated and dynamic.
JPEG – Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEGs are image files that are compressed and ready for transfer to websites and other materials.
M
Masthead – the graphic image at the top of a web page. Mastheads can contain photos, images, or just text.
Mouseover – An action that occurs when a user puts their cursor over a button, but before clicking. Many of our themes feature mouseover designs on the navigation.
N
Navigation – The organization of information on a website. There are different tiers, but the two most common are Parent Navigation, which are the navigation items at the top of a page, and Child Navigation, which are the drop down menus that break off of the Parent Navigation items.
P
PDF – Short for Portable Document Format, PDFs are file formats that can live on websites and are easily transferrable between different computers.
PNG – Short for Portable Network Graphics, PNGs are another image file, like JPEGs. They have some similar qualities and some differences, as well.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – PPC ads are available through search engines and social media and give businesses the opportunity to pay for ads as often as they are clicked. Click prices range from 10 cents to a few dollars, depending on the platform.
S
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Designing a website with search engines in mind and making it easier to find when searched for. This can include keyword aggregation, adding headers and subheaders, link-building, and using analytics.
Sitemap – A representation of a whole site that developers use to visualize how a site will look when complete, including navigation items and subpages.
T
Thumbnail – A smaller version of an image that is usually used as a preview or link out to the original image.
U
Upload – Sending data from a local source, like your computer, to something else, like a website.
URL – Short for Uniform Resource Locator, the URL is where a website can be found, such as fmgsuite.com/insights.
W
Widget – Components that can be added to a site without having to code them in, such as our Market Watch and Sign Up for Our Newsletter widgets.
