The A-Z of Ecommerce & Website Jargon (for beginners)

Let’s be honest, the digital world loves a bit of jargon. And if you're new to ecommerce or managing your own business online, it can feel like everyone’s speaking a different language. This is our handy little guide to the main things you'll see cropping up (that we wish someone gave to us at the start of our career!). 

Accessibility

Making sure your site works for everyone, including people using screen readers or other assistive tech. That means structuring your web content with screen readers in mind, using high-contrast colours and text so it's always legible against the background (we recommend this free tool: Colour Contrast Checker), and adding 'alt text' descriptions to images so they're accessible to those who can't see them.

AI Agent

A software-powered assistant that can perform tasks or make decisions using artificial intelligence. Think of it like a virtual helper that can handle repetitive or time-consuming tasks, from responding to customer messages to automating parts of your workflow.

Alt Text

Alt text is a brief written description of what the image shows, which screen readers can use to describe to visually impaired users. It's also helpful for SEO, so it's worth taking a few seconds to add it when uploading your site images.

Analytics

There are loads of tools out there that help you understand how people use your website. If you're using a platform like Wix or Shopify, they’ll usually include a basic dashboard as part of your subscription. Alternatively, Google Analytics is the most popular free option and offers detailed insights into things like who’s visiting your site, what they’re clicking, and where they’re leaving. Other analytics tools exist too, but likely come with a price tag so if you're a small business, I'd always recommend starting with the (free!) basics.

BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)

A payment option that lets customers pay for their purchase in instalments rather than all at once. Popular with ecommerce shoppers, especially on larger purchases, it can help increase conversions but often involves extra fees for the retailer. Big names in this space include Klarna, Clearpay, and PayPal Pay Later. Most mainstream platforms like Wix and Shopify support integrations with these services, either natively or via app store plugins.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who land on a webpage and leave without clicking anything or moving to another page. A high bounce rate might mean your content isn't quite hitting the mark, or that people aren't finding what they expected.

ChatGPT

An AI tool that can help generate content, answer questions, write emails, and more, all based on natural language prompts meaning you can speak to it like a human! Best of all, there's a free version which would be sufficient to help you with some of the day-to-day running of your small business - it can help with things like crafting social media captions, optimising onsite content and chatting through business questions and decisions. 

Core Web Vitals

Google’s way of measuring how fast, stable and responsive your site feels to users. These contribute to your SEO too (i.e. your ability to show up in search results). Essentially, they're Google's way of rewarding you for making your site quick, efficient and user friendly. If you want to learn more about these then this is a really handy guide produced by Google.

CTA (Call to Action)

A prompt (usually in the form of a button) that encourages a visitor to take a specific action, like “Buy now”, “Get a quote”, or “Subscribe”. It’s a key part of nudging someone toward conversion.

Conversion

The moment someone does what you want them to do on your site, whether that’s buying something, filling out a form, or signing up for your emails. Many businesses use 'conversion rate' as a key performance measure which is calculated as a percentage of your total traffic who complete that goal.

Domain

Your website’s name – like yourbusiness.co.uk. You usually pay for it annually, although some platforms (like Wix or Squarespace) will throw in a free domain for the first year when you sign up to a paid plan. Popular domain providers include NameCheap and GoDaddy. Top tip: make sure your domain includes protection for your personal information (often called WHOIS privacy protection). Some providers include this for free, but others charge extra, so it’s worth double-checking before you buy.

Favicon

That tiny icon you see at the top of your screen in a browser tab next to the site or page name. As well as making your site look more professional, it helps people quickly spot your site when they’ve got loads of tabs open.

Hosting

The place your website “lives” online. Website builders like Wix, Shopify & Squarespace include hosting. Others (like WordPress) need you to sort it separately.

Keywords

The words or phrases people type into search engines, and that you want your website to show up for. Including relevant keywords on your site helps search engines understand what your pages are about so they can list you for the right searches. There are a couple of free tools, like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest, that can help you figure out which keywords might be most relevant for your business.

Landing Page

A standalone page on your site with one specific goal – like getting people to sign up for a newsletter or buy a particular product. Often used in ads or email campaigns to keep the message focused.

LLM (Large Language Model)

A type of AI model trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like language. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are all powered by LLMs - they help the AI understand your prompts and respond in a way that makes sense.

Machine Learning

A branch of AI where software gets better over time by learning from data. It's used in everything from email filters to product recommendations and forms the foundation for many tools you’re already using.

Meta Description

A short description of your webpage that shows in search engine results. It doesn’t show on your actual website but helps get clicks.

NPS Score

Short for Net Promoter Score. It’s a simple way to measure customer satisfaction by asking people how likely they are to recommend your business to others. Responses are scored from 0 to 10, and the overall score helps you see how loyal and happy your customers are.

Organic

Traffic that comes to your site naturally, not through ads, but from search engines or links. It's often called 'organic traffic' and is one of the best kinds to aim for because it’s free!

Platform

The website builder or ecommerce system your site runs on. Some of the most popular include Wix, Shopify or Squarespace. Wix offers a free basic version that you can experiment with but you'll almost certainly end up paying a monthly fee to use these for your website. 

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

A type of online ad where you only pay when someone clicks your link - Google Ads is the most common.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

How you help search engines (like Google) find and understand your site. It’s part content (see 'keywords' definition above), part tech setup, and part magic. This is often one of the areas that beginners find hardest to grasp, mainly because it takes time to research, plan and execute. If it all feels a bit overwhelming, let us help and take the reigns with optimising your site

Traffic

How many people visit your site (and where they come from).

User Journey

The path someone takes on your site from landing to clicking, browsing, buying, or bouncing. Generally, it's best to think about what action you want customers you take when they visit your site and make sure customers have to click as little as possible to do it!

UX (User Experience)

How easy and enjoyable your site is to use - it covers everything from layout to language.

Vibe Coding

A trending new arm of AI where you can describe a design or features for your site or app based on natural conversational language and without very technical knowledge, then the software will write code based on your prompt.

Visibility

How easy it is for people to find you online, through search, social or other channels.

We know it’s a lot to take in and the digital landscape is changing all the time, especially with new AI tools popping up every week. If you’d like a hand navigating it all, we’re here to help.

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We know it’s a lot to take in and the digital landscape is changing all the time, especially with new AI tools popping up every week. If you’d like a hand navigating it all, we’re here to help - Contact Us today to get started!