Glossary

Accessibility

Accessibility means access. It refers to the ability for everyone, regardless of disability or special needs, to access, use and benefit from everything within their environment. It is the "degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible".

Source: CNIB

An inaccessible site discriminates against those who have a disability, and is governed in Australia by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992

In 2015 Coles settled a discrimination case brought before the Australian Human Rights Commission by Gisele Mesnage. Considerably earlier, the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games was ordered to pay compensation to Bruce Maguire, because of accessibility issues with their website.

I create accessible sites.

CMS

A CMS is a Content Management System. It's a piece of software that allows you to edit a website without having to understand the languages used to create the site.

Some CMSs are better than others. Some are unwieldy and unsuitable for websites (see WordPress below). Some don't do enough. Some are complicated and try to do too much. And some (as Goldilocks would tell you) are just right. A good CMS should be customisable to suit the specific user, and easy to use.

The CMS I use does just what you need, and is easy to learn and robust.

CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Stylesheets. CSS is the language used for changing the appearance of a website - its colours, fonts, layout, and so on.

Here's a tiny part of the CSS (there are over 900 lines in the CSS used for this site) used to style the navigation at the top of each page:

	.site li {
	  padding: 1rem;
	  margin: 1rem 0;
	  background-color: var(--main);
	  box-shadow: 1rem 0 0 0 var(--comp);
	  transition: .3s;
	  width: 12rem;
	}
  

Domain Name

Your domain name is a unique address which allows your users to find you online. My domain name is “webdesign.place”. A domain name is made up of at least two parts: the first part (webdesign) is the domain itself; the second part (after the full-stop) is the top-level domain (TLD). After some TLDs is a label which identifies the country (for example, .au).

Once upon a time, the TLD was pretty boring - .com, .org, .net - but these days there are many other possibilities, including .place, .rocks, and even .beer or .coffee.

Note that some TLDs can only be used by a specific type of business; for example, .aero is only for entities in various categories of air-travel, and .archi is restricted to individuals and organisations that can verify participation in architecture industry.

All domain names must be registered with an authorised domain name registrar. There is an annual fee for registering a domain name. The most popular names, of course, tend to be the most expensive.

You can see a very long list of TLDs at ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).

Here you can see a list of TLDs with notes showing what sort of entity can use a particular TLD.

There are over 1500 domain name extensions (TLDs).

HTML

HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It's the language used to create the text and images that you see on a website.

If you're curious about how it looks, this is the code used to create the “On this page” list of links:

  <nav class="page">
    <span>On this page:</span>
    <ul>
      <li><a href="#html">HTML</a></li>
      <li><a href="#css">CSS</a></li>
      <li><a href="#responsive">Responsive Design</a></li>
      <li><a href="#accessibility">Accessibility</a></li>
      <li><a href="#domainname">Domain Name</a></li>
      <li><a href="#webhosting">Web Hosting</a></li>
      <li><a href="#popups">Interstitial Popups</a></li>
      <li><a href="#wordpress">WordPress</a></li>
    </ul>
  </nav>
				  

Interstitial Popups

An interstitial popup is a window that pops up automatically as the user browses your site.

They frequently contain a call-to-action (“Subscribe Now!”)

Yes, you've seen them, and undoubtedly been annoyed by them. So why shouldn't you use them?

• Google hates them! This will adversely affect your appearance in search results.
• Users hate them!
• Browsers hate them! Many browsers will prevent their display automatically.
• They reek of desperation and cheapen your brand.

Responsive Design

The goal of responsive design is to build web pages that detect the visitor's screen size and orientation and change the layout accordingly.

Source: WhatIs.com

This is important because:

• over half of all users visit a website for the first time on their mobile device; if they’re interested, they will often then re-visit the site on a larger device;
• when a user searches for a site using Google on a mobile device, the sites that offer the best mobile experience will appear earlier in the search results;
• visitors using a smartphone to browse a website that’s not mobile-friendly will, on average:
  • spend less time browsing the site
  • be less likely to perform any desirable actions (such as making a purchase or calling a phone number)
  • be more likely to return to the search engine results (to visit another website)
• we now have about three seconds to give visitors the information they want before they click the back button to look at another site.

SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

Source: MOZ

Achieving a favourable SEO outcome as a web developer involves a multifaceted approach.

I prioritise website speed and performance, ensuring fast loading times and a smooth user experience.

My websites are structured with clean, semantic HTML and content is organised logically, both of which aids search engine crawlers in understanding and indexing the site effectively.

I use proper meta tags, including title tags and meta descriptions, to boost visibility in search results.

All of my sites are responsive to ensure your user has the best experience across various devices, enhancing accessibility and user engagement.

Web Hosting

Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

Source: Wikipedia

So essentially it's a company with many fast hard drives, who spend a lot of time and effort on maintenance and security, and the files that make up your website are stored on those hard drives.

Of course, the hosting company expects to be paid to host your site. And the cheapest host isn't necessarily the best. Factors such as speed, quality of support, and uptime need to be considered.

WordPress

• Complexity for Simple Websites: WordPress can be overly complex for simple websites. If you're creating a basic brochure site or a landing page, the features and functionalities of WordPress might be overkill.
• Security Concerns: WordPress sites can be vulnerable to security breaches if not properly maintained. Plugins and themes need regular updates to patch vulnerabilities, and inexperienced users may struggle to keep their sites secure.
• Performance Overhead: WordPress sites can suffer from performance issues, especially when loaded with numerous plugins and themes. This can lead to slower loading times and poor user experience, particularly on mobile devices.
• Learning Curve: While WordPress is relatively user-friendly, there is still a learning curve involved, especially for beginners. Customising themes, managing plugins, and understanding the WordPress ecosystem can be daunting for those without technical expertise.
• Dependency on Plugins: While plugins extend WordPress's functionality, relying too heavily on them can lead to compatibility issues, security vulnerabilities, and performance degradation. Additionally, finding quality plugins that meet your specific needs can be challenging.
• Limited Flexibility for Customisation: While WordPress offers a degree of customisation through themes and plugins, it may not provide the level of flexibility required for highly customised or unique website designs. Developers may find themselves constrained by WordPress's architecture.
• Maintenance Overhead: WordPress sites require regular maintenance, including updates to the core software, themes, and plugins. Failure to keep everything up to date can result in security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and site downtime.
• Resource Intensiveness: WordPress can be resource-intensive, particularly for larger websites with heavy traffic. Hosting costs may increase as a result, especially if you require additional resources to maintain performance and security.
• Dependency on Third-party Ecosystem: WordPress's ecosystem relies heavily on third-party developers for themes, plugins, and support. If a plugin or theme developer discontinues support or updates, it can leave your website vulnerable or outdated.
• Overhead for Simple Content Management: If your website primarily focuses on content management without the need for extensive customisation or features, simpler platforms or static site generators might be more suitable and efficient options.