Glossary
What is a CMS? How is UI different from UX? Find a definition, see an example and learn what to ask about your project.
Application Programming Interface
A way for programs to share specific capabilities or data. An API defines what one system can request from another and how it responds. Having an API does not mean every piece of data is accessible or every integration is possible.
A hotel website retrieves room availability from a booking system, provided its API supports that operation.
Worth asking: Does our current tool expose the data we need, and under what terms?
Content Management System
A system for adding and updating website content through an editing panel rather than manually changing code. What you can edit depends on the implementation, from selected fields to a full page editor.
A salon owner changes a treatment price and photo in a panel, then publishes the update.
Worth asking: Which content can I change myself, and can I preview it before publishing?
An action that matters to your business
A defined user action measured as completion of a goal, such as a purchase, booking or enquiry. The definition needs to be precise: clicking a button and successfully completing the process are different events.
A submitted form counts as an enquiry, while opening the form is a separate step.
Worth asking: Are we measuring a completed action or just the click that leads to it?
Measures of the website experience
Metrics covering main content loading (LCP), responsiveness to interactions (INP) and layout stability (CLS). They help identify problems people experience. A single test result is not a substitute for measurements from real visits.
A booking button moves after an image loads. That is a layout stability problem.
Worth asking: Are we assessing real user data, a laboratory test, or both?
Your business address on the internet
A readable name used in a website address, such as sebcode.com. Registering a domain and running a website on hosting are separate services. A domain needs renewal according to its registration period.
A business changes hosting but keeps its domain, so customers continue using the same address.
Worth asking: Whose account holds the domain, and who is responsible for renewals?
Generative Engine Optimization
A term for work on content visibility in AI-generated answers. It includes clear descriptions, reliable information and accessible content. It is not one unified standard or a guarantee that an assistant will cite a website.
A company explains what a service includes and its limits so a specific question can be answered without guesswork.
Worth asking: Which tools are we measuring visibility in, and what counts as a result?
Content separated from presentation
A CMS that supplies content independently of how it is displayed. A website or application retrieves the material through an API. The presentation layer and the way changes get published must be implemented separately.
The same room description appears on the hotel website and in its guest application.
Worth asking: Will content feed multiple places, and how will editors preview their changes?
Where a website runs
A service providing resources for a website or application. It may cover file storage, program execution and a database. Email, backups and technical support are not necessarily included in the same package.
A simple service website and an application with customer accounts may require different environments and support.
Worth asking: What is included in the recurring cost, and who restores a backup after a failure?
Search Engine Optimization
Work that helps search engines discover and understand content and helps users reach the appropriate page. It involves content, structure and technical details. It is more than repeating keywords or changing a setting once.
A hotel explains its policy for guests with dogs instead of repeating a phrase throughout the homepage.
Worth asking: Which customer questions do we answer, and where should readers go next?
Server-Side Rendering
Preparing a page’s HTML on a server in response to a request. The browser receives generated content. This differs from producing static files when building a site, although both approaches can deliver ready-made HTML.
A dashboard shows current data for the signed-in user, prepared while handling their request.
Worth asking: Does the content need to be generated for each request, or can it be prepared in advance?
User Interface
The controls and visual elements used to operate a product: buttons, forms, navigation and tables. A well-designed interface shows what you can do and what happened after an action.
A form highlights an invalid field and places a clear correction instruction beside it.
Worth asking: Are errors, saving and success states as clear as the initial screen?
User Experience
The experience of using a product, including understanding the offer, finding information and completing a task. Appearance matters, but UX also covers content, the order of steps and how problems are handled.
A guest sees the total stay cost before confirming a booking without needing to return to earlier steps.
Worth asking: Can someone new complete the most important task without our help?
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