Websites are great when everything goes to plan. The problem is that sites don’t tend to stick to the script on occasion. In fact, they go off-piste and leave you up a preverbal river without a paddle. Now, most of you will think that you can hire a team of pros and leave it in their capable hands. And, that is a good plan if you have the money. Most people, though, can’t afford to call a guy when they have maintenance problems. If you are one of these people, you need to learn the site terms and processes. That way, you can fix them without any help. Well, that is the theory!
1. HTML
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language, and it is the language coders use to form your web pages. Without it, you site wouldn’t exist. The web platform reads the document and converts it into a page that anyone can understand. It then displays them for the user so that they can browse your site. Essentially, you need to understand code if you want to understand HTML. If you just want the basics, take a look at this guide.
2. CMS
A Content Management System is a program that exists on the web server. Quite simply, it is a program that lets you make changes to your site. So, all you need to do if you want to make a change is access the CMS program. ‘But, don’t I need to know how to write code if I am going to make a change?’ No, the great thing about a CMS is that you don’t need to know anything about code.
3. Soft 404
You might know what a 404 is because a 404 is an error page. However, you might not have come across a soft 404. So, what’s the difference between soft 404 and 404 you ask? Well, the difference is that a soft 404 isn’t an error page or a ‘not found’ page. It looks like one, but it is a fake. The problem happens when the wrong response code is processed, which leaves you in a bit of a state. Most humans can’t tell the difference, but computers also struggle. Because they see a faulty response, they try to fix the wrong one. As such, even troubleshooting won’t solve the problem.
4. SEO
Out of all of the above, you will know this one better than most. SEO is search engine optimization, and it is vital to your site’s success. In short, it brings people to your site in the hope that they will make a conversion. It does that by improving your ranking on search engines’ sites. Through tactics like keywords, engines like Google rank your value to the customer. And, the higher up the list, the more traffic will flow to your site. If you are wondering why no one ever visits, it is because your tactics are below par.
There are more, but these are the four most common terms.