11 Basic Web Design Terms You Should Know

Every profession has its own specific terminology and so does Website design. Whether you want to build a sales website, promote your brand, personal blog, work with Web designers or simply want to learn about this field, understanding the terminology in Web design is necessary.

Hopefully with the 11 common basic Web design terms below, you will have a better understanding of this vast field.

1. Breakpoints

Breakpoints are the points, the limits at which the content and design of the website will be adjusted to suit different screen sizes. This gives users the best layouts, which can be viewed on all devices. In Responsive Design, Breakpoints are usually determined by the screen width of the device, such as smartphones, tablets and desktops above 1024px.

2. CSS

CSS (short for Cascading Style Sheets) is a web style sheet language used to find and format elements created by the HTML markup language. Simply put, if HTML formats elements on a web page such as text paragraphs, titles, tables, CSS has the role of adding style to those HTML elements such as color, font size, font, layout, background color, position…

CSS’s working method is based on selection, which means it will find HTML tag names, ID names, classes,… and apply the properties that need to be changed to these selections.

3. Content Management System (CMS)

Content Management System (CMS) is a content management system used to edit content on a website. This allows you to log into the “back end” of the website to edit text and images. Examples include WordPress and Drupal, CMSs designed to make it easy to publish web content without requiring you to have technical knowledge of code.

4. DNS

DNS (short for Domain Name System), roughly translated as domain name resolution system, refers to a system that allows the establishment of correspondence between IP addresses and domain names, which means it will convert the Website domain name to a corresponding numeric IP address. DNS can be simply understood as an Internet version of a phone book with the role of controlling the website domain name. When users access your website address, the DNS settings will control which server will point to them.

5. HTML

HTML (short for HyperText Markup Language), roughly translated as hypertext markup language, is used to build and restructure components in a website, divide paragraphs, headings, links, blockqoutes,… HTML is not a programming language, so it cannot perform “dynamic” functions but can only layout and format a website, similar to Microsoft Word.

An HTML document is formed by HTML elements. Each element is specified by a pair of tags (tags and attributes). Each pair of tags is enclosed in angle brackets (like <header>, <footer>) and declared with a pair of opening and closing tags.

For example, you can create a paragraph by placing text within the opening tag pair <p> and closing tag pair </p>.

6. Information Architecture (IA)

Information Architecture is a technique for organizing and structuring the content of a website, allowing users to know where they are and what information they need based on their current location. IA often includes a sitemap, wireframes for each web page, or any necessary symbols related to navigation, content, and features that will be included on the website.

7. Responsive design

In recent years, Responsive design has become a trend in Website design. Responsive Design is a way to design a website with a beautiful interface and layout with elastic content display suitable for all device screens such as desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, with all screen resolutions, helping the content to always be displayed consistently and aesthetically on all resolution modes.

Responsive Design is made up of 3 basic components including:

• Flexible Grid-based layout
• Media Queries
• Flexible Media

8. JavaScript

JavaScript is a Website programming language that is integrated and embedded into HTML to make the Website more vivid. If HTML adds content and CSS formats the structure and style of the Website, JavaScript adds interactive elements, making the Website more attractive to users. Some examples of JavaScript are search bars, embedded videos, slideshows, pop-up ads or Google’s Autocomplete feature.

JavaScript supports most browsers such as Chrome, FireFox or even mobile browsers.

9. SSL Certificate

SSL (short for Secure Sockets Layer) is a standard security protocol required to establish encrypted communication between a Web server and a browser. When a Web page has an SSL certificate, HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure will appear in the URL and the website will display “secure connection”. You can view the details of the SSL certificate by clicking the padlock icon next to the URL in the browser bar. 

10. User experience (UX)

User experience (UX) or user experience is the overall experience of a user with a system, which can be a specific website or application. UX includes not only the use of features but also other aspects such as experience, emotions, and value received when interacting with that website. Every aspect of the web design and development process such as content, interface, etc. affects the user experience.

11. Wireframe

Wireframe (Wire structure or skeleton) is a tool to support interface design and complete the structure of the Website. In essence, it is a draft of the structure of a Website or application in UI/UX. Wireframe provides a more intuitive view of the Website by emphasizing the outline of the main structures and key elements needed in the interface.

See more:

• Things to note before starting web design
• Reputable website design in Hai Phong