The weirdest web terminology

S8 Team

Written by S8 Team

2024
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Let’s face facts, web terminology is weird. You don’t realise just how weird until someone (like our newest PM, Kieran) admits that he initially had no idea what anyone was talking about.

So if you’ve ever found yourself frantically Googling the difference between UX and UI, or accidentally referred to Shopify as Spotify, this one’s for you.

Git

To the untrained ear, ‘git’ is a throwback insult that sounds more Del Boy than DevOps. And although we wish it were making a comeback for being the go-to slang of the decade, it’s probably because it’s now a popular term amongst devs for an open-source code management system.

Heroes and webmasters

‘Hero’ is up there with ‘webmaster’ in terms of being the larger-than-life, all-guns-blazing type of terminology that sounds more impressive than it is. Yes, they’re both important. But rather than fighting crime and saving the world, a ‘hero’ is the above-the-fold content on a webpage, while a ‘webmaster’ manages the content in your CMS.

Borked

We wish it were one of those cute slang words that become part of our everyday vocab, i.e. “My baby doggo just borked at the postman”. But it simply means your software is malfunctioning. Boring, right? But still, at least it’s more fun to say than plain old-fashioned “broken”.

Folio

AKA a design portfolio. The place where web designers show how great they can make the internet look. Is dropping the ‘port’ necessary? Probably not. But it looks cool.

Repo

Depending on how you look at it, ‘repo’ could relate to everything from repurchase agreements to bailiffs. But in the world of the World Wide Web, it’s short for repository—or in other words, a central location where data is stored and managed.

Deprecate

Google the definition of this one and you’ll get:

[verb] · dislike · criticize · reject · denounce · disesteem · disapprove (of) · discountenance · condemn · frown (on or upon)

Cheery stuff, huh? In the development sense, it means to mark older code as no longer useful so it can be removed or replaced at a later date. Which puts a slightly more positive spin on things we suppose.

And don’t forget the acronyms…

TL;DR? Here’s how to talk in code.

IA — Information architecture

AI — Artificial intelligence

TIL —Today I learned

SFL — Saved for later

ELI5 — Explain like I’m 5

TOV — Tone of voice

GUI — Graphical user interface

PDP — Product detail page

PLP — Product listing page/Collection

3PL — Third-party logistics

POS — Point of sale

CPA — Cost per acquisition

CPC — Cost per click

ACOS — Advertising cost of sale

PIM — Product inventory management

AOV — Average order value

KPI — Key performance indicators

OMS — Order management software

ATC — Add to cart (rate)

D2C/DTC — Direct to consumer

ROAS — Return on advertising spend

CRO — Conversion rate optimisation

CRM — Customer relationship management

GWP — Gift with purchase

CTR — Click through rate

WMS — Warehouse management software

SEM — Search engine marketing

There's plenty more where that came from. Head back to the journal for more teamie news and views.

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