9 Words You'll Hear During Your Web Design (Part I)

When I first started learning about web design at my corporate job, I would hear the words 'CTA' and 'Domain' and 'Mobile Optimization'—basic web lingo and something I needed to teach myself quickly if I was going to keep up.

Not only did I need to know what it meant, but why it's so important in web design and how to use it successfully. 

When we work together, you'll probably hear me say most of these words. So you're on the right path to getting a jump start. If you already have a website, check out the Take Action below some of the vocabulary to make sure your site has the basics set up.

1. Domain

A domain is a web address or URL. The domain includes the words you type in the browser to get to a website, like www.sagedigitalco.com. Not too difficult, right?

2. Web Hosting

When you hear the word web hosting, that refers to the 'rented space' where the website lives.

For example, Squarespace websites are hosted on a Squarespace server and Shopify websites are hosted on the Shopify server. There's no extra work needed from you to set it up. Some website platforms, like Wordpress, require you to find a separate company to host the website on.

3. Call-to-Action (CTA)

A call-to-action is a word or phrase that tells the user what they should do next.

They are commonly seen in button form that is *hopefully* very noticeable on each webpage. See the example from Dropbox below. 

CTAs are everywhere and are vital to have on every single webpage to direct your user to where you want them to head next. If you offer services but don't tell them how to book one or contact you (i.e. the CTA), well, they might go elsewhere.

It's like having a brick and mortar store and telling people about the products or services sold there but not telling them how to purchase it.  

Take Action: Think about what you want your user to do on every page. Don't create a page just to have one (read about Site Map in Part II for more on this).

I know, you're probably thinking 'duh Courtney'. But more often than not, people think they need a page but the content could actually be combined with others or may not be necessary at all in helping to achieve your overall website goal. 

It takes careful planning to ensure there's a clear purpose for each page to help your user get to where you want them. Play around with different words or phrases in your CTAs (ideally you'll do some A/B testing—but won't get into that yet) and make sure that it visually stands out so people can easily see where to go next. 

4. Above the Fold (ATF)

Above the fold refers to the part of the website that you first see when you hit a page. It's all the text and images that appear first on your screen before scrolling and is on any page within the website, not just the homepage. 

When a user lands on a page, they should know what they're getting there—either through an image, text or both.

I'm a big advocate for including a short description and CTA in this area so people know what to expect on that page, and what they should do next. Users may leave your site when they don’t know what to do [Source].

Take Action: Pick a website and type in the URL in a new browser. Hit enter. When you land on the homepage, what's the first thing it says or what's the first thing you see?

If someone went there for the first time, would they know exactly what this company does, how it will help you, and what to do next? If not, they probably need to re-evaluate their strategy ATF to keep their users around.

Now, try it with your website and see if you need to update it to include a strong message and CTA. 

That sums up Part I vocabulary. Check out Part II vocabulary now and if you have a question or comment, leave it in the comments section below.