Every term you'll meet, explained like a person would explain it.

An API is a set of rules that lets two pieces of software talk to each other without either one needing to know how the other is built.

A backup is a complete, restorable copy of your website — files and database together — stored somewhere your website isn't.

A CDN is a worldwide network of servers that keeps copies of your site's files close to your visitors, so pages load fast no matter where someone is.

A domain name is the human-readable address people type to reach your site — and the one asset in your setup you should never let expire.

Elementor is a visual page builder for WordPress that lets you design pages by dragging elements onto a live canvas and seeing the result immediately.

FTP is a way to move files directly between your computer and your web server, outside of the WordPress dashboard.

Gutenberg is the block editor built into WordPress — the default way you write and lay out content without installing a page builder.

Web hosting is the rented server space where your website's files and database actually live, plus the service that delivers them to visitors.

Indexing is the moment a search engine decides to store your page in its database so that it can appear in search results at all.

JavaScript is the programming language that runs inside the browser and makes a web page respond to what visitors do.

Keyword research is finding out what your audience actually types into search, and how hard it would be for you to show up for it.

Lazy loading delays downloading images and videos until the visitor is about to scroll them into view.

MCP — the Model Context Protocol — is an open standard that lets an AI assistant connect to real tools and data instead of only generating text.

Nameservers are the servers that answer the question “where does this domain actually point?” — the switchboard between your domain and your hosting.

Open Graph tags are small pieces of code that tell social platforms and chat apps exactly how your link should look when someone shares it.

A plugin is a package of code that adds a feature to WordPress without you having to modify WordPress itself.

A query string is the part of a URL after the question mark, used to pass extra information to the page.

A redirect automatically sends anyone who visits one URL to a different URL — and tells search engines whether the move is permanent.

An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between a visitor's browser and your site, turning http:// into https:// and switching the padlock on.

A theme controls how your WordPress site looks and how its templates are structured — the design layer wrapped around your content.

UTM parameters are tags you add to the end of a link so your analytics can tell you exactly where a visitor came from.

The viewport is the visible area of a web page inside the device's screen — the frame your layout has to work within.

WooCommerce is the free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a full online store — products, cart, checkout, orders, tax and shipping.

An XML sitemap is a machine-readable list of the pages on your site that you want search engines to find and index.

Yoast SEO is a WordPress plugin that handles the technical SEO groundwork and guides you while you write.

Z-index controls which overlapping element appears in front — the stacking order of a page along its invisible depth axis.