Glossary
Every abbreviation on this site, explained.
Web work is full of initialism. This page expands every abbreviation used elsewhere on ukwebmarketing.com so you never have to take a sentence on faith. Required for the site's WCAG 2.2 Level AAA accessibility conformance — useful for everyone.
Web tech
Web technology terms
- API Application Programming Interface
- A standard way for two computer programs to talk to each other. When this site shows live ticket availability from TicketWave HQ, the website is asking the booking system over an API and showing the answer.
- CMS Content Management System
- Software like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace that lets a non-developer edit a website through a dashboard. UK Web Marketing builds hand-coded sites instead, so there is no CMS for visitors or owners to interact with — changes go through me.
- CSV Comma-Separated Values
- A simple spreadsheet file format that almost any program can read. Often used to import or export lists of products, customers, or bookings.
- DNS Domain Name System
- The internet's address book. DNS translates a domain like ukwebmarketing.com into the numerical address of the server that actually hosts the website.
- iframe
- A small window inside one website that loads a different website inside it. Used here as the simplest way to embed a TicketWave HQ booking widget into a UK Web Marketing site — the booking flow runs on TicketWave HQ servers, but the visitor never leaves the host website.
- JSON-LD JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data
- A structured data format that tells search engines exactly what a page is about (a business, a service, a price, a review). Google uses it to power rich snippets — the star ratings, opening hours and price tags you see beneath some search results.
- RDAP Registration Data Access Protocol
- The modern, standardised replacement for WHOIS. The free /domain-check tool on this site uses RDAP to check whether a domain is registered, without paying a third-party data provider.
- SVG Scalable Vector Graphics
- An image format made of mathematical instructions instead of pixels. SVGs stay crisp at any size and weigh a fraction of a PNG or JPG, which is why this site's logos and icons use SVG.
Performance
Speed and SEO metrics
- CLS Cumulative Layout Shift
- How much a page wobbles as it loads — text jumping around when a font arrives, a banner pushing content down. A good score is below 0.1. Google uses CLS as a ranking signal.
- LCP Largest Contentful Paint
- The time it takes for the biggest visible piece of a page (usually the hero headline or main image) to appear. A good LCP is under 2.5 seconds. Google uses it as a ranking signal.
- SEO Search Engine Optimisation
- The practice of making a website easier for search engines (Google, Bing, AI search tools) to understand, so it appears higher when a customer searches for what you sell.
- TTFB Time To First Byte
- How quickly a server starts replying when a browser asks for a page. Sites on Cloudflare's edge network — like this one — have a TTFB well under 100 milliseconds even from rural broadband.
Accessibility
Accessibility terms
- WCAG Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
- The international standard for making websites usable by people with disabilities. WCAG version 2.2 is the current published version (2026). It defines three conformance levels — A, AA, and AAA — in increasing order of strictness.
- WCAG AA
- The middle level of WCAG conformance. The UK Equality Act 2010 effectively treats AA as the baseline for public-facing websites. Most ordinary sites do not even meet AA.
- WCAG AAA
- The strictest level of WCAG conformance. Requires 7:1 colour contrast on body text, abbreviation expansions, plain language, additional error-prevention safeguards, and more. ukwebmarketing.com is built to AAA.
UK admin
UK business + vehicle terms
- MOT Ministry of Transport test
- The annual UK road-worthiness test required for most cars over three years old. Mentioned on the trade-services pages because garage clients need MOT-booking flows on their sites.
- V5C Vehicle Registration Certificate (log book)
- The UK document that proves who a vehicle is registered to. Mentioned on garage / motor-trade pages.
- VAT Value Added Tax
- The UK consumption tax. UK Web Marketing's £45/month is the full price — there is no VAT added on top because the business is not currently VAT-registered.
TicketWave HQ
TicketWave HQ module terms
- TicketWave HQ
- The sister business that builds the booking, ordering and stock-management software some UK Web Marketing clients integrate into their sites. Same operator (Jordan Gilbert) — separate billing.
- Stripe Connect
- Stripe's payments-with-platform feature. When a booking happens through a TicketWave HQ integration, Stripe Connect routes the customer's money directly into the business's own Stripe account, with the platform fee taken automatically.
- Subscription
- On UK Web Marketing, this means the £45/month recurring charge that covers the website, hosting, SSL, updates and support. Cancel any time. The first month is free.
Missing something?
If a word on this site puzzled you and it's not in the glossary, let me know on WhatsApp and I'll add it. The aim is plain English, end to end.