Tech Glossary for the Nontechnical: Edition 2
Tech words to help you sound more tech-savvy
Speaking to a group of techies can be hard. It can feel as if you’ve stumbled into a conversation where everyone is speaking a dialect of Mandarin. Also, you don’t always have time to Google “CMS” or find out why our friends in Europe are getting so upset about Cookies.
Sometimes all you want is a simple explanation, not a long drawn out commentary. That’s what we’re trying to do here: a jargon-free, plain-English tech dictionary. We’ve compiled a list of terms you’ll need if you’re considering speaking to anyone that knows how to ‘computer’. There’s a lot we didn’t cover here. It’s part of a series of weekly posts that I’ll be doing to try to boost your tech vocabulary.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is when you create two versions of online content so that you can see which version performs better. The two versions (A and B) get presented to users at random to gauge your sample groups reactions.
Conversion
Conversion is the point when a potential client becomes a lead or an actual client.
Website Optimization
Website optimization is optimizing a website to improve its rank on search engines. You can do this by adding relevant keyword and phrases on the website, editing meta tags, and image tags.
Raster Images
Raster images are computer graphics made of pixels that can get edited pixel-by-pixel. The two most common programs to make these types of edits are Painter and Photoshop. Raster images get stored in image file types like GIFs, JPEGs, and PNGs.
Resolution
Resolution is the number of pixels on a device’s display. The higher the resolution on a display the more pixels can get shown, making the content sharper.
Retina display
Retina display is a display with a high density. We find these types of displays on Apple Watches, iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and iMacs.
Vector Images
Vector images get made up of lines that get calculated using math rather than pixels. They don’t lose quality when scaled up.
Sitemaps
Sitemaps are outlines or maps of the pages that make up a website. They show the relationship between the different pages and can be a document or its own page on the website.
User Interface (UI)
The user interface includes all the parts of a website that the user can interact with. A display, touch screen, website menu, keyboard, and your cursor are all part of a user interface.
User Experience (UX)
UX characterizes the attitudes and emotions a person has when using a product or service. It’s the way we design to make communication between a product and its user, enhanced.
Watch this space for my weekly list of ‘words to know’ in tech!
