Website glossary
The words that come up when you get a website, explained the way you would explain them to a customer. Each one links to a guide if you want the full story.
- AI Overviews
The written summary Google shows above the normal search results for some questions, put together by AI from a handful of websites. It can answer the question on the results page, so fewer people click through.
More: AI Overviews: Why Your Website Gets Fewer Clicks, Write for AI Overviews: What Actually Works
- Domain name
Your website address, like yourbusiness.co.uk. You rent it yearly from a registrar, and whoever it is registered to controls it, so it should be in your name.
More: Who Owns My Website? The Honest Answer, How to Redirect Your Old Website to a New Domain
- Google Business Profile
The free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in local search results, with your hours, reviews and photos. You claim and manage it yourself.
More: Google Business Profile: The Free Fix for Being Found, Is a Google Business Profile Alone Enough?
- Hosting
The computer your website lives on, kept switched on and connected so the site loads whenever someone visits. You usually pay for it monthly or yearly.
More: Moving Website Hosting? What Happens to Your Email, Website Running Costs: What Should the Monthly Fee Cover?
- Mobile friendly
A website that reads and works properly on a phone without zooming or sideways scrolling. Google looks at the phone version of a site first when deciding where it ranks.
More: Is My Website Mobile Friendly? How to Check for Free, Mobile Page Speed: Is Your Website Fast Enough?
- Noindex
An instruction in a page's code that tells Google not to show that page in search results. Useful on private pages, harmful if it is left on the pages you want found.
More: Excluded by Noindex Tag: What It Means for Your Website
- Search Console
Google's free tool for website owners. It shows which searches your site appears for, how many people click, and any problems Google found reading your pages.
More: New Website, No Visitors? What to Check First, Excluded by Noindex Tag: What It Means for Your Website
- SEO
Search engine optimisation: the work of making a website easy for Google to understand and worth showing, so it turns up when local customers search.
More: Hiring an SEO? How to Spot a Dodgy One, New Website, No Visitors? What to Check First
- Sitemap
A file listing every page on your website, written for search engines rather than people. It helps Google find new and changed pages sooner.
- SSL certificate
What puts the padlock and https at the start of your web address. It encrypts what visitors type into your site, and browsers warn people away from sites without one.
More: Not Secure Warning? What It Actually Means, Is My Website Secure? What to Check