Bring ease and enjoyment into the website design process by understanding the basic website design terminology and jargon.
And as an added bonus, you can also pick up the Website Checklist in the Brand Resource Library by clicking here!
When it comes to the structure of a website, there are loads of different words and phrases that are often thrown around like confetti, leading to frustration and confusion. Whether you’re DIY’ing your site or working with a designer, when you don’t understand what is being said, it can make the process that much more annoying.
Enter: The Basic Website Jargon and Terminology Dictionary
Not only will this help you with your overall understanding of a website’s structure and layout, but if you’re working with a designer, you’ll have a better grasp of what they’re trying to communicate. Meaning, a smoother process and more positive experience.
In this Article
>> What is: Supernavigation and/or Secondary Navigation Menu
>> What is: Navigation Menu
>> What is: Submenu
>> What is: Landing Page
>> What is: Header
>> What is: Hero Image
>> What is: Email Subscriber Form
>> What is: Contact Form
>> What is: Sidebar
>> What is: Call to Action
>> What is: Footer
The Basic Website Design Terms
Supernavigation or secondary navigation menu: The (often colored) bar at the very top of the website. It can be used for a specific call to action (i.e. now booking for October!) or have additional menu items that aren’t the main focus for visitors.
Navigation menu: A menu made up of the main page(s) you want website visitors to navigate to. Generally, the main menu has no more than six items.
Submenu:The pages included as a sub menu item in your navigation menu. For example, the main navigation menu may include ‘Services’ and the submenu items are ‘design’, ‘strategy’ and ‘digital marketing’. Each submenu item is an individual web page.
Header: The items at the very top of each web page. Most often this includes the navigation menu, business logo and secondary navigation menu.
Landing page: A web page that does not have a navigation menu or footer menu. The idea of a landing page is that the visitor cannot navigate to another page without taking action, i.e. submitting their contact information.
Hero image:The image (most often full-width) at the top of the page, directly under the header.
Email subscriber form: A form that collects only basic contact information from a visitor and is linked to your email marketing service provider, i.e. Mailerlite, Mailchimp, Convertkit, Constant Contact, etc. Generally, the visitor enters their name and email address in exchange for something free like an e-book, PDF or template.
Contact form: A form that collects the visitors information along with space for a personal message. This form is connected to your business/personal email account, NOT an email service provider, and is most often used for client inquiries or personal messages.
Sidebar: A vertical section to the right or left of a blog post with additional information such as new blog posts, social media icons, an ‘about me’ picture or email subscriber form.
Call to action:A powerful statement that calls the visitor to take a specific action. Generally, calls to action (CTA) are followed with a colored button and a verb like ‘Learn More’.
Footer: The area at the very bottom of each web page that can include the same information as what’s in the header or something different.
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All my best,
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