I had originally planned to publish this blog, but I was unsure of how helpful it would actually be. Then I read this article from the LA times. To people like me, that article is absolutely hilarious. However, the gap in understanding of industry terms is something that clearly needs to be addressed to both the general public and our clients. Though we try to avoid over use of these industry terms, sometimes there is no way around it. To help you out, I have put together a list of important words and definitions that will make your life a lot easier during the redesign process. Here is part one of our series on Important Web Design Terms – Basic Web Design Knowledge.

Basic Webpage Elements

• Content – When we say content, we are generally referring to anything that can live on a page. This includes, but is not limited to, copy, images, graphics, videos, PDFs, Word documents, Excel spread sheets, etc.
• Header – The top section of the website that contains the main logo and navigation links.
• Icon – A picture or symbol that appears on a page that is used to represent a specific section, call to action, command, or page of a website. For example, an envelope can be used to represent sending an email. We custom create icons for a lot of our projects so they fit the design perfectly.
• Footer – The content at the bottom of the page that usually remains universal throughout the entire site. This section usually contains important links, social media, and legal information.
• Navigation – The links at the top of the website that lead you to the other pages of the website.
• Parallax Scroll – This is a design technique that allows us to show depth and movement while scrolling. See our design for Specless Media for an example.
• Section Headers – Not to be confused with THE HEADER, Headers are a block of text on a page that generally signifies a separate section of the site or a call to action. These are usually more prominently displayed that normal copy and are used draw the users attention. We always recommend making these informative and legible.
• Slider – This is the rotating set of images, messages, and calls to action that generally sit at the top of the page.