Content terms, explained simply

Plain-English definitions for content, image, and accessibility terms you'll encounter when managing your website.

This glossary defines the content, image, and accessibility terms you're most likely to encounter when working on your website. Terms are listed alphabetically.

If you come across a term that's not here, contact us and we'll explain it.

Quick summary

Use this page as a reference when you encounter unfamiliar terms. Every definition links to a longer guide where one exists.

A

Accessibility The practice of making your website usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. See Web accessibility basics.

Alt text (alternative text) A short written description of an image, attached to the image in the website's code. Screen readers read it aloud for people who can't see the image. Required for accessibility and helpful for SEO. See Alt text explained.

Aspect ratio The proportional relationship between an image's width and height. Common ratios: 16:9 (widescreen), 4:3 (traditional), 1:1 (square). Changing an image's aspect ratio without cropping causes distortion.

B

Body copy The main text of a page — the paragraphs, not the headings. Distinguished from headlines, captions, and labels.

Brand assets All the files that define how your business looks visually: logo files, fonts, color values, photography, and templates. See Organizing your brand assets.

Brand voice The personality and style of a brand's writing — how it sounds in words. See Finding your brand voice.

C

Caption Text displayed alongside or below an image or video. For images: a description or credit. For video: the text version of spoken audio, synchronized with the video. Required for accessibility.

Call to action (CTA) A button, link, or prompt that tells a visitor what to do next — "Book a call," "Get a quote." See Writing effective calls to action.

Compression The process of reducing an image file's size while preserving visual quality. Essential for fast-loading web pages. See How to compress images.

Content management system (CMS) Software that lets you add and edit content on your website without writing code. WordPress, Webflow, and Squarespace are all content management systems.

Contrast ratio A number that describes how different two colors are in brightness. A higher number means more contrast. WCAG 2.1 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text. See Color contrast & readability.

Copyright The legal right of a creator to control how their work is used. All images are copyright-protected by default unless the creator has explicitly made them free to use.

Creative Commons A set of standardized free licenses that creators use to share their work. Different Creative Commons licenses have different rules — some allow any use, some require attribution, some prohibit commercial use. See Stock photos & licensing.

D

Decorative image An image that adds no information to the page — purely visual. Decorative images should have empty alt text (alt="") so screen readers skip them.

DPI (dots per inch) A measure of print resolution — how many ink dots fit in one inch. DPI matters for print; it is irrelevant for web images. For the web, only pixel dimensions and file size matter.

F

File size How much storage space a file takes up — measured in kilobytes (KB) or megabytes (MB). Smaller file size = faster page load. Not the same as image dimensions (px).

Font A complete set of type in a specific design and size — for example, "Inter Regular 16px." Fonts can be system fonts (built into devices) or web fonts (loaded from the internet). Using too many web fonts slows your site.

G

GIF An older image format that supports basic animation. GIFs have very large file sizes and are not ideal for website use. MP4 video or CSS animation are better alternatives.

Greyscale An image in shades of grey with no color. Sometimes used for visual effect or to reduce file size.

H

Heading (H1, H2, H3…) A structural text element that organizes page content into a hierarchy. H1 is the most important (one per page), H2 for main sections, H3 for sub-sections. Headings are used by screen readers to navigate and by search engines to understand page structure.

Hero image / hero section The large, attention-grabbing section at the top of a web page. Usually contains a headline, sub-headline, and a call to action.

Hex code A six-character code that specifies an exact color — for example, #1A1A1A (very dark grey) or #FFFFFF (white). Used to specify brand colors precisely.

I

Image dimensions How wide and tall an image is, measured in pixels. For example, 1920 × 1080 px.

J

JPG / JPEG The most common image format for photographs. Good compression and small file sizes. Does not support transparency. See Image formats explained.

K

Kerning The spacing between individual characters in a word. Usually handled by the font designer and your website's typography settings, not something you adjust manually.

L

Landing page A standalone web page designed for a specific campaign or audience. Usually has one focused call to action and minimal navigation to reduce distractions.

License Legal permission to use an image (or other content) in a specific way. Buying a stock image gives you a license to use it under specific conditions. See Stock photos & licensing.

M

Meta description A short description of a page that appears below the page title in search engine results. It doesn't directly affect rankings but influences whether someone clicks. See Page titles & meta descriptions.

P

PDF (Portable Document Format) A file format that preserves the layout of a document for printing or sharing. PDFs on websites should be accessible — with selectable text and document structure. See PDFs & documents on your site.

Pixel (px) The smallest unit of measurement in digital images and screen layout. A single colored dot. Images and web layouts are measured in pixels.

PNG An image format that supports transparency and preserves sharp edges. Better for graphics, logos, and screenshots than for large photographs. See Image formats explained.

R

Raster image An image made of pixels (JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF). Quality degrades when enlarged beyond its original size.

Responsive design A website design approach that adjusts the layout and image sizes to fit different screen sizes — from desktop to tablet to phone.

Royalty-free A type of image license where you pay once and can then use the image without paying again per use. Does not mean the image is free. See Stock photos & licensing.

S

Screen reader Software used by people who are blind or have low vision to navigate a computer or phone. It reads out the content of the screen, including text, headings, links, and alt text.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) The practice of improving your website's visibility in search engine results. Content quality, headings structure, and alt text all contribute to SEO. See SEO basics.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) An image format described in code rather than pixels. SVGs scale to any size without losing quality. Ideal for logos and icons. See Image formats explained.

T

Tone How a brand's voice adapts to a specific context. A warm brand voice might use a gentler tone in a complaint response than in a promotional email. See Finding your brand voice.

Transcript The full written text of a video or audio recording. Provided alongside video for accessibility and to help search engines understand the content.

Typeface The overall design of a set of characters — for example, "Inter" or "Georgia." A font is a specific weight and size within a typeface (e.g., "Inter Bold 16px"). The terms are often used interchangeably in everyday language.

U

UX (User Experience) How easy and pleasant a website is to use. Good UX includes clear navigation, readable content, accessible design, and quick loading.

V

Vector image An image described using mathematical shapes rather than pixels. Can scale to any size without losing quality. SVG is the main vector format for the web.

W

WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) The international standard for web accessibility, published by the W3C. The current version is WCAG 2.1. Level AA is the standard most websites aim to meet. See Web accessibility basics.

WebP A modern image format by Google that produces smaller file sizes than JPG or PNG with equal or better quality. Supports transparency. The recommended format for most web images. See Image formats explained.

White space Empty space around and between elements on a page. White space makes content easier to read and pages feel less overwhelming. It is a design tool, not wasted space.

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Content terms, explained simply

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