Reference
Quick-look reference pages — how the web works, the tools we use and recommend, browsers, file formats, units, useful links, and a web-acronyms cheat sheet.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
This section is for the things you reach for sometimes — not to read end to end, but to look up when you need them. Pages here explain how the underlying web works, the tools we use and recommend, and the small references you'll wish you had bookmarked.
Quick summary
Foundational reading: How the web works in 5 minutes. Tools we use and recommend: Tools we use and Tools we recommend. Pure cheat sheets: Acronyms, File formats, Units & measurements.
If you only read three things
- How the web works, in 5 minutes — the mental model everything else hangs off.
- Who does what: web roles explained — so you always know who to ask for what.
- Tools we recommend for clients — the short list worth actually setting up.
Foundational
How the web works (in 5 minutes)
From browser to server and back, in plain English.
Who does what: web roles explained
Designer, developer, PM, copywriter, SEO — and how they overlap.
Tools
The tools we use & why
Chykalophia's internal stack — what we work in and why.
Tools we recommend for clients
The trusted apps we hand to every client, with a Quick Pick table.
Useful links & resources
A curated list of official docs and references, grouped by topic.
Quick reference
Browsers & devices reference
Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge — who uses what and why testing matters.
File formats reference
JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG, MP4, PDF — when to use which.
Pixels, ems & web measurements
The handful of units used on the modern web.
The web acronyms cheat sheet
80+ acronyms with their full names and plain-English meanings.
Looking for terms by topic?
The Glossary section has alphabetical term lists by topic — WordPress terms, SEO terms, security terms, and so on. Use that section to look up a specific word; use this one for broader reference reading.
Related guides
- The plain-English web glossary — term lists A–Z, by topic
- Welcome to the Chykalophia help center — start here if you're new
- How to use this help center
- Find a guide by goal
- Which platform is your website built on?
- Giving Chykalophia access: start here — how to share the tools listed here
- Who to contact for what
Need a hand?
Last updated
Design & UX: terms A–Z
Every web design and user experience term explained in plain English — wireframe, mockup, responsive, accessibility, and more.
How the web works, in 5 minutes
A friendly plain-English story of what actually happens from the moment you type a web address to the moment the page appears on your screen.