Web Design Vocabulary
Em space
1 em equals the current font size; in a Web browser it equals 16 px
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
Defines vector-based graphics that can be embedded directly into a Web page; SVG is a World Wide Web Consortium recommendation.
HTML Attribute
Provide HTML attributes with additional meaning and context.
Nesting
Putting an object inside another object; such as an HTML tag inside another HTML tag
Web browser
Special software that displays the page by reading the instructions in the web document
Reference Pixel
A W3C standard based on an optical reference unit that might be twice the size of a hardware pixel. This new pixel should look exactly the same in all viewing situations.
Website
A collection of related webpages with a starting point or home page
Web server
A computer that runs special software to serve up Web content by responding to requests
Web page
A document which can display text, graphics, audio, video and other elements through a web browser.
Cascading Style Sheet
A language for defining how to display HTML elements
HTML
A language which means that special codes are used to define elements
Absolute Link
A link that specifies a complete path to a file, including the protocol, server, directory, filename
Relative Link
A link that specifies the name of the file to be linked to as it relates to the current document
Pixels per Inch (PPI)
A measure of screen density refers to the number of device pixels on a physical surface.
Internet Protocol (IP) Address
A numeric string that identifies a device on a network
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
A program for developing strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities
RGB color codes
Color values using the combination of red, green, and blue values ranging from 0 to 255.
Hexadecimal color codes
Color values written with the # sign followed by six digits using the numbers 0 to 9 and A to F to represent the amount of red, green and blue
Domain Name System (DNS)
Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses
Pixel Density
The number of device pixels on a physical surface; often measured in pixels per inch.
HTML Element
The opening and closing tags including the text in between.
Viewport
The rectangular area (measured in pixels) that is viewable on a device screen.
Vector graphics
Type of graphic that does NOT lose quality when zoomed or resized.
Media Query
A CSS specification that allows designers to target styles based on a number of device properties
Resolution
A simple count of the number of pixels across the entire width and height of a device
Open standard
A standard that is publicly available and has various rights to use associated with it, and may also have various properties of how it was designed
World Wide Web or Web
A worldwide network of computers that communicate through http
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
An international community that develops open standards for the Web
Responsive Web Design
Refers to using existing techniques involving flexible grid layout, flexible images, and media and media queries into a unified approach to web design.
Absolute units
Size is set in relation to surrounding elements
Relative units
Size is set in relation to surrounding elements
HTML Tag
Special codes which describe or define content in a Web document
CSS Selector
The HTML element that you want to style
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
The address used for locating a document on the Web.
CSS Value
The attribute you want applied to the property
Bitmap Pixel
The smallest unit of data in a raster image
CSS Property
The style attribute you want to change
CSS Declaration
The style property and value.
Device Pixel
The tiniest physical unit in a display; also known as a physical pixel
Hypertext Transport Protocol (http)
The underlying protocol for how content is communicated on the Web
Fluid Layout
The web design's dimensions are defined in percentages rather than pixels.
Fixed-width Layout
The width of the site is bound to a certain number of pixels