Glossary of web, e-commerce and AI terms
The technical words you will come across on this site, and in any web provider’s quotes, explained simply. Each definition links to the related service.
No definition for “”. Ask me about it, and I will add it.
Websites and stores
- Showcase website
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A website that presents a business, its services and its contact details, with no online sales. Its role: to reassure visitors and encourage them to get in touch.
- Online store (ecommerce)
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A website that lets people buy directly: catalogue, cart, payment and delivery. Also called a merchant site.
- CMS
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Software that lets you manage a website’s content without writing code: pages, texts, images, products. WordPress and PrestaShop are CMSs.
- WordPress
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The most widely used CMS in the world, ideal for showcase websites and blogs. It is free and open source, and is extended by thousands of plugins.
- Elementor
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A WordPress plugin that lets you lay out a site visually, by drag and drop. The client can then edit their pages themselves, with no code. The Pro version is paid, about €60 per year.
- WooCommerce
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A plugin that turns a WordPress site into an online store. Suited to small catalogues.
- PrestaShop
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A French open-source CMS dedicated to ecommerce. More complete than WooCommerce for large catalogues, product variants and order management.
- Theme
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The graphic skin of a WordPress or PrestaShop site: layout, colours, typefaces. An off-the-shelf theme is bought and adapted; a custom theme is built from designs.
- Module / plugin
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An add-on that adds a feature to a CMS: payment, carrier, form, customer reviews… It is called a “module” on PrestaShop and a “plugin” on WordPress.
- Mock-up
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The image of each page of the future site, produced by a designer before development. It fixes the appearance; once approved, development can start.
- UX / UI
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UX (user experience) is about how easy a site is to use; UI (user interface) about how it looks. A UX/UI designer creates the mock-ups.
- Redesign
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Rebuilding an existing site: new design, new technology or new page organisation. A successful redesign keeps the search ranking already earned, thanks to redirects.
- Migration
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Moving a site from one version or technology to another, for example from PrestaShop 1.6 to PrestaShop 9, keeping products, customers and orders.
Technical
- Hosting
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The server, rented from a host, on which the site is installed and reachable on the Internet. At DataPet, it is always in the client’s name.
- VPS
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A virtual server dedicated to a single customer. More powerful and flexible than shared hosting, but someone has to administer and secure it.
- Domain name
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The address of the site, such as datapet.fr. It is rented yearly from a registrar and must be in the company’s name.
- HTTPS / SSL certificate
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The encryption of exchanges between the visitor and the site, shown by the padlock in the browser. Essential today, including for search ranking.
- PHP
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The programming language on which WordPress, PrestaShop and Symfony are built. Its old versions no longer receive security fixes: a site stuck on an old PHP version becomes vulnerable.
- Symfony
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A French PHP framework, used to develop custom web applications: CRMs, business software, customer areas.
- API
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A “front door” that lets two pieces of software exchange information automatically. Without an API, no automation is possible between two tools.
- Backup
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A complete copy of the site (files and database) that lets you restore it after an outage or a hack. It must be stored somewhere other than the site’s own server.
Maintenance
- Application maintenance outsourcing
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Entrusting the maintenance of a site or software to an outside provider: updates, fixes and enhancements.
- Preventive, corrective and evolutive maintenance
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Preventive maintenance avoids breakdowns (updates, backups, monitoring), corrective maintenance repairs what is broken, evolutive maintenance makes the site evolve (new page, new feature).
- Acceptance
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The phase where the client checks that what was delivered matches what was planned, before approving it.
Business software
- CRM
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Customer relationship management software: customer and prospect records, history of exchanges, quotes, follow-ups.
- ERP
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Management software broader than a CRM, bringing together several company functions: sales, stock, purchasing, invoicing, accounting.
- Business software
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Software designed for the specific needs of an activity: job scheduling, bookings, site monitoring…
- Requirements document
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The document that describes what a project must do before development: objectives, features, constraints, budget and estimated deadline. It serves as the reference between client and provider.
- Scoping
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The analysis phase that precedes a project: understanding the need, translating it into features and costing it. It results in the requirements document.
Artificial intelligence
- Generative AI
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Artificial intelligence able to produce text, images or code from a written request. ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini are examples.
- AI chatbot
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A conversational assistant that answers freely worded questions from a knowledge base. Installed on a site, it answers customers 24/7.
- Knowledge base
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The set of content a chatbot relies on to answer: FAQ, terms of sale, product pages, website pages.
- Automation
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A scenario that connects several applications: an event (an order, a form, an email) automatically triggers actions elsewhere, with no re-typing.
- Make
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An online service for building automations between applications without programming, on a monthly subscription. Easy to pick up.
- n8n
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An automation tool comparable to Make, more technical, which can be installed on your own server to keep your data in-house.
- AI Act
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The European regulation on artificial intelligence. Among other things, it requires users to be told when they are interacting with an AI.
Search visibility
- SEO (search engine optimisation)
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All the techniques that help a site appear in Google results without advertising: content, structure, speed, links.
- GEO
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Optimising a site so that it is cited by AI-based answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI answers). It relies on clear, factual, well-structured content.
- Core Web Vitals
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Three Google metrics that measure a page’s display speed, responsiveness and stability. They count towards search ranking.
- 301 redirect
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A rule that automatically sends an old address to the new one. Essential in a redesign or migration so as not to lose your search ranking.
Regulation
- GDPR
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The European regulation on the protection of personal data. It governs the collection of data (forms, cookies, customer files) and requires people concerned to be informed.
- E-invoicing
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The obligation, for businesses in France, to issue and receive their invoices in a structured format, through an accredited platform. It comes into force gradually in 2026 and 2027.
- Accredited platform
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An intermediary authorised by the French tax administration to transmit electronic invoices between businesses. It is chosen with your accountant.
- Qualiopi
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The quality certification required of French training bodies so that their courses can be funded by public or pooled funds, such as those of the OPCOs.
- OPCO
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The French skills operators: they fund the training of company employees, provided the training body is Qualiopi-certified.
Frequently asked questions
What is this glossary for?
To explain simply the technical web terms you come across in a quote or an audit report (CMS, module, backup, SSL, SEO…). Each definition fits in a few sentences and links to the related service when there is one; all prices are displayed.
A term is missing or an explanation is unclear?
Write to me through the contact form: I regularly add the terms that come up in my clients’ questions.
Do I need to know these terms to work with you?
No. I remain your single point of contact and explain each step in plain language, from quote to launch, then during website maintenance. The glossary is there for those who want to understand a word without waiting for my reply.
Let’s talk about your project
Write to me: I reply within one working day, with a first opinion or an offer of a 30-minute video call, even if we never work together.