Our Superquick Guide to understanding the 10 most commonly used digital acronyms//

The digital world loves an acronym. If you’re not totally immersed in it, it can be quite confusing and literally sound like a completely different language.

For those new to digital or, alternatively, those who just want to know…let the F3 digital team guide you through a few of the most commonly used digital acronyms and what they stand for…

CMS – Content Management System… a website platform that allows non-developers to easily create, modify or edit the website’s content

CSS – Cascading Style Sheets…one of two core technologies for building web pages. CSS provides the language to create the visual layouts including graphics and fonts for a webpage

HTML – HyperText Mark-up Language…the other core technology for building web pages. HTML provides the language to create the structure of a web page

HTTP – HyperText Transfer Protocol…the language used for information to be passed between web servers and browsers e.g. when you enter a URL in your browser this sends a HTTP command to the web server asking it to fetch and display the correct web page

HTTPS – HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure…as above (HTTP) but allows for secure communications over a computer network e.g. when accessing a HTTPS web site, all communication between your web browser and that particular web site is encrypted. If anyone manages to intercept the message, all they will see is gibberish.

FTP – File Transfer Protocol…The language that computers on a TCP/IP network (e.g. the internet) use to transfer files to and from each other.

URL – Uniform Resource Locator… a reference (address) to a resource on the internet e.g. website

UX – User Experience…describes how your website visitors interact with your site

W3C – World Wide Web Consortium…International community established to develop web standards and guidelines aimed at ensuring the long-term growth of the web

WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get… an editor within a content management system that allows users to create or edit content in a similar way to using a word processor rather than having to learn HTML code

Sources: itproportal.com, struto.co.uk, techterms.com, w3c.org, webopedia.com, webmonkey.com