CDN – Content Delivery Network, a technology meant to make asset delivery faster (such as text or image files) resulting in faster load times for the end-user.
CLI – Command Line Interface. For developers only. A place where you type computer commands, similar to the old Microsoft DOS (disk operating system) days.
CMS – Content Management System, a system used to manage content on a website in a visual editor, outside of code and files.
CRO – Conversion Rate Optimization, the process of increasing conversions by using certain design and phycological tactics.
LAMP – A ‘stack’ of technology usually heard in conversations, “it’s a LAMP stack”, when referring to several technologies to power a website. LAMP is specific and stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, all technologies that help power WordPress. Linux is the operating system of the physical server, Apache being the web server to help run the technologies like MySQL and PHP.
MySQL – My Structured Query Language, pronounced “my es-cue-el” or if you come from a Microsoft background you’ll laugh and say “it’s my-sequel”. Both are accepted unless you are talking to a snobbish developer. MySQL is an open source database technology widely used to store data. WordPress uses it for their systems.
PCI (Compliance) – Payment Card Industry Compliance, a standard for data security when storing credit card numbers and other payment data. When choosing a payment gateway provider it’s important they have this compliance.
PHP – Hypertext pre-processor, originally stood for “Personal Home Page” is a web language built for web servers. PHP is an open source technology that powers many popular websites and software like WordPress.
phpMyAdmin – Online software built for easier manipulation of a MySQL database through an interface (rather than the CLI).
PPC – Pay Per Click (Marketing), a marketing option for businesses using display ads where you pay per each click on the ad, bringing a prospect to your landing page or website.
SaaS – Software as a Service, pronounced “sass”. A type of business model where a company offers software as a service instead of a product, usually for a monthly or yearly recurring price.
SEO – Search Engine Optimization, the process of optimizing content for search engines to rank higher for certain search terms.
SMM – Social Media Marketing, marketing pertaining to social networks such as Twitter and Instagram.
SSL – Secure Socket Layer, a technology used to encrypt data traveling from one place to another. Most useful to protect against network sniffers. Some refer to this simply as a “cert” or “SSL cert” (certificate).
WP – WordPress, the most widely used content management system on the planet.
WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get, an acronym pronounced just as you see it “whiz-e-wig”, this was commonly used among developers to describe the area that the client sees to edit a block of content, indicating that what you see here, is what you are going to get when you click save. These days it’s commonly called the “visual editor” by lay people.