TEMPWEBZ / GLOSSARY
A plain-English guide to technical terms small businesses commonly encounter when managing websites, hosting, email and online systems.
Backup
A separate copy of website files, databases or other data that can be used for recovery.
Cache
Stored copies of content used to load websites more quickly. Old cache can make recent changes appear missing.
CDN
A content delivery network that serves website assets from distributed locations.
Cloudflare
A platform commonly used for DNS, CDN, caching and website security services.
CMS
A content management system such as WordPress that lets you manage site content.
DNS
The system that directs a domain to website, email and other online services.
Domain name
The human-readable website address. It is separate from the hosting account.
HTTP status code
A server response such as 200, 301, 404 or 500 that describes what happened to a request.
Hosting
The infrastructure that stores and serves a website.
IMAP
A protocol commonly used to access email while keeping messages synchronised with the mail server.
Malware
Malicious software or injected code that can compromise a website or account.
Microsoft 365
Microsoft’s cloud productivity platform, commonly used for business email and Office applications.
MX record
A DNS record that tells the internet which mail server should receive email for a domain.
Nameserver
The DNS servers responsible for answering queries about a domain.
Plugin
An extension that adds functionality to WordPress and needs ongoing compatibility and security maintenance.
SSL certificate
A certificate used to establish an encrypted HTTPS connection between a browser and a website.
Staging site
A non-public copy of a website used to test changes before applying them live.
Uptime
The proportion of time a website or service is available and responding normally.
WordPress
A widely used content management system for building and managing websites.
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