{"id":8753,"date":"2022-06-15T08:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T08:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/?p=8753"},"modified":"2023-04-24T20:49:36","modified_gmt":"2023-04-24T20:49:36","slug":"50-important-wordpress-terms-defined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog\/50-important-wordpress-terms-defined\/","title":{"rendered":"50+ WordPress Terms You Should Know, Defined"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Launching your first WordPress website<\/span><\/a> can feel like learning a whole new language. So if you\u2019re feeling like you can\u2019t keep up, never fear. We\u2019ve put together a list of more than 50 different WordPress terms you need to know – along with their definitions – into this handy reference article.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hope you find it helpful as you get your site up-and-running!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress Terms: Basics<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

WordPress<\/b>
According to <\/span>WordPress.org<\/span><\/a>, \u201cWordPress is open source software you can use to create a beautiful website, blog, or app.\u201d W3Techs suggests that WordPress holds <\/span>nearly 60% of the market share<\/span><\/a> for similar content management software programs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.COM<\/b>
WordPress websites come in two flavors: .COM<\/a> sites and .ORG<\/a> sites. WordPress.com websites are hosted on WordPress\u2019s servers and offer varying features at each of the company\u2019s four free or paid plans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress.ORG<\/b>
Conversely, WordPress.org websites are self-hosted and self-managed on a user\u2019s personal WordPress hosting plan<\/a> or server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content management system (CMS)<\/b>
A content management system is a type of software that\u2019s intended to manage digital content. In many cases, websites that use a CMS can be \u201cskinned\u201d with different themes in order to create a new visual look without changing any of the underlying content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blog<\/b>
The word \u201cblog\u201d is short for web log. Though blogs were initially treated as personal journals, they are now commonly found on business and professional websites as well.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home page<\/b>
A home page is a website\u2019s primary landing page; it appears whenever a user navigates to the site\u2019s main domain name (for example, <\/span>www.bluehost.com<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web Hosting Basics<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Domain name<\/b>
A domain name is the combination of words, numbers and letters visitors enter into their internet browsers in order to reach your site. Our domain name, for instance, is <\/span>bluehost.com<\/span><\/a>. Domain names<\/a> commonly use the .COM, .ORG, .NET<\/a>, .GOV, .CO and .IO<\/a> extensions, though many other options are available.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

URL<\/a><\/b>
The URL (short for \u201cuniform resource locator\u201d) and domain name are often used interchangeably, a site\u2019s URL technically refers to all the components that make up its address. This generally includes a protocol identifier (such as http or ftp) and the domain name, but it may also include dynamically-generated strings of characters that provide tracking data to webmasters.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DNS<\/b>
DNS stands for \u201cdomain name servers\u201d and controls what servers an internet browser points to when a specific URL is entered. If you use separate domain name registrars and web hosting<\/a> services, you will need to set the DNS records<\/a> within your domain registrar\u2019s account to point to the servers provided by your web host.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Web host<\/b>
Your web host is the digital location where your website\u2019s files are stored. Typically, web hosting is purchased through a hosting provider like Bluehost, which offers a set amount of space and bandwidth in exchange for a monthly or yearly fee.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subdomain<\/b>
Individual domains can be broken up into multiple subdomains<\/a> for organizational purposes. In the case of the URL http:\/\/blog.bluehost.com, \u201cblog\u201d is the subdomain.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subfolder<\/b>
Subfolders (sometimes called \u201csubdirectories\u201d) can be used to achieve a similar purpose. They are denoted after the URL, as in the case of http:\/\/www.bluehost.com\/blog.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

cPanel<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Per <\/span>Wikipedia<\/span><\/a>, a cPanel is \u201can online (Linux-based) web hosting control panel that provides a graphical interface and automation tools designed to simplify the process of hosting a web site.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SSL<\/b>
An SSL certificate (short for \u201csecured socket layer\u201d) is an additional layer of security that can be used to create a secure channel between your site and your visitors\u2019 browsers. SSL certificates are necessary to activate the padlock icon and HTTPS protocol identifier that indicate a site is secure.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dedicated IP<\/b>
A dedicated IP address is often required by web hosts to activate an SSL certificate. Using a dedicated IP gives a shared hosting account its own IP address, rather than using an address that\u2019s shared between all hosted accounts on the server.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HTML<\/b>
HTML stands for \u201chypertext markup language\u201d and is the standard markup language used to create websites and web applications.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CSS<\/b>
CSS, or cascading style sheets, is another web language that allows stylistic elements to be applied to HTML without editing them into the HTML itself.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

JavaScript<\/a><\/b>
JavaScript is an object-oriented coding language that\u2019s commonly used to make web pages more interactive. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

RSS feed<\/b>
RSS stands for \u201creally simple syndication.\u201d RSS feeds are used to enable a website\u2019s content to be loaded into another site (such as a content aggregator like <\/span>Alltop.com<\/span><\/a>) or into a dedicated RSS reader (such as <\/span>Feedly<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress Structure & Features<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Theme<\/b>
A WordPress theme (or \u201cskin\u201d) is a design file that customizes the look and feel of a WordPress site without affecting all of the underlying content. Free and paid WordPress themes are available through both WordPress and private sellers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plugin<\/b>
A plugin is, essentially, a miniature program that can be added to a WordPress to give it some desirable functionality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widget<\/b>
Widgets allow WordPress users to add content blocks to the widget areas built into their theme or plugins. The WordPress sidebar is one place where widgets are commonly added to manage post lists, page lists, word clouds and other features.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dashboard<\/b>
The WordPress dashboard is the first page you see upon logging into a default installation. It acts as a home page for your site\u2019s back-end, allowing quick access to WordPress\u2019s many features.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post<\/b>
Posts, within WordPress, are typically displayed in reverse-chronological order within a site\u2019s blog.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pages<\/b>
Pages, compared to posts, are intended to be static pages that are not displaced by newer updates, but that instead provide information that will be relevant to all site visitors over time.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Category<\/b>
Categories are groups of posts created around a central theme. Categories are self-defined and are often used in a site\u2019s navigation to dynamically-generate blogs or content streams on individual subjects.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tag<\/b>
Tags represent an even more granular approach to blog organization. Multiple tags can be added to individual blog posts, enabling future search by both users and the site on specific tags.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image<\/b>
Some WordPress themes incorporate the use of a featured image (typically positioned at the start of a blog post) to create a consistent look across different posts.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Permalink<\/b>
Your WordPress permalink<\/a> settings define how your individual post and page URLs will look. Standard options within WordPress include the following, though custom permalink structures can be defined as well:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n