No jargon, ever
The plain-English glossary
Every technical term this site uses, defined in one sentence a non-engineer can act on. 29 terms — the same ones that appear as taps on the rescue and guide pages.
29 terms
One sentence each
No acronym left behind
29 terms
- backup
- A tested copy of your site you can restore from; an untested backup is a hope, not a plan. Backup System & Restore Test →
- blacklist
- A list of domains flagged for abuse; landing on one blocks your email or hides your site from searchers. Hack Cleanup & Malware Removal →
- cache
- A ready-made copy of your pages kept warm so the server doesn't rebuild everything on every visit. Website Speed Optimization →
- CDN
- Content Delivery Network — copies of your files served from cities near each visitor, so pages load faster worldwide. Website Speed Optimization →
- CLS
- Cumulative Layout Shift — how much the page jumps around while loading. Good is under 0.1. Website Speed Optimization →
- CMS
- Content Management System — the software (like WordPress) you use to edit pages without touching code. Hosting Consolidation & Cost Cut →
- Core Web Vitals
- Google's three real-user speed scores: loading (LCP), visual stability (CLS) and responsiveness (INP). Website Speed Optimization →
- database
- Where your site stores its content and user data; overloaded or corrupted, it throws errors instead of pages. Database Performance Rescue →
- DKIM
- A digital signature added to your emails proving they really came from your domain and were not altered. Email Deliverability / Spam Rescue →
- DMARC
- A DNS policy telling mailbox providers what to do when a message fails its SPF or DKIM checks. Email Deliverability / Spam Rescue →
- DNS
- The internet's address book: it turns your domain name into the server visitors actually reach. Domain Hijack Recovery →
- firewall
- A filter that blocks known-bad traffic before it ever reaches your site. Bot Traffic & Anti-Bot Defence →
- FTP
- File Transfer Protocol — the old way of moving files to a server; left open and unencrypted, attackers love it. Hack Cleanup & Malware Removal →
- hosting
- The service that runs your site on a server; the plan you pick decides your speed ceiling and your crash risk. Hosting Consolidation & Cost Cut →
- INP
- Interaction to Next Paint — how fast the page reacts when someone clicks or taps. Good is under 200ms. Website Speed Optimization →
- LCP
- Largest Contentful Paint — how long until the main content of a page appears. Good is under 2.5 seconds. Website Speed Optimization →
- malware
- Malicious software planted on your site; it can redirect visitors, steal data, or get you blacklisted by Google. Hack Cleanup & Malware Removal →
- PHP
- The language most WordPress sites run on; an outdated version is one of the most common ways in. VPS Optimization & Server Tuning →
- plugin
- An add-on that extends your CMS; outdated or abandoned plugins are the most common way sites get hacked. Hack Cleanup & Malware Removal →
- quota
- A cap on the disk, memory or emails your plan allows; hitting it is a common cause of sudden failures. Hosting Consolidation & Cost Cut →
- redirect
- Automatically sending a visitor from one URL to another; broken loops tank both pages and rankings. SEO / Google Index Recovery →
- registrar
- The company where your domain name is registered — whoever controls that account controls the domain. Domain Hijack Recovery →
- SEO
- Search Engine Optimisation — the work that helps Google show your pages for the phrases customers type. SEO / Google Index Recovery →
- SPF
- A DNS record listing which servers may send email as your domain; missing or wrong, your mail lands in spam. Email Deliverability / Spam Rescue →
- SSL
- The certificate that encrypts traffic and turns http:// into the padlock https:// shoppers trust.
- two-factor
- A second proof of identity (a code from your phone) on top of the password, so a stolen password isn't enough. Hack Cleanup & Malware Removal →
- uptime
- The share of time your site is actually online; 99.9% still allows about 43 minutes down every month. Downtime Response & Continuity Plan →
- VPS
- Virtual Private Server — your own slice of a machine with guaranteed resources, so a traffic spike doesn't take you down. VPS Optimization & Server Tuning →
No term matches that. Try a shorter search, or ask us in plain English.
Still a word you don't recognise?
Send the symptom in your own words. You get a flat-rate ticket and a plain-English explanation — never a wall of jargon.
See the 30 Rescue Tickets