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Content strategy and UX – Glossary

Plan, design, and refine content so people understand and act. Foundations, accessibility, structure, patterns, messaging, audience, and acquisition.

38 terms in this category

Foundations (4)

Readability

Plain language, scannable structure, and right sized sentences so users understand quickly. Related articles See your...

Usability

Ease of use measured through tests and feedback, focus on common tasks. Related articles See your website through you...

User experience (UX)

The overall experience using the site, tied to outcomes and satisfaction.

Web standards

HTML and CSS best practices that improve compatibility and quality.

Accessibility (3)

Accessibility

Alt text, color contrast, focus states, and skip links that make content usable for everyone. Related articles Websit...

Alt text

Concise image descriptions that support screen readers and clarify meaning.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Standards for accessible content, levels A to AAA used to benchmark sites. Related articles Website Content Planning ...

Structure and layout (11)

Adaptive layout

Layout shifts based on available space, not specific devices. Uses flexible components and sensible breakpoints to ke...

Aspect ratio

Consistent media boxes that prevent layout shift across devices.

Breakpoints

Viewport thresholds that guide layout and component changes.

Fluid grids

Grids that scale with the viewport using percentage or fractional units. Helps maintain structure while letting colum...

Information architecture

Plan navigation, taxonomy, and URLs so users find content easily. Related articles Website Content Planning on Small ...

Layout and composition

Use grids, spacing, and rhythm to keep pages balanced and readable. See also Landing page for CTA placement and hiera...

Media queries

CSS conditions that apply styles at breakpoints for responsive design.

Mobile first

Design for small screens first, then scale up with content priorities.

Progressive enhancement

Start with a reliable core experience, then add enhancements when the browser or device supports them. Prioritizes ac...

Responsive design

Layout adapts to device and viewport, using breakpoints and flexible grids for readable, usable content. See also Bre...

Viewport

The visible area of a web page on a device. Viewport meta settings and CSS units like vw and vh control how content s...

Patterns and components (7)

CSS frameworks

Prebuilt styles and components to speed up development. Often include responsive utilities, grid systems, and design ...

Empty states

Helpful messages and actions when there is no data, so users know what to do next.

Forms UX

Clear errors, sensible validation, and progressive disclosure that make forms easier to complete. Related articles Th...

Heuristics

Usability principles used to review and improve interfaces quickly. Related articles Website Content Planning on Smal...

Mockup

A visual draft of a page or component, helpful for alignment before build.

Prototype

A clickable model used to test flows and validate ideas early. Related articles Wireframes: the blueprint for your we...

Wireframe

A low fidelity layout that maps structure and flow before design and build. Related articles Wireframes: the blueprin...

Copy and messaging (7)

Body text

Readable copy with sensible size, line height, and measure.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

Clear actions with primary and secondary styles. Measure conversions to improve results.

Cognitive load

Reduce choices and clutter, highlight the next action to guide attention.

Microcopy

Labels, helper text, and validation messages that reduce friction and clarify actions. See also Landing page for labe...

Negative space

Whitespace that improves clarity and focus, especially for complex pages.

Typography

Typography is how text looks and reads. It covers fonts, sizes, spacing, and line length. Good typography makes conte...

Value proposition

A clear statement of benefit, who it is for, and proof.

Audience and localization (2)

Localization

Language switchers, localized slugs, and translation workflows that keep content consistent.

Personas

Fictional users that represent audiences and guide content decisions. Related articles See your website through your ...

Acquisition and behavior (4)

Cold traffic

Visitors with little prior exposure, frame value quickly and reduce friction.

Hot traffic

High intent visitors ready to act, highlight primary CTA, remove distractions, and confirm trust signals.

Landing page

Focused page with message match and a single clear CTA.

Warm traffic

Visitors with existing awareness or engagement, reinforce proof, reduce friction, and offer clear next steps.

About this glossary

I’m building this glossary to become a better developer and website strategist, in my ongoing quest to build clearer, better websites. It maps how terms relate, adds practical examples, and highlights best practices so I can communicate more clearly with clients. If it helps others too, great.

It’s a living resource, I aim to cite sources clearly. If you spot errors or omissions, please contact me so I can update it. Drafts may be assisted by AI, I review and fact check before publishing. For details on how I use AI, see AI Use at Webmarks.