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Glossary
URL

URL

A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the web address you type or click to reach a specific page, file, or resource online, like https://university.webflow.com/glossary. It tells your browser exactly where to go and how to get there.

To illustrate, in the example URL structure http//www.example.com/blog/what-is-a-url, HTTP is the network communication protocol, www.example.com is the domain name, and /blog/what-is-a-url is the extension.

URLs help visitors and search engines understand a web page’s content. They’re used in hyperlinks, allowing users to navigate between different pages within a website or to external websites, and improving search engine optimization (SEO) by facilitating more precise page indexing. 

Visit Webflow University to connect a custom domain to your website and learn how to change URLs and link settings to improve its user-friendliness and functionality.

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Other glossary terms

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Left padding

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Left padding is a CSS property that defines the space between an element's left border and its content.

Right-side panel

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The far right vertical panel in the Designer that houses the Style panel, Element settings panel, Style manager panel, and Interactions panel.

Div block

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A generic element that is typically used to group content, or when no other element is specifically or semantically suitable. Div blocks have no effect on the content or layout until styled with CSS.

Flex-align

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A flexbox property that lets you customize the alignment behavior of flex children, based on the cross-axis of the flex container. The cross axis is the opposite of the flex-direction property, so if you set the direction to vertical, the cross axis is horizontal. Options include start, center, end, baseline, and stretch.

Minimum height

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The min-height CSS property defines an element’s minimum height.

Asynchronous

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Asynchronous programming is an approach where programs simultaneously run multiple operations independently without waiting for previous tasks to complete.

Minified code

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Minified code refers to the process of removing unnecessary characters and whitespace from the source code file without affecting its functionality.

Locked site

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When you have more unhosted sites in your Dashboard than your Workspace plan allows, those additional sites past your limit will be “locked” until you upgrade your plan. When you upgrade, you’ll be allowed more unhosted sites (up to the limit for your Workspace plan) and will be able to access your previously locked sites.

URL redirect

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URL redirect, or URL forwarding, is a web server function that automatically sends users from one web address to another.

Robots.txt

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A robots.txt file instructs search engine crawlers which webpages and sections they can or can't crawl and index.

Pseudocode

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Pseudocode is a simplified, informal representation of programming code that outlines a program’s structure and logic without strict syntax.

Item state

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The default UI state for Collection lists, which displays the items in the Collection. It is the opposite of the empty state.

AJAX

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Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) is a web development approach that combines technologies to allow web content to update without reloading.

Automagically

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Automagically describes complex content or functions that appear as if they were created using magic.

Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS)

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Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is a secure protocol facilitating encrypted exchanges of information between web browsers and servers.

Tablet breakpoint

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A Webflow canvas setting for creating styles that affect viewports with a minimum width of 768px and a maximum width of 990px. Also known as the tablet media query.

Display: block

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Display properties tell browsers how an element should behave on the page. The most common display property keyword category is display: block.

Translation inheritance

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Translation inheritance is when a secondary locale automatically mirrors the primary locale's content until a specific field is manually translated, at which point that field stops inheriting further changes.

User interface (UI)

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A user interface (UI) is any visual element humans interact with on a device, webpage, or application.

Modal window

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A modal window (or modal) is a web element that displays above all content and restricts user interaction until it’s manually dismissed.

Typography section

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A section in the Style panel that houses CSS properties related to how typography is displayed such as font, font size and height, and align.

Meta title

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A meta title is an HTML element that defines a web page's title and appears in browser tabs and search snippets on search engine results pages (SERPs) as a clickable headline.

Collection

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A content type (blog posts, recipes, etc.) represented by a group of fields you define. Once created, you can add individual Collection items.

Behavioral targeting

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Behavioral targeting is a marketing technique that leverages user data to deliver personalized ads to drive conversions.

Backlink

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A backlink, also referred to as an inbound link, is a hyperlink from one website to another website.

Radio button

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A radio button is a form element for selecting one option from a predefined set of mutually exclusive choices.

SaaS

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Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud-based approach to delivering software on a subscription basis without requiring local installation.

Anti-flicker

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Anti-flicker is a technique that hides content until it's ready to display correctly, preventing visitors from briefly seeing something that's about to change.

Selector state

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A pseudo-class that allows you to change the styles of an element when it is hovered, pressed, or focused.

Publish destination

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The specific domain or subdomain where your Webflow site is displayed.

Traffic

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Traffic, or web traffic, refers to the number of users who visit a website over a period of time.

Inheritance dropdown

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A dropdown menu that displays all the selectors that affect a given element.

Width: auto

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The way browsers calculate an element's width automatically where Block level elements fill the available space of its parent and Inline elements shrink to the size of its children/content.

Constant

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In coding, a constant is a fixed value that can’t change, no matter where it appears or what the program uses it for.

Resource Description Framework (RDF)

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The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a standardized framework developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that facilitates automated data exchange between web systems and applications.

Java

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Java is an object-oriented programming language for building dynamic, interactive web applications across platforms

Folder

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A folder is a subdirectory of your site's root folder for organizing web pages.

Undo

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To move backward one step while making changes to a Webflow site.

Plain text field

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A plain text field is an input field for short-form text without formatting or styling.

Latency

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Network latency is the time data needs to travel from one point to another, impacting the responsiveness and speed of web applications and services.

Key

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A key, or web key, is a unique identifier that authorizes access to a webpage or service.

Domain

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A domain, or domain name, is the unique address that directs to a website on the internet.

Navigator

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A navigator, or a navigator window or panel, is a graphical user interface (GUI) that provides an overview of a website's structure and layout.

Cascading rules

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The order in which a Webflow site's CSS styles flow from desktop to mobile breakpoints.

Bottom padding

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Bottom padding is the space between the bottom of an element and its border.

Redo

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To move forward one step while making changes to a Webflow site.

Character encoding

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Character encoding is the process of representing characters (such as “a” or “3”) in a particular way, such as text on a computer screen.

Object-oriented programming (OOP)

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Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming approach that organizes code into self-contained units of data, functions, and behavior.

Google site verification meta tag

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Adding a Google site verification meta tag to your website's HTML code allows Google to verify that you own the site.

Transfer site

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You can transfer sites from one Workspace to another Workspace.

Closing tag

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A closing tag is an instructional piece of code that ends a section of page content in HTML.

Gamut

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Color gamut describes the full range of colors a device can reproduce on its display.

Conditional

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Conditionals, also known as conditional statements or expressions, are coding instructions that tell a program to execute an action for a certain condition.

Optimizely

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A web app that helps you measure how different site designs impact user behavior.

Save

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The Designer automatically saves your progress every 10 seconds.

Content management system (CMS)

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A content management system (CMS) is a tool for creating and managing a website and its content.

Facebook button

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A Facebook button is a clickable element on a website that allows users to connect to or share content on the social media platform.

Backup

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A backup is a copy of data stored in an alternate location, including hard drives, cloud servers, or network-attached storage (NAS) servers.

Collection list layout

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Lets you control how Collection items display inside a Collection list. The default layout option has each item covering the full width of the parent element. You can change this to display Collection items in 2, 3, 4, or 6 columns.

Rich text field

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A rich text field is an input tool for formatting or applying text styles, such as bold, colors, font sizes, italics, underline, and other visual modifications.

Last updated

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The last time someone made a change to your site.

CMS section

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A section in the Add panel that contains elements associated with the CMS.

Delete element

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To remove an element and its content from your website.

Required field

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You can set any Collection field as "Required," which means that a value must be added to that field in the Collection item before it can be published. The only Collection field that cannot be made required is the Switch field.

Document type definition (DTD)

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A document type definition (DTD) defines the structure, validity, and attributes of standard generalized markup language (SGML) documents, such as GML, HTML, and XML.

Application context

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An application context is a set of data that identifies an application’s tasks, where those tasks originate, and how those tasks are configured.

Text link

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A typography element that is used to link to other pages or sections of a webpage.

Collection URL

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The slug that represents the parent folder for your individual Collection item URLs. For example, if you created a Collection called “Blog posts,” the URL would be website.com/blog-posts, while a Collection item URL for a blog post called “Hello world” would be website.com/blog-posts/hello-world.

Descendant selector

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A descendant selector is a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) selector that targets elements nested inside a parent element.

Site

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What you create in Webflow! You can publish sites to a webflow.io staging subdomain for free, export the code on a paid plan, add hosting on any paid plan, or add a Site plan to any site to connect your custom domain and unlock hosting features.

Gutters

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Gutters refer to the whitespace between content columns on a webpage.

Call stack

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A call stack is an ordered list of the functions (or stack frames) a program has to execute before it returns a result.

List

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An element that contains ordered (numbered) or unordered (bulleted) lists.

Localization

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Localization (l10n) involves adapting digital content and applications to meet a specific region or culture’s language and conventions.

Deep copy

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In programming, a deep copy is a replica of an object that doesn’t share the same references as the original. That way, if you make changes to the duplicate, the original stays the same.

Collection field

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An individual field within a Collection. You'll select which fields to display in dynamic Collection lists and Collection pages.

Left margin

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Left margin is a CSS property that defines the space between an element's left edge and its surroundings.

BigInt

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BigInt, which stands for “big integer,” is a JavaScript data type. JavaScript uses data types to decide how to treat a piece of data.

Null

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“Null” represents the absence of a value or the presence of invalid objects in computer science and web development.

Background

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A website background is a visual element behind webpage content, enhancing aesthetic appeal and user engagement.

Python

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Python is a high-level, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language (GPL).

Margin

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Margins are an essential spacing element of web design, dictating the amount of whitespace between a box and its surroundings.

CMS Collection page

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A dynamic page that Webflow automatically creates for each Collection item. When you design a Collection page, all the pages that are created for each Collection item will have the same template but different content.

Cookie

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Cookies are small text files sent by a website to a user’s web browser that enhance their browsing experience by remembering site preferences and activities.

Dashboard

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From your Dashboard, you can access, create, and manage all your sites.

Interpolation

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Interpolation is a mathematical process that estimates and creates new values based on known values and their relationship.

Front-end

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The front-end refers to the visual and interactive part of a website or application that users directly interact with.

Blog

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A blog, short for weblog, is a website or webpage where an individual or group regularly shares content about specific topics, typically in reverse chronological order.

Encapsulation

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Encapsulation is an object-oriented programming (OOP) process that combines functions and the data they manipulate into a single entity.

Flex-direction

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Flex-direction is a CSS property that defines the main axis and direction of flex items, dictating the arrangement of the items within a flex container.

Columns

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Columns let you create sections of content that sit side by side on your website, like the columns in newspapers. You can choose how many columns you want and their widths. You can also control how they display on smaller screens — such as stacking them.

Browser

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A browser, or web browser, is a software program that allows users to access, navigate, and interact with websites on the internet.

Accessibility tree

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A webpage’s accessibility tree indicates which parts of the page are compatible with assistive technologies such as braille displays, screen readers, and voice commands.

Argument

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An argument is an independent value a function receives to deliver a specific output.

AEO

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AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing content so it gets surfaced and cited by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, the AI-era counterpart to traditional SEO.

Valid

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A valid CSS pseudo-class is a keyword that enables styling HTML elements based on their state or position in the document structure or web page.

States dropdown menu

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The dropdown menu to the right of the Selector field that allows you to access and change the styles of an element when it is hovered, pressed, or focused.

Workspace plan

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A Webflow plan that applies to your entire Workspace.

Input field

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An HTML input field, represented by the syntax <input>, is a web page element where users input data, like text and numbers.

Micro conversion

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Micro conversions are small but important user actions on a website that contribute to the overall conversion funnel.
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