Web Design, Hosting and SEO Glossary for South Africa
Short, plain-English definitions of 106 terms you will meet when you build, host or market a website in South Africa, from cPanel, DNS and NVMe to POPIA, ZARC and Payfast. Each one links to a fuller guide where we have one.
A
- A record
A DNS record that points a domain or subdomain to the IPv4 address of a server. When someone types your domain, the A record tells their browser which server holds the website.
- AEO (answer engine optimisation)
Writing and structuring content so search engines and AI assistants can lift a clear, direct answer from it. In practice that means answering the question in the first sentence, using plain headings and FAQs, and adding schema markup.
- .africa
The continental top-level domain for Africa, used by businesses and organisations that want a pan-African web address. It is separate from the South African .za namespace, so it does not signal a South African focus the way .co.za does.
- AI Overviews
AI-written summaries that Google shows at the top of some search results, with links to the pages it drew from. Clear, accurate pages that answer the question directly have the best chance of being cited in them.
- Alt text
A short written description of an image, added in the image's alt attribute. Screen readers read it aloud to blind and partially sighted visitors, and search engines use it to understand what the image shows.
- Autoresponder
An automatic email reply sent to anyone who writes to a mailbox, such as an out-of-office message or a "we have received your enquiry" note. On cPanel hosting you can set one up per email address.
B
- Backlink
A link from another website to yours. Links from relevant, trusted sites are one of the signals Google uses to judge how much weight a page deserves, while paid or spammy links can do harm instead.
- Backup
A copy of your website files, databases and email kept away from the live site, so you can restore it after a hack, a mistake or a failed update. A useful backup is recent, stored off the server and tested.
- Bandwidth
In hosting plans, the total amount of data sent between your website and its visitors each month. Every page view uses some, so busy sites with large images or downloads use more.
- Bounce rate
The share of visits that leave without engaging with the site. In Google Analytics 4 a visit counts as a bounce if it lasted 10 seconds or less, viewed only one page and triggered no key event.
C
- Caching
Saving a ready-made copy of a page or file so it can be served quickly instead of being rebuilt on every visit. Server caching, browser caching and a CDN are the main types, and together they make the biggest difference to load times.
- Canonical URL
The preferred address for a page when the same content can be reached at more than one URL. A rel="canonical" tag tells search engines which version to index, so duplicates do not split your ranking signals.
- CDN (content delivery network)
A network of servers in many cities that keep copies of your site's files, such as images, stylesheets and scripts, and serve them from the location nearest each visitor. This cuts load times and spreads the traffic load.
- Cloud hosting
Hosting that runs on a pool of connected servers rather than a single machine, so resources can be added quickly and one hardware fault does not have to take the site offline. Pricing is often based on what you use.
- CloudLinux
A Linux operating system built for shared hosting. It puts each hosting account in its own lightweight container with set limits on CPU, memory and processes, so one busy or hacked site cannot slow down its neighbours.
- CMS (content management system)
Software that lets you add and edit pages, blog posts, images and products through a dashboard instead of writing code. WordPress is the best-known example; Joomla, Drupal and hosted builders such as Shopify are others.
- CNAME record
A DNS record that makes one name an alias of another, for example pointing www.yourbusiness.co.za at yourbusiness.co.za or at an outside service. It always points to a name, never directly to an IP address.
- .co.za
South Africa's commercial second-level domain and the address most South African businesses use. It sits under the .za country code, which ZADNA oversees, and you register it through an accredited registrar or a reseller such as a hosting company.
- Conversion rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a goal you care about, such as sending a quote request, calling or buying. If 500 people visit a page and 10 of them send an enquiry, that page converts at 2%.
- Cookie
A small text file a website stores in the visitor's browser to remember things such as a login or a shopping cart. Cookies used for analytics or advertising can collect personal information, so explain them in your privacy policy and ask for consent where needed.
- Core Web Vitals
Google's three measures of real-world page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness) and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). They are measured from real Chrome users and feed into Google's page experience signals.
- cPanel
The most widely used control panel for Linux web hosting. From one dashboard you manage files, email accounts, databases, subdomains, backups and SSL certificates without touching a command line.
- CTA (call to action)
A button, link or line that tells a visitor what to do next, such as "Get a free quote" or "WhatsApp us". Each page should have one clear main CTA that matches what the visitor came for.
D
- Dedicated server
A whole physical server rented by one customer, with no other accounts sharing its processor, memory or storage. It gives the most control and capacity, but it costs the most and needs someone with the skills to manage it.
- Disk space
The storage your hosting plan gives you for website files, databases, email and backups, usually measured in gigabytes. Most small business websites need less than people expect; email and old backups are what usually fill it.
- DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail adds a digital signature to the email you send, using a private key on the mail server and a public key published in your DNS. Receiving servers check the signature to confirm the message is genuine and unchanged.
- DMARC
A DNS record that tells receiving mail servers what to do with email that claims to come from your domain but passes neither SPF nor DKIM in line with it: deliver it, send it to spam or reject it. It can also send you reports on who is sending email as your domain.
- DNS (Domain Name System)
The internet's address book. It translates a domain name into the server addresses computers use, and holds the records that tell the world where your website and email are hosted.
- Domain name
Your website's address, such as yourbusiness.co.za, which you rent from a registrar for a year or more at a time. It also gives you professional email addresses, and you keep it for as long as you renew it.
- Domain parking
Registering a domain without building a website on it yet. A parked domain usually shows a simple holding page. Businesses often park names to protect their brand, block copycats or reserve an address for a future project.
- Domain transfer
Moving a domain's management from one registrar to another without changing who owns it. A .com transfer needs an EPP code, while a .co.za transfer is approved by the registrant through an email from the registry.
E
- E-E-A-T
Short for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness, the qualities Google's search quality rater guidelines use to judge content. It is not a single ranking factor, but showing real experience, sources and who stands behind a site supports it.
- Ecommerce
Selling products or services online through a website with a catalogue, cart and checkout. Small South African stores often run on WooCommerce with a local payment gateway and a courier service built into the checkout.
- ECT Act
The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002. Among other things, it gives electronic contracts and signatures legal standing, requires websites that sell to consumers to show certain business details, and gives online shoppers a cooling-off period on many purchases.
- Email forwarding
A rule that automatically passes email arriving at one address on to another, for example sending sales@yourbusiness.co.za to your main inbox. A forwarder on its own keeps no copy, so pair it with a mailbox if you need one.
- Email hosting
A service that runs email on your own domain, such as you@yourbusiness.co.za, with mailboxes, webmail and spam filtering. It can sit on the same hosting as your website or on a separate platform such as Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
- EPP code (auth code)
A secret transfer code, also called an authorisation or auth code, that proves you are allowed to move a domain such as a .com to a new registrar. Your current registrar gives it to you. A .co.za transfer normally does not use one.
- Error 404 (page not found)
The response a server sends when a requested page does not exist, usually because it was deleted, moved without a redirect or the link was mistyped. A few are normal; fix the ones that get traffic or links with a 301 redirect.
F
- Favicon
The small icon that appears in the browser tab, in bookmarks and beside your site in Google's results. It is usually a simplified version of your logo, and a missing one makes a site look unfinished.
G
- GEO (generative engine optimisation)
Improving how often and how accurately AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews mention and cite your business. It builds on normal SEO: clear facts, consistent business details across the web and content that answers questions directly.
- Google Analytics
Google's free tool for measuring website visits, where visitors come from and what they do on the site. The current version, Google Analytics 4, uses cookies, so mention it in your privacy policy and cookie consent.
- Google Business Profile
Google's free business listing that appears in Google Maps and local search results, showing your address, hours, phone number, photos and reviews. For a local business it is often the first thing a customer sees.
H
- H1 heading
The main heading of a page, set in an HTML h1 tag. Each page should have one H1 that says plainly what the page is about, ideally using the words people search for.
- HTTPS
The secure version of HTTP, the protocol browsers use to load web pages. It encrypts data between the visitor and your server using an SSL/TLS certificate, and browsers label sites without it as "Not secure".
I
- IMAP
An email protocol that keeps your messages on the mail server and syncs them across every device, so an email read or deleted on your phone shows the same way on your laptop. It is the right choice for most people.
- Imunify360
A security suite for Linux web servers that combines a web application firewall, malware scanning and clean-up, and protection against brute-force login attempts. It runs on the Web Design Hosting SA hosting platform.
- Information Officer
The person responsible for POPIA compliance in an organisation. By default it is the head of the business, such as a sole proprietor or a company's CEO, and they must be registered with the Information Regulator before taking up the role.
- Information Regulator
The independent body set up under POPIA to monitor and enforce the protection of personal information in South Africa. It also oversees PAIA, handles complaints and registers Information Officers.
- Inodes
An inode is one file or folder on a server. Many hosting plans limit inodes as well as disk space, so thousands of small files from caches, old backups or email can hit the limit before your storage is full.
K
- Keyword
A word or phrase people type into a search engine, such as "web design Cape Town". Keyword research shows what your customers search for and how often, so each page can target one clear topic.
L
- Landing page
A page built for one purpose, usually to turn visitors from an ad, email or search into enquiries or sales. It focuses on a single offer with one main call to action and few distractions.
- LiteSpeed
Web server software designed to serve websites faster and with less memory than a traditional Apache server, while still reading Apache settings such as .htaccess. Its free LiteSpeed Cache plugin gives WordPress sites fast server-level page caching.
- llms.txt
A proposed plain-text file at the root of a website that gives AI tools a short summary of the site and links to its most useful pages. It is not an official standard, and support among AI companies varies.
- Load shedding
Scheduled, rotating power cuts that Eskom uses to protect the national grid when supply cannot meet demand. A website hosted in a proper data centre normally stays online during load shedding, because the data centre has its own UPS batteries and generators, though visitors without power or signal may still not reach it.
- Local SEO
Helping a business appear in local searches and on Google Maps, such as "plumber near me" or "web designer Cape Town". The basics are a complete Google Business Profile, consistent contact details, genuine reviews and useful location pages.
M
- Malware
Malicious software, such as code injected into a hacked website to redirect visitors, send spam or steal data. Outdated plugins and weak passwords are the usual ways in, so regular updates and scans keep it out.
- Managed WordPress hosting
Hosting set up specifically for WordPress, where the provider takes care of some of the technical work, such as installation, caching, security and backups. What "managed" covers differs between providers, so check the plan details.
- Meta description
A short summary of a page, set in its HTML head, that search engines may show under the title in results. It does not directly affect rankings, but a clear one that matches the search can earn more clicks.
- MX record
The DNS record that tells other mail servers where to deliver email for your domain. If the MX records are wrong or missing, email stops arriving even though the website still works.
N
- Nameservers
The servers that hold a domain's DNS records. Your registrar points the domain at a set of nameservers, often your hosting provider's, and whoever runs those nameservers controls where the website and email go.
- NVMe
Non-Volatile Memory Express, a way of connecting SSD storage directly to a server's fast PCIe lanes instead of the older SATA connection. NVMe drives read and write data much faster, which helps database-heavy sites such as WordPress and WooCommerce stores.
O
- Ozow
A South African payment provider best known for instant EFT, which lets shoppers pay straight from their bank account by signing in to their online banking during checkout, without using a card.
P
- Page builder
A drag-and-drop tool, such as Elementor, Divi or WordPress's own block editor, for designing page layouts without code. Builders make editing easier, but heavy ones can add extra code that slows pages down.
- Page speed
How quickly a page loads and becomes usable, especially on mobile data. Faster pages keep more visitors and support rankings; image sizes, hosting quality and caching usually make the biggest difference.
- PAIA
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, which gives people the right to request records held by public and private bodies. Private bodies are generally expected to have a PAIA manual explaining how to make a request.
- Payfast
A South African online payment gateway that lets websites accept cards, instant EFT and other local payment methods. It has a free WooCommerce plugin and supports a wide range of local payment methods, which suits small South African online stores.
- Payment gateway
The service that securely takes a customer's payment on your website and pays the money into your bank account, handling card details so your site does not have to. South African examples include Payfast, Yoco, Peach Payments and Ozow.
- Peach Payments
A South African payment gateway for online stores and apps, with a WooCommerce plugin and support for cards plus a range of alternative payment methods. It also handles subscriptions.
- Permanent redirect (301)
An instruction that sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one for good. It passes the old page's ranking signals to the new address, so use one whenever you move, rename or merge a page.
- Plugin
An add-on that gives a WordPress site extra features, such as contact forms, SEO settings or a shop. Install only what you need from trusted developers and keep plugins updated, because outdated plugins are a common cause of hacked sites.
- POP3
An older email protocol that downloads messages to one device and usually removes them from the server. It suits someone who reads email on a single computer, but IMAP is the better choice if you use more than one device.
- POPIA
The Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, South Africa's data protection law. It sets rules for collecting, using, storing and sharing personal information, applies to websites that collect names, email addresses or tracking data, and has been enforceable since 1 July 2021.
R
- Registrar
A company accredited to register domain names for customers and submit the details to the registry. Hosting companies often sell domains as resellers of a registrar, so you can manage your domain and hosting in one place.
- Registry
The organisation that runs the central database for a domain extension, such as .com or .co.za, and sets its technical rules. Registrars deal with customers; the registry keeps the master record. For .co.za, the registry operator is ZARC.
- Reseller hosting
A hosting plan that lets you divide your server space into separate hosting accounts and give or sell them to your own clients, often under your own brand. Web designers use it to host the sites they build.
- Responsive design
Building a website so its layout adapts to any screen, from a phone to a wide monitor, using the same content. Google indexes the mobile version of pages, so a site that does not work well on phones loses out.
- robots.txt
A text file at the root of a website that tells search engine crawlers which areas they may or may not crawl. It does not reliably keep a page out of search results on its own; a noindex tag does that.
S
- Schema markup
Structured data, usually written in JSON-LD, that labels the facts on a page, such as your business name, address, opening hours or FAQs, in a format search engines and AI tools can read. It can make pages eligible for rich results.
- Search Console
Google Search Console is Google's free tool that shows how your site performs in Google Search: the searches it appears for, clicks, indexing problems and Core Web Vitals. It is also where you submit your XML sitemap.
- SEO (search engine optimisation)
Improving a website so it shows up higher in unpaid search results for the searches your customers make. It covers technical health, useful content that matches what people search for, and links and mentions from other sites.
- SPF
Sender Policy Framework, a DNS TXT record that lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. Receiving servers check it to spot forged mail, and a missing or wrong SPF record is a common reason email lands in spam.
- SSD
A solid-state drive: storage with no moving parts that reads and writes data far faster than a traditional spinning hard drive. Most modern hosting runs on SSDs, and NVMe SSDs are the fastest kind.
- SSL/TLS certificate
A digital certificate that lets your site use HTTPS, encrypting data between visitors and the server and confirming the site belongs to your domain. TLS is the modern protocol, but the older name SSL has stuck.
- Staging site
A private copy of your website where you test updates, new plugins or design changes before applying them to the live site, so mistakes never reach your customers.
- Static site
A website made of ready-built HTML files instead of pages generated from a database on every visit. Static sites load very quickly and offer little for attackers to target, but content changes usually need a developer or a separate editing tool.
- Subdomain
A separate section of a domain created by adding a word in front of it, such as shop.yourbusiness.co.za. It can run a different site or app and needs no extra domain registration.
T
- Theme
The design template that controls how a WordPress site looks, including layout, colours, fonts and page styles. Choose a well-maintained, lightweight theme and keep it updated, just like your plugins.
- Title tag
The page title set in the HTML head, shown as the clickable headline in search results and in the browser tab. Keep it short enough not to be cut off, roughly 60 characters, with the main topic near the start.
- TTL (time to live)
A setting on each DNS record that tells other servers how long, in seconds, to keep a cached copy before checking for changes. Lowering the TTL before a planned change helps the new records spread faster.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
A second check at login, usually a code from an authenticator app, on top of your password. Even if someone steals the password, they cannot get in without the second factor.
U
- UI (user interface)
The parts of a website or app that people see and interact with: buttons, menus, forms, text and colours. A good interface is consistent, easy to read and obvious to use.
- Uptime
The share of time a website is online and reachable, usually shown as a percentage. Before relying on an uptime guarantee, check what the provider counts as downtime and what compensation, if any, it offers.
- UX (user experience)
How easily and pleasantly someone can do what they came to do on a website, such as finding a price or sending an enquiry. UX covers the page structure, content, speed and design together.
V
- VAT
Value-added tax, charged at 15% in South Africa and administered by SARS. Businesses must register once their taxable sales pass the compulsory threshold, then charge VAT. Web Design Hosting SA is not VAT-registered, so no VAT is added to our prices.
- VPS (virtual private server)
A section of a physical server that behaves like a server of its own, with guaranteed processor, memory and storage and full control over the software. It sits between shared hosting and a dedicated server in price and power.
W
- Web hosting
The service that stores your website's files on a server connected to the internet and delivers them to visitors. Plans differ in storage, speed, server location, email, backups and support.
- Webmail
Reading and sending email in a web browser instead of an email app. Email accounts on cPanel hosting include webmail, so you can check your mail from any computer or phone with an internet connection.
- WHOIS
A lookup that shows a domain's registration details, such as its registrar, registration and expiry dates and nameservers. Owner contact details are often hidden for privacy, in line with data protection laws.
- Wireframe
A plain layout sketch of a page that shows where the content, headings and buttons will go, before any design or colour is added. It lets you agree on structure early, when changes are quick and cheap.
- WooCommerce
A free plugin that turns a WordPress site into an online store with products, a cart, a checkout, payment gateways and shipping options. Many of its extensions are paid, and busy stores need good hosting.
- WordPress
Free, open-source software for building websites and blogs. Installed on your own hosting (WordPress.org), it gives you full control of your site and content, unlike the separate hosted WordPress.com service.
X
- XML sitemap
A file that lists the URLs on your site you want search engines to find, often with the date each one last changed. You submit it in Google Search Console; it helps pages get discovered but does not guarantee they are indexed.
Y
- Yoco
A South African payments company that started with card machines for small shops and now also offers online payments, including a WooCommerce plugin, so one business can take in-store and online payments with the same provider.
Z
- ZADNA
The .za Domain Name Authority, the statutory body that manages and regulates South Africa's .za namespace, including which second-level domains such as .co.za exist. You never deal with ZADNA directly when you register a name.
- ZARC
The ZA Registry Consortium, the contracted registry operator for South Africa's commercial second-level domains, including .co.za. It runs the central database that registrars submit registrations, renewals and transfers to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a domain name and web hosting?
The domain name is your address, such as yourbusiness.co.za, and web hosting is the server space where your website files and email live. You need both: the domain's DNS records point visitors to the hosting. They can be with the same company or with different ones.
Which terms should a small business owner understand before buying a website?
Start with domain name, web hosting, SSL certificate, CMS and backup, then POPIA if your site has a contact form. Those cover most of what a quote or hosting plan will mention.
Who controls .co.za domains in South Africa?
ZADNA, the .za Domain Name Authority, regulates the .za namespace, and the ZA Registry Consortium (ZARC) runs the registry for .co.za. You register and manage a .co.za name through a registrar or a reseller, not with ZADNA or ZARC directly. Our guide What is a .co.za domain? explains the details.
Can I suggest a term or report a mistake?
Yes. Email info@webdesignhostingsa.co.za with the term and, for a correction, the source. We check every change against official or primary sources, as set out in our editorial policy.
Need help with any of this?
Tell us what you are trying to do, whether it is a new website, hosting, email or SEO, and we will explain your options in plain English with a clear quote.