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Text needs enough contrast with its background. The accessibility standard asks for a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 for normal text and 3 to 1 for large text.

An integration links two tools so they share information automatically. Most integrations work through an API, a set of rules that lets one program ask another for data or actions.

A subdomain is a word in front of your domain, like shop.yourbusiness.com. Use one when a separate tool, like a store or booking system, needs its own address.

Hosting is where your website's files live and the service that sends them to each visitor. It is separate from your domain name, which only points people to it.

DNS is the internet's address book. Records in it tell browsers where your website lives and tell other mail servers where to deliver your email.

An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between your site and its visitors and shows the padlock. Without it, browsers warn people that your site is not secure.

A plain-language tour of about 25 website words you will hear from us, from domain and DNS to cache, redirect and webhook, each in a sentence or two.

A wireframe is a plain sketch of a page's layout, a mockup shows the real look, and a prototype is a clickable version. Each stage settles different decisions.

A CMS, or content management system, is the editing tool behind a website. It lets people change words, photos and pages without writing code.

Most visitors arrive on a phone, and Google uses the phone version of your site to decide how it ranks. Responsive design makes one site fit every screen.

Paste your page address into Google's free PageSpeed Insights. It shows how fast real visitors experience the page and a lab score, with Core Web Vitals explained below.

A "page not found" or 404 message means that address has no page anymore. It usually happens after a page is renamed, moved or removed, and a redirect fixes it.

DNS changes spread as saved copies around the internet expire. This is called propagation. It often takes minutes to hours and sometimes up to a day or two.

A 404 means one page is missing. A 500, 502, 503 or 504 means the server had trouble. Here is what each one means and what you can check.

Any current version of Chrome, Safari, Edge or Firefox works well. Keep it updated, because old browsers miss security fixes and can show websites incorrectly.

Open your browser's privacy or history settings, choose the cached images and files, pick a time range and clear them. Steps for Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox.

Your browser and the internet keep saved copies of pages, called a cache. Until a saved copy is refreshed, you may see the old version. Clearing your cache usually fixes it.

A redirect sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one. You need one whenever a page moves, gets renamed, or your domain changes.