Knowledge

Digital Glossary: IT terms explained simply

From API to webhook: we explain the most important terms from software development, web, cloud, AI, and IT services – short, clear, and with a focus on real-world business practice.

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A–Z

218 terms from A to Z

A

Marketing

A/B test

An A/B test is an experiment in which two versions of a web page, email or ad are shown at the same time to randomly split visitors.

Business

Acceptance (software project)

Acceptance in a software project is the client’s declaration that the delivered software essentially conforms to the contract.

Web

Accessi­bility & WCAG

Digital accessibility means that websites and apps can be used by everyone—including people with visual, hearing or motor impairments.

Legal & Compliance

Accessi­bility statement

An accessibility statement is a publicly available declaration on a website or in an app that describes the state of accessibility: requirements met …

Software

Agile software development

Agile software development is an approach in which software is built step by step in short cycles.

AI

AI agent

An AI agent is an AI system that pursues a given goal on its own: it plans steps, uses tools such as databases, interfaces or email, checks …

AI

AI chatbot

An AI chatbot is a digital assistant that understands questions in natural language and responds in freely worded answers.

AI

AI hallucina­tion

An AI hallucination occurs when an AI model produces statements that sound plausible but are false or made up, such as invented sources, figures or …

Marketing

AI Overviews

AI Overviews (in Germany also called “KI-Übersichten” or “Übersicht mit KI”) are AI-generated summaries from Google shown above the classic search …

Software

API (application programming interface)

An API (application programming interface) is a defined interface through which programs communicate and exchange data or functions—without either …

AI

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer systems that take on tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as understanding language, …

Security

Authentica­tion & autho­riza­tion

Authentication verifies who someone is, for example by password, two-factor method or passkey.

C

Marketing

Call to action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is an element on a website, in an email, or in an ad that prompts users to take a specific next step—such as “Request a quote” …

Marketing

Canonical tag

A canonical tag (rel=canonical) is a hint in the HTML code that tells search engines which URL is the preferred main version when the same or very …

Security

CAPTCHA & spam protection

A CAPTCHA is a test designed to tell humans apart from automated programs, for example before a form is submitted.

IT Services

Certified data erasure

Certified data erasure is the verifiable, irreversible deletion of data on hard drives, SSDs, smartphones and other storage media using recognized …

Business

Change request

A change request is a formal request to change the agreed scope of an ongoing project.

Cloud

CI/CD

CI/CD stands for continuous integration and continuous delivery or deployment: code changes are automatically merged, tested, and prepared for …

IT Services

Client management (endpoint management)

Client management is the central administration of all of a company’s end-user devices—PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Cloud

Cloud hosting

Cloud hosting means running websites, applications, and databases on a cloud provider's virtual resources instead of on a single physical server.

Software

Code review

A code review is the systematic examination of source code by at least one other person before a change is accepted into the software.

Cloud

Content delivery network (CDN)

A content delivery network (CDN) is a distributed network of servers that caches a website's content—such as images, scripts, and videos—and delivers …

Web

Content management system (CMS)

A content management system (CMS) is software that lets you create and edit your website's content—text, images, pages, and menus—yourself via a user …

Marketing

Conversion rate

The conversion rate indicates what share of a website’s visitors take a desired action, such as sending an inquiry or completing a purchase.

Legal & Compliance

Cookie consent & consent banners

Cookie consent is the voluntary, informed agreement of a website visitor before cookies or similar technologies that are not strictly necessary are …

Web

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are three metrics defined by Google that measure the user experience of a website: loading speed (LCP), responsiveness to input (INP) …

Marketing

Crawling and indexing

Crawling is the automatic discovery and retrieval of web pages by search engine bots such as Googlebot; indexing is the subsequent storing and …

Business

CRM (customer relationship management)

A CRM (customer relationship management) is software and a way of working for managing customer relationships.

Software

Cron job

A cron job is a task that a server runs automatically at set times.

Software

Cross-platform app

A cross-platform app is a mobile application developed from a shared codebase for multiple operating systems—usually iOS and Android.

Security

Cross-site scripting (XSS)

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is an attack in which perpetrators inject malicious code, usually JavaScript, into a web page.

Web

CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the style sheet language that defines how web pages look: colors, fonts, spacing, layout and animations.

Marketing

Customer journey

The customer journey describes a customer’s entire path from first noticing an offer through comparison and purchase decision to use and …

Business

Customer portal

A customer portal is a protected online area where customers, after logging in, retrieve information and handle tasks themselves, for example viewing …

D

Software

Data migration

Data migration is the transfer of data from an existing system to a new one, for example when changing inventory management, CRM or online store.

Legal & Compliance

Data processing agreement (DPA, Auftragsverar­beitungsver­trag)

A data processing agreement (DPA, German: Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag or AVV) is the written or electronic contract under Art.

Legal & Compliance

Data protection impact assessment (DPIA)

The data protection impact assessment (DPIA, German: DSFA) is a risk analysis under Art.

Software

Database

A database is an organized system for storing, querying and managing data permanently.

Security

DDoS attack

A DDoS attack (distributed denial of service) deliberately overloads servers, networks or websites with a flood of requests from many sources at once.

Software

Deployment (software deployment)

Deployment is the process of making software available in a target environment, such as a test server or the live system, so that users can use it.

Web

Design system

A design system is a central collection of reusable design building blocks and rules for digital products: colors, fonts and spacing (design tokens), …

Cloud

DevOps

DevOps is an approach that brings together software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops).

IT Services

Digital signage

Digital signage means digital displays: screens show centrally controlled content such as offers, menus, wayfinding, key figures or employee …

Business

Digi­tal­iza­tion

In a company, digitalization means converting analog information and processes into digital ones and simplifying or automating them with software.

Cloud

Disaster recovery (RTO & RPO)

Disaster recovery comprises plans and procedures for restoring IT systems after a major outage, for example from ransomware, fire or a data center …

Web

DNS (Domain Name System)

DNS (Domain Name System) is the “phone book of the internet”: it translates domain names such as example.com into the IP addresses of the servers …

Cloud

Docker & containers

A container is a self-contained software package that bundles an application with all the libraries and settings it needs, so it runs the same way on …

Business

Document management system (DMS)

A document management system (DMS) is software that stores documents such as invoices, contracts and plans digitally, tags and versions them and …

Web

Domain (domain name)

A domain is the readable name of a website on the internet, for example nanoconcepts.de.

G

Legal & Compliance

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is EU Regulation 2016/679, which has set uniform rules since May 25, 2018 for how companies, …

AI

Generative AI

Generative AI is a form of artificial intelligence that creates new content on request, such as text, images, audio, video or program code.

Marketing

GEO (generative engine optimization)

GEO (generative engine optimization) refers to measures that get content and brands mentioned and linked as a source in the answers of generative AI …

Legal & Compliance

German Accessi­bility Strength­ening Act (BFSG)

The German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) transposes EU Directive 2019/882 into German law and, since June 28, 2025, obliges manufacturers, …

Software

Git & version control

Git is a distributed version control system that records every change to source code with author, time and description.

Legal & Compliance

GoBD (German principles for digital bookkeeping)

The GoBD are Germany’s principles for the proper keeping and retention of books, records and documents in electronic form, and for data access.

Marketing

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the current version of Google’s web analytics service.

Marketing

Google Business Profile

The Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a company’s free listing in Google Search and Google Maps.

Marketing

Google Consent Mode v2

Google Consent Mode v2 is an interface that passes a website visitor’s consent status to Google services such as Analytics and Ads.

Marketing

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool from Google that shows how a website performs in Google Search: with clicks, impressions, search queries, …

Software

GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language for APIs. In a single request, clients specify which data they need and receive exactly that.

L

Web

Landing page

A landing page is a purpose-built target page where visitors arrive after clicking an ad, a newsletter or a QR code.

AI

Large Language Model (LLM)

A large language model (LLM) is an AI model trained on vast amounts of text, which enables it to understand and generate language.

Web

Lazy loading

Lazy loading (deferred loading) means that images, videos, or other content on a web page are only loaded once they appear in the visible area or are …

Marketing

Lead generation

Lead generation is the systematic acquisition of contacts from potential customers who have shown interest in an offer, for example through a …

Software

Legacy system

A legacy system is older software or an IT application that is still in use and important to the business but is built on outdated technology.

Legal & Compliance

Legal notice requirement (Impressum)

The Impressum requirement obliges providers of commercial digital services to make their name, address, contact details and other mandatory …

Marketing

llms.txt

llms.txt is a file format proposed in 2024 for a website’s root directory: a Markdown file meant to give language models a curated overview of the …

Cloud

Load balancer

A load balancer distributes incoming requests across several servers so that no single one is overloaded.

Marketing

Local SEO

Local SEO (local search engine optimization) covers measures that help a business rank high for searches with a location—such as “dentist in …

Cloud

Logging & log management

Logging is the automatic recording of events in IT systems, such as access, errors and logins.

Software

Low-code & no-code

Low-code and no-code are approaches to building software with visual editors instead of classic programming.

M

AI

Machine learning

Machine learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence in which algorithms recognize patterns in data on their own instead of working from …

Business

Make-or-buy decision

A make-or-buy decision is the question of whether a company produces a service or product itself or purchases it.

Cloud

Managed hosting

Managed hosting is a hosting model in which the provider not only supplies the server or platform but also operates it: setup, updates, security, …

Marketing

Marketing automation

Marketing automation refers to software and rules that automatically trigger recurring marketing tasks such as email series, lead nurturing and …

Business

Merchandise management system (WaWi)

A merchandise management system (WaWi, short for Warenwirtschaftssystem) is software that maps a company’s flow of goods: purchasing, inventory, …

Marketing

Meta description

A meta description is an HTML element in the head of a page that summarizes its content in one or two sentences.

Software

Microser­vices

Microservices are an architectural style in which an application consists of many small, independent services.

IT Services

Microsoft 365

Microsoft 365 is a subscription package from Microsoft that combines Office applications such as Word, Excel and Outlook with cloud services for …

IT Services

Microsoft Entra ID & Active Directory

Active Directory is the directory service in the company network that manages users, groups and devices.

IT Services

Microsoft Intune

Microsoft Intune is a cloud service for the central management and protection of company devices.

Software

Middleware

Middleware is software that mediates between applications, systems or network services.

Software

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

A minimum viable product (MVP) is the first usable version of a product with exactly as many features as needed to offer real users genuine value and …

IT Services

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is the central management and security of mobile company devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.

AI

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard that defines how AI applications communicate with external tools and data sources.

Cloud

Monitoring (IT monitoring)

Monitoring is the continuous observation of IT systems, websites and applications.

Software

Monolithic architecture

A monolithic architecture is a software design in which all functions of an application—interface, business logic and data access—live in one shared …

Software

Multi-tenancy

Multi-tenancy means that one software instance serves several customers, the tenants, at the same time and keeps their data strictly separated …

P

Web

PageSpeed (page load time)

PageSpeed describes how fast a web page loads and how quickly visitors can use it.

Security

Password manager

A password manager is software that stores credentials encrypted in a vault, generates secure random passwords and fills them in automatically at …

Security

Patch management

Patch management is the planned process of recording, testing, prioritizing and installing security and feature updates for operating systems, …

Cloud

Penetration test

A penetration test is an authorized, simulated attack on IT systems, websites or applications.

Security

Phishing

Phishing is a fraud attempt in which attackers pose as trusted senders by email, text message, phone or messenger to trick people into handing over …

Business

PIM (product information management)

PIM (product information management) is a system for maintaining all product information centrally, such as names, descriptions, technical data, …

AI

Process automation

Process automation means having software handle recurring workflows in whole or in part—such as capturing invoices, routing inquiries or syncing data …

Business

Product Owner

A Product Owner is the person in Scrum who is accountable for the value of a product.

Web

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A progressive web app (PWA) is a website that behaves like an app: it can be installed on the home screen, works partly offline, and can send push …

AI

Prompt engineering

Prompt engineering is the practice of formulating and structuring instructions (prompts) for an AI model so that it reliably delivers usable results.

R

Security

Ransomware

Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts data or entire systems and demands a ransom for their release.

Software

Refactoring

Refactoring is the deliberate restructuring of existing program code without changing its external behavior.

IT Services

Remote support (remote maintenance)

Remote support is the remote maintenance of computers and IT systems: a technician connects to the user’s computer over the internet, sees the screen …

Software

Requirements specifica­tion (Lastenheft)

A requirements specification (German: Lastenheft) is a document in which the client describes what a piece of software or a project should …

Web

Responsive design

Responsive design is a design and development approach in which a website automatically adapts to the screen size of the device it is viewed on.

Software

REST API

A REST API is an application programming interface built on the REST architectural style (Representational State Transfer): programs use HTTP methods …

AI

Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a method in which an AI language model retrieves relevant information from a knowledge source—such as manuals …

Business

Return on investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI) is a metric that sets the profit of an investment in relation to the capital invested.

AI

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology in which software robots perform rule-based office work on the computer: they click, type, copy and …

Marketing

robots.txt

The robots.txt file is a text file in the root directory of a website that tells search engines and other crawlers which areas they may fetch.

S

Cloud

Scaling (horizontal & vertical)

Scaling means adapting the performance of an IT system to demand.

Software

Scrum

Scrum is an agile framework for developing complex products, especially software.

Marketing

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) covers all measures that help a website rank higher in the unpaid search results of Google, Bing, and other search …

Marketing

Search intent

Search intent (German: Suchintention) is the goal users pursue with a search query—such as getting information, finding a particular page, comparing …

Cloud

Serverless computing

Serverless is a cloud operating model in which the provider fully manages servers, operating system and scaling.

IT Services

Service Desk (IT service desk)

A service desk is the central point of contact for all IT requests in a company.

Web

Shopify

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform (software as a service) from Canada that lets retailers run online stores without managing their own servers.

Web

Shopware

Shopware is an e-commerce platform from Germany that businesses use to run online stores for B2C and B2B.

Security

Single sign-on (SSO)

Single sign-on (SSO) is a login method in which users authenticate once centrally and then access several applications without entering credentials …

Web

Single-page application (SPA)

A single-page application (SPA) is a web application that is fully loaded only once and then loads and swaps content via JavaScript—without …

Cloud

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a delivery model in which software is not purchased and installed but used over the internet in a browser and usually …

Legal & Compliance

Software usage rights

Software usage rights are the contractually granted permissions to use, copy, modify or pass on a copyright-protected computer program.

AI

Speech recognition (speech-to-text)

Speech recognition, also called speech-to-text or automatic speech recognition (ASR), converts spoken language into written text.

Software

SQL (Structured Query Language)

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standardized query language for relational databases.

Security

SQL injection

SQL injection is an attack in which perpetrators inject database commands into input fields or address parameters of an application.

Cloud

SSL/TLS encryption

SSL/TLS is an encryption protocol that protects data between browser and server against eavesdropping and tampering, recognizable by “https://” in …

Software

Staging environment

A staging environment is a test environment that mirrors the live environment as closely as possible.

Web

Static site generator

A static site generator (SSG) is a program that creates ready-made HTML files from content, templates and data before publication.

IT Services

Structured cabling

Structured cabling is a standardized, vendor-neutral cabling system for buildings and campuses.

Marketing

Structured data (Schema.org)

Structured data is standardized supplementary information in a page’s source code, usually in JSON-LD format using the Schema.org vocabulary.

W

Software

Waterfall model

The waterfall model is a software development process in which a project runs through consecutive phases—from requirements through design, …

Security

Web application firewall (WAF)

A web application firewall (WAF) filters HTTP and HTTPS traffic to a website or web application and blocks attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site …

Web

Web fonts

Web fonts are font files that a website delivers to the browser together with its content, so text appears in the intended typeface regardless of …

Web

Web hosting

Web hosting is the provision of storage space and computing power on an always-available server so that a website or application can be accessed on …

Software

Webhook

A webhook is an automatic notification between two applications: when an event occurs in one system—such as a new order—it immediately sends an HTTP …

Web

WebP & AVIF

WebP and AVIF are modern image formats for the web that produce much smaller files than JPEG and PNG at comparable quality.

Web

Website relaunch

A website relaunch is a fundamental overhaul of an existing website—usually its design, technology, structure and content all at once.

IT Services

Wi-Fi site survey (WLAN coverage planning)

A Wi-Fi site survey (WLAN coverage planning) is the planning and measurement of wireless coverage in a building.

IT Services

Windows Autopilot (automatic device setup)

Windows Autopilot is a Microsoft service that lets new Windows devices be set up without manual installation.

Web

Wireframe & clickable prototype

A wireframe is a schematic draft of a page or app screen that shows structure and content but not the finished design.

Web

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free open-source plugin that turns WordPress into an online store.

Web

WordPress

WordPress is an open-source content management system that lets you maintain websites, blogs and online stores without programming skills.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

For executives, project leads, and anyone who talks to agencies, developers, or IT service providers and wants to understand the key terms with confidence – without jargon.

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