Digital glossary

API(Application Programming Interface)

A set of rules that allows two software systems to exchange data and functionality.

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) define how two software systems can communicate. They are the standard way apps, websites, and services share data: for example, when a weather app displays forecasts, it does so by calling the API of a weather service that returns the data.

Example: The restaurant booking app calls the management system's API to check table availability in real time.

Audit del codice(Code review, Code audit)

Systematic review of software code to identify vulnerabilities, errors, and areas for improvement.

A code audit is a professional assessment that verifies security, performance, regulatory compliance, and code quality. It is particularly important for apps developed with AI assistants, where the most common errors (known vulnerabilities, outdated dependencies, exposed data) can go unnoticed without an expert eye.

Backend

Server-side part of an application: business logic, database, authentication, APIs.

The backend is everything the user does not see directly: the server that processes requests, the database that stores data, the APIs that expose functionality. It is the part that makes the application work behind the scenes.

Brand book(Brand manual, Brand guidelines)

A document that collects all the visual and verbal guidelines of a brand.

The brand book contains the logo (and usage rules), color palette, typography, tone of voice, application examples on physical and digital materials. It is the manual that allows anyone — internal or external — to produce coherent materials without having to guess.

CMS(Content Management System)

Software system that allows you to create and manage website content without writing code.

A CMS (Content Management System) is a platform that separates content from presentation. It allows non-developers to publish articles, modify pages, upload images through a visual interface.

Core Web Vitals

Three Google metrics that measure the user experience of a website: loading, interactivity, and visual stability.

Core Web Vitals are public Google metrics: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint, loading speed of the main content), CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift, visual stability during loading), and INP (Interaction to Next Paint, responsiveness to interactions). They have direct impact on SEO ranking.

CRM(Customer Relationship Management)

Software system to manage customer relationships: contact data, sales activities, communications.

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) centralizes all information about customers and prospects: contacts, interaction history, quotes, orders, sales team notes. For companies with more than 10 active customers, it is an essential tool.

CRO(Conversion Rate Optimization)

Set of techniques to increase the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) optimizes a site or landing page to increase the conversion rate: more form submissions, more purchases, more contacts. It combines data analysis, A/B testing, user research, and UX review.

Design system

Coordinated library of reusable UI components that ensure visual consistency in a digital product.

A design system is a structured collection of components (buttons, forms, cards, etc.), visual tokens (colors, typography, spacing), patterns, and guidelines. It allows you to build interfaces quickly, maintain visual consistency, and reduce technical debt.

EEAT(E-E-A-T, Experience Expertise Authoritativeness Trustworthiness)

Google framework that evaluates experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness of content.

EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is the framework Google uses to evaluate content quality, especially for sensitive topics (health, finance, legal). To rank well you need recognizable authors, verifiable sources, real reviews, clear contacts.

GDPR(EU Regulation 2016/679, Privacy)

European regulation governing the processing of personal data of EU citizens.

GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679) is the European personal data protection regulation, in force since 2018. It applies to anyone processing data of EU residents. Violation penalties can reach up to €20M or 4% of global annual turnover.

Hallucination AI(AI hallucination)

Error from an AI model that produces fabricated information not based on real data.

An AI hallucination occurs when an artificial intelligence model confidently responds asserting false or fabricated information. It is a known problem especially with LLMs (Large Language Models): to reduce it you need structured prompts, output validation, and human fallback in the review phase.

Hosting

Service that provides the infrastructure to publish a site or application on the Internet.

Hosting is the server space, connectivity, and technical infrastructure required to make a site reachable. There are shared hosts (cheap, limited), VPS, dedicated servers, and cloud (scalable, pay-per-use). The choice depends on traffic, required performance, and internal skills.

KPI(Key Performance Indicator)

Quantitative performance indicator used to measure the achievement of an objective.

A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a measurable metric used to evaluate the success of an initiative. For digital marketing, typical KPIs are: organic traffic, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, lifetime value, ROAS.

Lead

Qualified contact of a person or company potentially interested in the services offered.

A lead is a potential customer who has shown interest by filling out a form, downloading a resource, leaving a contact. We distinguish between cold leads (generic interest) and warm leads (short-term purchase intent). Lead management is the heart of the sales funnel.

Lighthouse

Google tool to measure performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices of a website.

Lighthouse is a free tool built into Chrome that runs automated audits of performance, accessibility, SEO, best practices, and PWA. It returns a score from 0 to 100 for each area. It is the reference standard for evaluating the technical quality of a site.

LLM(Large Language Model)

Artificial intelligence model trained on large amounts of text to understand and generate natural language.

An LLM (Large Language Model) is an AI model capable of understanding and generating natural language text. They power modern AI assistants and many use cases: text writing, translation, classification, customer support, software development (vibe coding).

MVP(Minimum Viable Product)

Initial version of a digital product with only the essential features to validate an idea.

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the simplest version of a product that allows testing the idea with real users. The goal is not to be complete, but to gather valid feedback: what works, what is unnecessary, what is really missing. The MVP is the starting point, not the final product.

Onboarding

Process of welcoming and introducing a new user or customer to the use of a product or service.

Onboarding is the user's first experience with a product: initial tutorials, guided setup, first wins. Good onboarding dramatically increases activation and retention rates in the first 30 days.

PWA(Progressive Web App)

Web application that offers an experience similar to a native app, installable and with offline support.

A Progressive Web App (PWA) combines the advantages of the web (reachability, immediate updates) with those of native apps (icon on the device, offline support, push notifications). It is a more economical alternative to native apps for many use cases.

ROI(Return on Investment)

Ratio between the gain generated and the investment made, expressed as a percentage.

ROI (Return on Investment) measures the profitability of an investment. It is calculated as (Revenue - Costs) / Costs. For a digital project, it should be measured including not only direct revenue but also man-hours saved, errors avoided, efficiency improvements.

Schema markup(Structured data, JSON-LD, Schema.org)

Standardized format to mark up the content of a page and make it better understood by search engines.

Schema markup (based on Schema.org) allows you to describe in a structured way what a page contains: products, reviews, articles, events, people. It helps search engines show rich results and AI assistants to cite content correctly.

SEO on-page

Optimization of all SEO factors controllable on the single page: titles, content, internal links.

On-page SEO covers all optimizations applicable on the single page: title tag, meta description, H1-H3 structure, content quality, internal linking, image alt, schema markup, semantic URL. It is the foundation on which to build any SEO strategy.

Tone of voice(Brand voice)

Distinctive way a brand expresses itself: word choice, register, attitude toward the audience.

Tone of voice is the verbal personality of a brand: formal or informal, technical or accessible, direct or evocative. A well-defined tone of voice makes communication recognizable across all channels (website, social, email, physical materials).

Vibe coding

Software development method in which an AI assistant writes the code, guided by a person through natural language.

Vibe coding is an emerging approach where code is generated by an LLM from natural language prompts. Very fast for prototypes and MVPs, but it requires technical supervision for production applications: security, performance, and regulatory compliance remain the responsibility of whoever deploys.