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Glossary

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Padding
 In CSS, padding is a property that allows the author to specify how much space will be inserted between the element border and the element content. Negative values are not allowed.
Paper Prototype
A paper prototype is a paper sketch of an interface with just enough detail to make design decisions and usability evaluations relating to the function and flow of the interface, not the look.
Persistent Stylesheet
 A Stylesheet that is always applied to the document. One example is the user agent's Stylesheet: it's always applied, although you can override it with your own styles. In Mozilla milestones and builds, this is what the "Basic Page Style" entry in the "Use Stylesheet" menu represents.
PHP
 PHP is an acronym for PHP hypertext Preprocessor. It is a server side scripting language for creating dynamic web pages. This means that it works within an HTML document to confer to it the capacity of generating content on demand. You can convert your site into a web application, not just a collection of static pages. If you've ever seen ASP, you'll be familiar with embedding code within an HTML page. Like ASP, PHP script is processed by the Web server. After the server plays with the PHP code, it returns plain old HTML back to the browser. This kind of interaction allows for some pretty complex operations
Pixel
 The word "pixel" is derived from "picture element". In graphics, it refers to smallest resolvable rectangular area of an image. It is how how monitors divide the display screen into thousands or millions of individual dots. In CSS, a pixel is a relative unit of measure dependent on the viewing device. They are relative to monitor resolution in contrast to percent and em that are relative to a browser setting. Percent and em are considered best practice for accessibility.
Pixels Per Inch (PPI)
Pixels Per Inch (PPI) is the resolution of an image file. Web graphics and screenshots are made up of dots called pixels, and they usually contain 72 pixels per inch, though other resolutions are common. The horizontal and/or vertical density of an operating system's graphical display, from the point of view of the operating system (and in turn, of the applications and images running on it).
Pluralistic Walkthrough
 Pluralistic walkthroughs are when groups of users, developers, and usability experts walk through a task scenario. Group walkthroughs have the advantage of providing a diverse range of skills and perspectives to bear on usability problems. As with any inspection, the more people looking for problems, the higher the probability of finding problems. Also, the interaction between the team during the walkthrough helps to resolve usability issues faster.
Plug-in
 A module (either hardware or software) that adds a special feature to a larger system or program. For example, a program to allow a browser to play movies or to display Flash content. Plug-ins have accessibility issues. For more information see: Plugins, PDF, PowerPoint, etc.
Portable Document Format (PDF)
  PDF is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems Inc., as a way to publish documents electronically, with good formatting for printing, and document security (documents are generally read only). Originally it was in an image format. It was conceived as a way to make Adobe's Postscript printer language portable, and it mostly developed along the lines of press printing document production. Its prevalence can be attributed to the ease with which one can create PDF files. It is rare that one finds a PDF formatted for a computer screen. PDF has accessibility and usability issues. One of the main problems with PDF concerns accessibility issues associated with the document format, but this is only part of the problem. Even when users have the technology required to access information presented in this format, there can be content elements which have not received appropriate treatment to support accessibility (like using structural formatting for headings, etc. or text equivalents for images). Compared to HTML, PDF is slow and cumbersome. Many applications can save to formats other than their native file format, such as HTML, so this option when available is preferable to PDF, even when it needs to be cleaned up for the web. For more information visit: Plugins, PDF, PowePoint, etc. and PDF Usability.
Portable Network Graphics format (PNG)
 PNG is an image format was developed as the successor to the GIF format. It has a more efficient compression algorithm than GIF.
Preferred Stylesheet
These style sheets are enabled by default (they are "on" when the page is loaded). They can then be disabled if the user selects an alternate style sheet. To make a style sheet preferred, the rel attribute is set to "stylesheet" and the style sheet is named with the title attribute.
Pseudo-class
In CSS a pseudo-class is way of selecting certain parts of a HTML document based in principle not on the HTML document tree itself and its elements or on characteristics like name, attributes or contents, but on other phantom conditions like language encoding or the dynamic state of an element. The original pseudo-class defined dynamic states of an element that are entered and exited over time, or through user intervention. CSS2 expanded on this concept to include virtual conceptual document components or inferred portions of the document tree e.g. first-child. Pseudo-classes operate as if phantom classes were added to various elements.
Pseudo-element
 In CSS pseudo-elements are used to address sub-parts of elements. They allow you to set style on a part of an element's content beyond what is specified in the documents. In other words they allow logical elements to be defined which are not actually in the document element tree. Logical elements allow implied semantic structure to be addressed in CSS selectors.
Presentational Markup
 Presentational markup directly describes the way content should be displayed, rather than its structure or semantics. It is markup used to control the visual appearance of a web page in desktop browsers. In contrast structural markup is used to provide a logical meaning and structure to a document. Presentation markup is meaningless outside of a visual medium. The use of presentation markup is strongly discouraged. It is generally considered best to separate structural markup from presentation markup, for several reasons. It is often useful to apply different presentations to the same structure, e.g., <font color=red size=+3> is not useful when I read web pages on a hand held or other device with a small, monochrome screen, and it is equally useless to the vision-impaired user who uses a voice browser. In fact, if you are in doubt as to whether a certain piece of markup is structural or presentational, a good test is to ask "how might that be rendered in voice." For more information see: Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.
Primary Navigation
Primary navigation is the general menu choices that are repeated on most (if not all) of the pages contained in the site. It is sometimes called the main menu. Primary navigation is sometimes referred to as global navigation or functional navigation. Primary navigation bars provide shortcuts to main sections on a website.
Progressive Enhancement
 Progressive enhancement is a web design strategy which is the opposite of graceful degradation. A basic markup document is created, geared towards the lowest common denominator of browser software functionality, and then the designer adds enhancements to the presentation and behavior of the page, using modern technologies like Cascading Style Sheets or JavaScript. For more information visit Progressive Enhancement.
Property
 In CSS, a property is named style attribute or parameter for a markup element specified in a stylesheet declaration, e.g. color, background, font-family, padding etc., that is assigned a certain value. Properties are always followed by a colon to separate them from their value pair. A declaration contains one or more properties the individual pieces of style to be applied to the selected element.
Prototype
 A prototype is a partially completed mockup of your final website. Prototyping allows you to test certain parts of the final website, especially when it is incomplete. With many sites, this model can be as simple as paper-and-pencil drawings or as complex as actual working code. For more information see: Prototyping.
Questionnaire
 Questionnaires are written lists of questions that you distribute to your users. Questionnaires differ from surveys in that they are written lists, not ad hoc interviews, and as such require more effort on the part of your users to fill out the questionnaire. Often, questionnaires are used after sites are launched to assess customer satisfaction with the product. Such questionnaires often identify usability issues that should have been caught before the site goes live. Questionnaires are an inexpensive way of gathering a great deal of information from a large number of users. Most of the cost involved is in designing (or printing, if it's offline) the questionnaire.
Quirks Mode
 Using an incomplete or outdated DOCTYPE - or no DOCTYPE at all - throws browsers into "Quirks" mode, where the browser assumes you have written old-fashioned, invalid markup and code per the depressing industry norms of the late 1990s. In this setting, the browser will attempt to parse your page in backward-compatible fashion, rendering your CSS as it might have looked in IE4, and reverting to a proprietary, browser-specific DOM .
Rapid Prototyping
Rapid prototyping is the process of quickly generating mock-ups of what a website will look like.
Readability
Readability is the degree to which the meaning of text is understandable, based on the complexity of sentences and the difficulty of vocabulary. Indexes for readability usually rank usability by the age or grade level required for someone to be able to readily understand a reading passage.
Relative Sizing
 Relative sizing is scalable. It is the opposite of absolute sizing. For usability and accessibility it is better to use relative rather than absolute sized units. Use relative units such as percent or ems. Many low-vision users make use of devices to enlarge content displayed on their monitors. By using relative units, these users are able to change the size of the text without much difficulty .For more information visit: Relative sizing.
Replaced Element
A replaced element is one that, when the page is rendered, its contents are replaced by something else. Examples of replaced elements include images, form inputs, and objects.
RSS
 RSS is a technology that notifies you when a web site is updated, and allows you to read the updates without visiting the site itself. For more information visit What is XML (RSS) Syndication?
Rule
See Statement.
Samples Per Inch (SPI)
Samples Per Inch indicates the number of data points per inch that a scanner captures (i.e. input). As opposed to Dots Per Inch, Pixels Per Inch, or Lines Per Inch - all of which refer to output. Although most scanner manufacturers refer to Dots Per Inch, they really should refer to Samples Per Inch. Scanners use Charged Couple Devices ( CCDs) to capture information, and they do this by taking a fixed number of samples per inch. The thing to watch out for in scanners is optical resolution vs interpolated resolution. If a flatbed scanner is making claims of higher than 600 DPI, you can be pretty sure that they're referring to interpolation. Interpolation increases the resolution by software. The highest resolution a scanner can capture without interpolation is the optical resolution..
Sans Serif
 Sans serif is a a style of typeface without the short lines stemming from the upper and lower ends of a letter that are present in serif typefaces. Sans-serif fonts are usually the best fonts to use for ease of on-screen reading. Verdana was actually created specifically for this purpose.
Saturation
 Saturation describes the purity or intensity of a color. Pink and red differ in saturation with the red being the more saturated.
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
 A language for vector graphics coded in XML . XML documents can have these graphics placed directly into the document, with many advantages. SVG produces graphics that are smaller, transmit more quickly, are scalable without loss of resolution, can have searchable text labels, and allow links to part of an image. It is being developed by the W3C.
Scanning
 In usability, scanning is the process of skimming text and picking out keywords, sentences and paragraphs while skipping over other parts of a web page. People tend to scan web pages rather than read them word by word. Use headlines, bullets, lists and frequent paragraph breaks for items you wish to highlight. These elements will grab a user's attention during a quick scan.
Screen Snapshots
 Snapshots are a method where the user takes screen snapshots at different times during the execution of a task or series of tasks. Like most user testing, you provide the user with the site and have him or her perform various user tasks with on it. In addition, you provide the user with a snapshot program and instructions for when and how to take the screen snapshots. This technique is best used in the early to middle stages of development, when you have some working site to be evaluated but are not to the point of requiring full testing. Snapshots are most often used in conjunction with other remote inquiry methods, such as journaled sessions or self-reporting logs.
Screen Magnifier
 A software program that magnifies a portion of the screen, so that it can be more easily viewed. Screen magnifiers are used primarily by individuals with low vision.
Screen Reader
 A software program that reads the contents of the screen aloud to a user. Screen readers are used primarily by individuals who are blind.
Scope
 Scope conformance claims (in WCAG 2.0) can limit acessibile content to some parts or sections of a web site. A site can state that only certain sections are compliant. In other words, all of the other sections are non-compliant. For more information visit About Baselines and WCAG 2.0.
Scope Creep
 Scope creep is the expansion of a project beyond its original objectives. It is a term used when clients who don't realize the ramifications, make individual changes and teeny modifications to projects, which can lead to budgetary increases and time delays.
Section 508
An amendment to the Workforce Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The law applies to all Web sites operated by government agencies. It requires web pages to comply with accessibility standards. Under the new law, Web sites are required to structure their design, content and underlying technologies to be accessible to people with disabilities. For more information see 508
Selector
 In CSS, selectors are the parts of a rule that select the elements to be styled with the associated declaration block. They are constructs that identify the elements within your markup that will receive the properties and values you assign. Selectors can apply to a named HTML element, such as <h3> or <p>, an HTML element with a named attribute value, particularly a class or id value. A simple selector is one which matches an element name only.
Semantics
In document markup, semantics relates to meaning. XHTML documents as well as CSS classes and ids should be meaningful. For (X)HTML to be as rich and flexible as possible, use appropriate semantic XHTML tags whenever possible. For example, the <strong> tag has a defined meaning (that the content within is important). Browsers (visual, text, small-screen, speech) use this in different ways as appropriate. The use of markup like <strong>Important text</strong> is a good XHTML semantic tag. It is better than <span class="important">Important text</span> which is more people semantic. In HTML-semantics, browsers (not just people and specially-written software) can understand the distinction, as it is defined in the HTML specification. People-semantics holds meaning for people, and for programs that are designed with knowledge of a specific page, but is meaningless as far as the XHTML specification is concerned. However, when using CSS if an appropriate XHTML tag does not exist, use semantic class or id attributes that have meaning of the element's contents. In fact, adding additional information via CSS class and id is important for writing good CSS. Thoughtfully, semantically named classes, ids, etc. can help set up an (X)HTML document for future transformations and possible storage of data in XML format that can be transformed otherwise in a variety of ways. Examples of names that are not semantic are YellowBar, Blue14pxArial, Box, LeftColumn. BlueArialBlack is meaningless except in the context of whoever maintains the stylesheet and then it would be high maintenance because if you wanted to change that style, content would need to be changed not just the stylesheet. CSS names that are not semantic are of limited value and very error-prone. Use CSS naming schemes that describe content and not appearance, because then the appearance can change without the content changing. Examples of semantic names for classes are RecipeTitle, RecipeIngredient, RecipeInstructions or Author, ISBN, Description, Title, Summary, or NavColumn. They have a level of abstraction. You can use the label over and over and only have to maintain the one external definition. The linkage between a markup container and a stylesheet with a class or id name, can express the semantic nature of the markup's contents, giving the markup document more power, without fouling it with presentational information specific to one context.
Self-Reporting Logs
Self-reporting logs are paper-and-pencil journals in which users are requested to log their actions and observations while interacting with a product. Like journaled sessions, this technique allows you to perform user evaluation at a distance.
Serif
 Serif is a typeface, in which each character has small strokes at the ends of the lines that form it. Serifs are found in typestyles such as Times Roman, Palatino, Garamond, and Baskerville. Serif fonts work best on paper because the serifs on the letters help tie all the letters in a word together and create the recognizable word entities (as opposed to a group of individual letters) that we use when we are reading. Sans-serif fonts don't have this legibility aid. So why then don't we use serif fonts on-screen? The answer lies in resolution. Pages will be printed, at the barest minimum of 150 dpi, and more likely 300 dpi on a laser printer. Screens on the other hand are struggling to get to 96 dpi, and the most you can rely on is 72 dpi. This simply isn't enough to recreate the subtlety of serif fonts with any accuracy. Instead, the approximation it gives is somewhat messy and more difficult to read. The advantage of the serif is far outweighed by its disadvantage in this context
.Skip Navigation
 A method that allows users to skip repetitive navigation links. This aids people who use screen readers or other types of assistive technologies so they do not have to wait for the assistive technology to work through and announce each of the standard navigational links before getting to the intended content. For more information see Skip Links.
Spacer Images
 Also called spacer gifs. These are small transparent images placed on a page, usually in a table used for layout. They help to place text and images on the page for a visual effect.
Specificity
  At its essence, specificity is the mechanism by which the rest of CSS works. It is used to determine which selectors are more specific than others, and ultimately which rules will apply to a given element. This basically has to do with the number of elements and attributes in a rule's selector. The procedure involves counting three items.
Standards
 See Web Standards.
Standards Inspection
 Standards inspections ensure compliance with industry standards. In such inspections, a usability professional with extensive knowledge of the standard analyzes the elements of the product for their use of the industry standard (compliance with University Standards, W3C specifications, etc).
Standards Mode
 A recent DOCTYPE that includes a full URI (a complete web address) tells these browsers to render your page in standards-compliant mode, treating your (X)HTML, CSS , and DOM as you expect them to be treated.
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
    SGML is a standard for how to specify a document markup language. It is a meta language because it is used to define markup languages. SGML is not in itself a document language, but a description of how to specify one. It is is based on the idea that documents have structural and other semantic elements that can be described without reference to how such elements should be displayed. The actual display of such a document may vary, depending on the output medium and style preferences.
Statement (Rule)
In CSS, a statement or sometimes called a rule consists of a selector, property and value. The term applies to whatever form the selector takes and however many declaration pairs are present. A style sheet is comprised of statements. A statement has two parts, a selector, and a declaration. The selector specifies which parts of an HTML document are affected by the statement, then the declaration specifies how these selected elements should be rendered.
Storyboard
 A Storyboard is a sequence of sketches showing major actions or outlining a process, such as the steps of interacting with a computer or website. They are commonly used in television and advertising. They are akin to paper Prototyping. They are useful for presentations and for checking that the steps of a process make sense once the details are sketched.
Structure
 HTML and XHTML are structural markup languages, designed for modeling the structure of information, not its appearance. Structural markup is used to set out the logical structure of a page. The use of structural markup is strongly recommended. Structure is the information components within an HTML document. For instance: headings, lists and paragraphs. Headings should reflect the logical structure of the document (like an outline). H2 elements should follow H1 elements, H3 elements should follow H2 elements, etc. It isn't good practice to skip over levels (e.g., H1 directly to H3). Using heading levels appropriately will ensure documents are more accessible. It's important to use HTML for the purpose for which it was designed - structuring content. HTML is a structural markup language, designed for modeling the structure of information, not its appearance. Technologies like XHTML and CSS (web standards) and appropriate document structure are not the same thing: you can have one without the other, but the real goal is achieve both. As Eric A Meyer has said, "Document structure is like the support beams for a building. The final layout and appearance of the building will depend very heavily on the shape those support beams create. If you ignore that, and assemble the beams with no thought toward the final product (not following the blueprints, as it were), the best you can hope for is an inefficient, almost unusable building. In the worst case, the building will utterly collapse as soon as you try to add anything useful to the structure." 1
Style Attribute
The style attribute sets inline style for a single occurrence of an element. The browser uses the style properties to render the contents of just this one instance of the element.
Style Element
The style element sets style information for an entire document. It goes in the head section.
Survey
Surveys are ad hoc interviews with users, where a set list of questions is asked and the users' responses recorded. Surveys differ from questionnaires in that they are interactive interviews, although not structured like contextual inquiries nor formally scheduled and organized like focus group.
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL)
 A markup language by the W3C that allows Web developers to separate the content of multimedia into distinct files and transmission streams such as, text, images, audio, and video. They can then be sent to the users' computer separately, and then reassembled and displayed as intended. For more information visit SMIL.
Tabular Information
 When tables are used to represent logical relationships among data -- text, numbers, images, etc., that information is called "tabular information" and the tables are called "data tables". The relationships expressed by a table may be rendered visually (usually on a two-dimensional grid), aurally (often preceding cells with header information), or in other formats.
Table Summary Attribute
The table tag <table> can include a summary attribute whose value can be a brief text summary of the table contents. It is very helpful for people using non-visual browsers. It is probably most useful with data tables, where the relationships between the table cells can be complex, but it is also useful for layout tables. An example of a summary would be:
    <table summary="This table is for layout only. The left-hand column contains the navigation bar and the right hand column contains the main text for the page">
    For data tables the summary attribute can be used to provide a text version of the actual content of the table (although for tables with a lot of content this may be impractical), or to indicate that a link to a text version can be found before, or after, the table. For more information summaries for tables.
Tag
  A tag is the markup characters that designate the start or end of an element , but not the element content itself.
Tag Soup
    Tag soup web pages are like a sleek sports car on the outside, but when you open the hood, all you see is baling wire, duct tape, and hamsters running on wheels. If all you want to do with a sports car is look at it, that's fine, but if you want to drive it, it is nice if it has an engine and suspension that lived up to its appearance. In other words tag soup is improper use of HTML, header tags, blockquotes, overlapping constructs. It is markup that looks like SGML markup but the creator didn't know or respect SGML rules for the HTML vocabulary. In effect a soupy collection of text and markup. Presentational markup like <font> <i> <b> are visual styles and therefore not semantic. They are ingredients in tag soup. The <i> <b> tags disappear in XHTML 2.0. They are deprecated. A more semantic tag and CSS should replace any physical style tag that has no semantic meaning.
Tag Line
A tag line is a slogan, catch phrase or sentence that is closely associated with a site. A tagline may appear near, or next to, a logo.
Task Scenario
 A task scenario is a representation of actual work that a user would likely perform using a website. You use task scenarios to tell the participants of a usability test what you want them to do.
Taxonomy
 A taxonomy is the study of the general principles of scientific classification. Information architects use this word to refer to labeling systems and nomenclature of things like the sections of a website. A taxonomy is a collection of controlled vocabulary terms organized into a hierarchical structure. The word taxonomy is from Greek 'taxis' means the arrangement or division and 'nomos' meaning law. A good taxonomy takes into account the importance of separating elements of a group (taxon) into subgroups (taxa) that are mutually exclusive, unambiguous, and taken together, include all possibilities. In practice, a good taxonomy should be simple, easy to remember, and easy to use.
Template
 A template is a page that serves as a pattern for others like itself. Dreamweaver templates take the concept of the template further, adding a measure of power and ease: The pages from the template can be updated automatically, all at once, just by updating the template itself. Therefore, a Dreamweaver template is an HTML page but a special type of HTML page. Special markup inserted by Dreamweaver makes it possible for the template and its child pages (the HTML pages made from the parent template) to be connected in such a way that an update to the template updates all child pages.
Testing
 See Usability Testing.
Text Equivalent
 This term is used to describe the technique of providing a text alternative that will be the same in both content and function as a non-text object on a web page, such as an image map
Text Only Browser
 A browser that does not show images. It does not have images turned off; rather it just doesn't display them. A good example of this type of browser is Lynx.
Thinking Aloud Protocol
Thinking aloud is when users speak out their thoughts, feelings, and opinions while they are performing an assigned task. Thinking aloud helps you understand how users use a website and what considerations users keep in mind when using it. Thinking aloud gives insight into cognitive processes. For more information see: Thinking Aloud.
Transcript
A transcript is a text equivalent of audio content that includes spoken words and non-spoken sounds like sound effects. It is akin to the notation used for a play. Transcripts are often not verbatim accounts of the spoken word, but contain additional descriptions, explanations, or comments that may be useful. Transcripts are helpful to the deaf, hard of hearing and many others. They allow anyone that cannot access content from web audio or video to access a text version instead. Also a transcript can serve as the base for captioning.
Typography
Typography is the balance and interplay of letterforms on a web page. It helps the user understand the form and absorb the substance of the page content. It is important in both visual and verbal communication.
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