The House Dictionary
Plain words for every term.
The trade loves its jargon; the House does not. Every term we might use at the bench is defined here in plain words — so a conversation with us never leaves you nodding at something you were never told the meaning of. If we ever use a word that is not on this page, tell us, and it will be by morning.
A–Z
The terms, in plain words.
UI — User Interface
Everything you see and touch in software: the buttons, screens, colors, and type. The face of the work.
UX — User Experience
How using the software feels: whether it is obvious, fast, and pleasant — or confusing and tiring. The manners of the work.
Frontend
The part of software that runs in front of you — what the browser or phone shows. The showroom.
Backend
The part that runs behind the curtain on servers — storing data, doing the math, enforcing the rules. The engine room.
Responsive
A design that reshapes itself to fit any screen — phone, tablet, desktop — without breaking.
Template / Theme
Pre-made software sold to everyone at once. You bend your business to fit it. The House does not use them.
Custom / Bespoke
Built from a blank page for one client’s exact needs. The opposite of a template.
Framework / Library
Trusted building materials of the trade — professional-grade parts a maker chooses deliberately, not shortcuts.
API
A doorway that lets two pieces of software talk to each other — how your site can talk to your calendar, your bank, or your shop floor.
Database
Where the software keeps its records — organized, searchable, and protected.
Cloud / Hosting
The professional computers where your software lives so it is reachable from anywhere, all the time.
Domain & DNS
Your address on the internet (like houseofhalkett.com) and the signpost system that points visitors to it.
SSL / HTTPS
The padlock in the browser: proof the connection is encrypted so nobody can read what passes between you and the site.
Encryption (AES-256)
Locking data with mathematics so it cannot be read without the key. The standard banks use — and the House uses.
SEO — Search Engine Optimization
The craft of making Google understand and rank your pages so the right people find you.
Accessibility
Building so everyone can use the work — keyboard users, screen-reader users, people with low vision or motion sensitivity. Law in spirit, craft in practice.
Wireframe / Mockup / Prototype
The sketch, the painting, and the working model — three stages of showing a design before it is fully built.
MVP — Minimum Viable Product
The smallest complete version of a product that genuinely works — the first ship, not the last.
Design Tokens
A brand’s exact colors, type, and spacing written as reusable values, so every screen matches perfectly.
Animation & Easing
How things move on screen — and the timing curves that make motion feel natural instead of robotic.
Performance
How fast the software feels. Measured, not guessed — and a ranking factor on Google.
Cache
A short memory that keeps recent things close so they load instantly the second time.
Deployment / Release
The act of shipping a version to the world. At the House, always through the Gate.
Version
A numbered, complete state of the work. You always know exactly which one you are running.
Repository
The safe where all versions of the code live, with full history — nothing is ever lost.
AI — Artificial Intelligence / LLM
Software that can read, write, and reason at machine speed. At the House it drafts and checks; people decide and sign.
Prompt
The instructions a maker gives an AI. Writing good ones is a craft of its own — the House’s craft.
SaaS — Software as a Service
Software you subscribe to instead of own. The House builds both — and the agreement always says which is which.
License vs. Ownership
Whether you are renting the right to use software, or the software is yours. Every House agreement states this in plain words.
Analytics
The instruments that tell you how visitors actually use your site — where they come from, what they read, where they leave.
A term missing? Ask, and it joins the page — info@houseofhalkett.com