Plain-English definitions for UX, product, user research, accessibility, service design, CRO, AI, and digital strategy terms used in day-to-day digital work.
Showing 45 of 388 terms
Information Architecture · User Experience
A mental model is the way users understand how a system works based on their past experiences and expectations. It shapes how they predict interactions and outcomes.
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Information scent refers to the cues users rely on to decide whether a piece of content or a link will lead them to what they’re looking for. It is created through labels, headings, and context that signal relevance.
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Discoverability is how easily users can find features, content, or functionality within a product, even when they are not actively searching for them. It focuses on making options visible and understandable.
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The structure and organisation of content so users can find what they need.
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How users move around a website or product.
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Navigation structure is the overall organisation and hierarchy of navigation within a product, defining how content and features are grouped and accessed. It shapes how users move through the system and understand its layout.
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Taxonomy is the system used to classify and organise content into structured categories. It defines how content is grouped, named, and related within a product or system.
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Categorisation is the process of grouping content or items based on shared characteristics or meaning. It helps users understand relationships and find relevant information more easily.
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Tagging is the process of assigning keywords or labels to content to make it easier to organise, filter, and retrieve. Tags are often flexible and non-hierarchical compared to categories.
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Labelling is the practice of naming content, categories, and interface elements in a way that is clear and meaningful to users. It directly affects how users understand and navigate a product.
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Findability is how easily users can locate the information or content they are looking for within a product or system. It depends on clear structure, intuitive navigation, and effective search, ensuring users can get to what they need without friction.
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Wayfinding is how users understand where they are, where they can go, and how to get there within a product or system. It relies on clear navigation cues, structure, and feedback to help users move confidently through an experience.
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Content structure is how information is organised and arranged within a product or system. It defines how content is grouped, ordered, and connected to make it easier for users to understand and navigate.
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Content hierarchy is the prioritisation and ordering of information to guide users through content in a clear and meaningful way. It determines what users see first, what stands out, and how information is consumed.
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A content model defines the types of content within a system and how they relate to each other. It provides a structured framework for creating, managing, and scaling content consistently across products and platforms.
View glossary termInformation Architecture
Metadata is data that describes and provides information about other content, such as titles, descriptions, tags, and attributes. It supports organisation, search, and content management.
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Indexing is the process of organising and storing content in a way that makes it searchable and retrievable. It enables systems to quickly locate relevant information based on queries.
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Search is the functionality that allows users to find content or information by entering queries. It relies on indexing, metadata, and relevance algorithms to return useful results.
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Search relevance is how well search results align with a user’s intent, not just the exact words they entered. It determines whether results are actually useful or just technically matched.
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Filtering is the process of narrowing down a set of results by applying specific criteria such as attributes, categories, or ranges.
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Faceted navigation is a system that allows users to filter content across multiple attributes simultaneously, combining different criteria to refine results.
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Content governance defines the rules, roles, and processes that control how content is created, managed, and maintained over time.
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Content ownership assigns responsibility for specific content to individuals or teams, ensuring accountability for its accuracy and maintenance.
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Content debt is the accumulation of outdated, duplicated, or poorly structured content that creates ongoing maintenance and usability issues.
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Content mapping aligns content to user journeys, needs, and touchpoints to ensure the right information is delivered at the right time.
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Content inventory is a complete catalogue of all content within a system, including pages, assets, and associated metadata.
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A content audit is the process of reviewing and evaluating all existing content to understand its quality, performance, relevance, and accuracy.
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A content gap is a missing piece of content that users need but cannot currently find within a system or experience.
View glossary termInformation Architecture
Content strategy defines how content is planned, created, managed, and maintained to meet both user needs and business goals.
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Content design is the practice of creating and structuring content based on user needs, ensuring it is clear, useful, and usable within a specific context.
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Content flow describes how content is sequenced and presented across a journey to guide users through information and actions.
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Content grouping is the practice of organising related content together to improve clarity, usability, and findability.
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Content relationships define how different pieces of content are connected, linked, and related within a system to provide context and improve navigation.
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Content clustering is the grouping of related content around a central topic to improve organisation and discoverability.
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Knowledge structure refers to how information is organised, connected, and represented within a system.
View glossary termInformation Architecture
Information flow describes how information moves through a system, from input to output.
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Navigation depth refers to how many levels a user must go through to reach content within a structure.
View glossary termInformation Architecture
Navigation breadth refers to how many options are available at each level of a navigation structure.
View glossary termInformation Architecture
Menu structure defines how navigation options are organised and presented within a menu.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Strategy
SEO is the process of improving a website’s visibility in search engines like Google through content, structure, and technical optimisation.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Artificial Intelligence
GEO is the process of optimising content to be surfaced, cited, or used by AI systems such as large language models and generative search experiences.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Artificial Intelligence
An entity is a clearly defined concept, object, or thing that can be understood independently, such as a person, place, organisation, or idea.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Strategy
Structured data is a standardised format used to organise and label content so it can be easily understood by search engines and AI systems.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Strategy
Crawlability is how easily search engines can access and navigate a website’s pages.
View glossary termInformation Architecture · Strategy
Topical authority is the depth and breadth of content coverage on a specific subject, signalling expertise in that area.
View glossary termLET'S WORK TOGETHER
UX, research and product leadership for teams tackling complex digital services. The work usually starts where things have become harder than they need to be: unclear journeys, inconsistent products, competing priorities, or teams trying to move forward without a clear direction. I help simplify the problem, shape the right next step, and turn complexity into something people can actually use.
Previous feedback
I had a fantastic experience working with Andy. One of his most impressive achievements during our time at NHS HEE was masterminding a deeply complex information architecture for a new platform that brought together a large number of legacy websites.
Will Parkhouse
Senior Content Designer