Website copy & proofreading glossary
Clear, plain-English definitions of the writing, typography, and web-rendering terms behind website copy quality — each entry leads with a one- or two-sentence definition, then expands on what it is, why it matters, and the mistakes to avoid.
Terms
- Placeholder text Temporary filler copy a template ships with so a layout has something to show before the real copy is written.
- Lorem ipsum Scrambled pseudo-Latin filler used to show how a layout looks before real copy is written.
- Proofreading vs. copyediting Proofreading is the final surface check for errors; copyediting is the deeper earlier pass that improves clarity and style.
- Style consistency Treating the same writing choice the same way everywhere, so a body of text reads as one coherent voice.
- Rendered HTML (vs. source HTML) The final page a browser builds after running JavaScript — as opposed to the raw source HTML the server first sent.
- Em dash vs. en dash The em dash (—) breaks a sentence; the en dash (–) marks a range; the hyphen (-) joins words.
- Serial (Oxford) comma The comma before the final "and" or "or" in a list of three or more items, as in "red, white, and blue".
- Smart quotes vs. straight quotes Smart quotes are the curly, directional marks of finished prose; straight quotes are the neutral typewriter marks.
- Typo A small accidental mistake in typed text — a mistyped, transposed, doubled, or dropped character or word.
- Homophone A word that sounds like another but means something different — "their" vs. "there", "your" vs. "you’re".
- Its vs. it’s "Its" is possessive ("its name"); "it’s" is short for "it is" or "it has" ("it’s ready").
- Sentence case vs. title case Sentence case capitalizes only the first word; title case capitalizes most words, as in a headline.
- Microcopy The small, functional bits of interface text — buttons, form hints, error messages, tooltips — that guide a user.
- Readability How easily a reader can understand a piece of writing — a product of sentence length, word choice, and structure.
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