E-commerce terms in plain language

12 terms · in Platform · Show all terms

A

• Activation Code

  An activation code is a one-time key that unlocks a purchased app, module, or theme inside a software account. Buying and activating are separate steps: the…

  Platform

• API (Application Programming Interface)

  An API is a documented way for one program to read and change data in another, over HTTP in the case of web platforms. A store's API lets an ERP, accounting…

  Platform

C

• CDN (Content Delivery Network)

  A CDN is a network of servers spread across many locations that caches a website's static files, such as images, CSS, and scripts, and often whole pages, and…

  Platform

• Custom Domain

  A custom domain is the store's own web address, such as www.yourbrand.com, used instead of a subdomain provided by the platform. It carries the brand, is what…

  Platform

H

• Headless Commerce

  Headless commerce separates the storefront (the head) from the commerce engine that manages products, carts, orders, and payments, and connects the two through…

  Platform

M

• Multi-Tenant Architecture

  Multi-tenant architecture runs many customers (tenants) on one shared software installation while keeping each tenant's data and settings separate. It is how…

  Platform

S

• SaaS (Software as a Service)

  SaaS is software you use over the internet on an ongoing basis instead of installing and maintaining it yourself. The provider hosts, updates, secures, and…

  Platform

• SSL Certificate

  An SSL certificate (technically a TLS certificate today) is the credential that lets a website serve pages over HTTPS, encrypting traffic between the visitor…

  Platform

• Storefront

  The storefront is the public, customer-facing part of an online store: the home page, category and product pages, cart, checkout, and account area. It is what…

  Platform

T

• Theme

  A theme is the design layer of a storefront: layouts, sections, colors, fonts, and templates that decide how products and pages look. It is separate from the…

  Platform

U

• Uptime

  Uptime is the share of time a website is reachable and working, usually quoted per month as a percentage; 99.9% uptime allows about 43 minutes of downtime in a…

  Platform

W

• Webhook

  A webhook is an automatic HTTP request a platform sends to a URL you choose the moment something happens, such as a new order or a stock drop. It pushes data…

  Platform