Demystifying Developer Language: A Marketer’s Guide
Storyblok is the first headless CMS that works for developers & marketers alike.
Why marketers need to understand developer jargon
Marketers and developers often approach projects from different angles with their own tools, priorities, and ways of working. And while it’s easy to think you don’t need to fully understand each other, things tend to run a lot smoother when you do.
For marketers, developer terminology can sometimes feel like another language entirely. And when that language barrier gets in the way, things slow down, briefs get misread, updates stall, and frustration builds on both sides. Taking the time to understand how developers think and talk isn’t just about being nice – it’s how you build better working relationships and keep projects moving without unnecessary conflicts.
This guide was created to bridge that gap. It breaks down essential web development terms in clear, simple words, with analogies that actually make sense to marketers. So, if you’ve ever Googled “understanding developer language” or needed web terminology explained in plain English, this one’s for you.
The website building blocks: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Let's start with the most basic web development terms for marketers to make your next dev sync a whole lot easier.
HTML: The skeleton of a website
Think of HTML as the basic structure of every web page. It defines where your headlines go, how your images are placed, and what content appears in what order.
Analogy: Like the wireframe or outline of a brochure – it shows what’s there, but not how it looks exactly.
CSS: The styling wardrobe
CSS is where the visual identity comes in. It controls fonts, colors, spacing, and layout – the elements that make your site look like your brand.
Analogy: CSS is your brand book applied to the content – it turns the wireframe into something beautiful and on-brand.
JavaScript: The interactive muscles
JavaScript is the programming language that powers a website’s logic. It controls what happens when someone clicks a button, fetches data from other services, updates content without reloading the page, and handles things like forms, filters, and authentication.
Analogy: JavaScript is like the campaign strategy behind a digital experience – it decides how things behave, respond, and update in real time.
Frontend vs. backend: What happens where?
Frontend = what your users see
This is the visible part of your website – everything your audience interacts with. Buttons, text, navigation, and visuals all live here.
Analogy: The frontend is like a retail store’s window display and interior. It’s what the customer experiences.
Backend = what keeps the site running
The backend handles the infrastructure. It stores your content, handles the logic, and manages the data. Most of the magic happens here, but it’s invisible to users.
Analogy: Like the warehouse and operations team behind the scenes, making sure everything works.
Why should you care?
Understanding what happens in the frontend and backend lets you set realistic expectations and plan launches without delays or confusion.
Technical infrastructure and architecture
Grasping the basics of your website’s tech setup helps you spot opportunities to improve user journeys, speed up content updates, and connect tools effortlessly.
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Website architecture. | The blueprint of how your content and pages are structured and linked, like a sitemap or navigation tree, defines how users move through your site. |
| CMS. | A content management system is a tool that lets you update and organize website content without touching code, like WordPress or Storyblok. |
| Headless CMS. | A headless CMS separates the backend (where content is managed) from the frontend (where content is displayed). This allows developers to build custom interfaces while marketers still manage content independently. |
| Composable CMS. | A composable architecture lets you choose and combine best-in-class tools (CMS, eCommerce, analytics, etc.) via APIs. It’s a flexible, scalable approach ideal for modern digital teams and omnichannel strategies. |
| Monolithic / traditional / legacy CMS. | A monolithic CMS like WordPress or Adobe Experience Manager tightly couples content management, design, and delivery in one system. It often limits flexibility, scalability, and modern integrations. |
| Database. | A database is like the organized brain behind your website; it stores and manages structured data like product info, blog posts, or user details. While it doesn’t hold images or files directly, it keeps the links and information needed to load them from wherever they’re stored. |
| Data storage. | This is where your website’s actual files, like images, videos, and PDFs, are stored. Services like AWS S3 host these assets, while the database keeps track of their locations. |
| API. | An API is a clearly defined contract that explains how one system can interact with another (for example your CMS and tools like Shopify or HubSpot). It covers how to format requests, which actions are allowed, and what response to expect. Think of it as a rulebook: the API doesn’t deliver messages itself, but it defines how systems should communicate so they understand each other perfectly. |
| Webhook. | Like a real-time notification system that automatically sends data from one tool to another when something happens – no manual work needed. |
| Deployment. | Deployment is the moment developers hit “publish” – it makes website updates live and visible to users. |
| Hosting. | Hosting is the online space where your website lives – think of it as digital real estate that stores your files and serves them to users. |
| Framework. | A set of pre-made building blocks for developers, like a Lego kit. Instead of starting every website or app from scratch, developers use a framework to speed things up, stay organized, and ensure quality. Just like marketers use frameworks like AIDA or STP to guide campaigns, developers use frameworks like React or Vue to guide product development. |
| Tech stack. | A tech stack is the set of tools and technologies used to build and run a website or app, from the visual layer (frontend) to the behind-the-scenes logic (backend). It’s like the software version of a team roster: who’s doing what, where, and how. |
What’s the difference between an API and a webhook? Short answer: APIs pull data on demand, while webhooks push data automatically when something changes. Read the full breakdown here.
Workflow and development-related terms
Knowing dev workflow terms means fewer surprises, smoother reviews, and campaign launches that hit deadlines with confidence.
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Version control / Git. | Tools that track changes to your code over time – like a supercharged Google Docs version history for developers. |
| GitHub. | GitHub is a platform owned by Microsoft that allows developers to store Git repositories (data objects that hold the history of a codebase) |
| Branch. | In version control systems like Git, a branch is a separate workspace where developers can make changes without affecting the live site. It’s like creating a copy of your project to test updates or new features safely. Once it’s ready, it can be merged back into the main version. |
| Staging environment. | A private test site where teams can preview and refine updates before going live. Think of it as a dress rehearsal. |
| Production environment. | This is the real, live version of your site – the one users see when they type in your URL. |
| Build/build process. | The process of turning raw code into a fully functional website. Similar to exporting a polished PDF from an editable design file. |
| QA. | Short for Quality Assurance. It’s the critical testing phase that ensures your site is bug-free and polished before launch. |
New to Storyblok or feeling stuck? Our Editor Guides are here to help you make the most of every feature – no guesswork needed.
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Responsive design. | A layout that adapts automatically to fit mobile phones, tablets, and desktops. |
| Accessibility (a11y). | Making your site usable by everyone, including people with visual, motor, or cognitive disabilities. |
| SEO/meta tags. | Invisible content embedded in your site that helps search engines understand and rank your pages. |
| Page speed/performance. | How fast your website loads – this impacts SEO, bounce rate, and user satisfaction. |
| Core Web Vitals. | A set of Google’s performance metrics that affect rankings, focusing on speed, interactivity, and layout stability. |
Most confusing developer jargon explained for marketers
Even with the basics in place, marketers often run into tech phrases that pop up in meetings, Slack threads, or project updates – and they’re not always easy to decode. This section of our web dev glossary for marketers breaks down some of the most common developer shorthand and informal phrases you’re likely to hear in your next sprint.
Workflow and tools
| Term/phrase | Marketer-friendly translation |
|---|---|
| Let me push this to prod. | I’m making this update go live. |
| It’s in staging. | You can preview the changes before we publish. |
| Merge the branch. | Combining recent updates from a development version of the site into the main version (usually the one that goes live). It’s how new features or fixes make their way into production. |
| Let me check the logs. | I’m finding out what went wrong under the hood. |
| Hotfix. | I’m quickly fixing a bug after something breaks. |
| We need a rollback. | Something broke, so we’re undoing the last update to return to a stable version. |
| Term | Marketer-friendly translation |
|---|---|
| Above the fold. | The part of a web page that’s visible without scrolling – like the hero section or any top content users see immediately. |
| DOM (Document Object Model). | The behind-the-scenes structure of everything on a web page (like headlines, images, and buttons) that the browser uses to display and update content in real time. |
| Viewport. | The visible area of a web page on a user’s screen that changes depending on the device size (mobile, tablet, desktop). |
| Lazy loading. | An approach to web design in which elements like images or videos are loaded only when needed, typically as the user scrolls. It helps pages load faster initially. |
| Phrase | Marketer-friendly translation |
|---|---|
| That’s a frontend issue. | There’s a problem in the part of the site users interact with. This could be a design bug or a logic issue handled by frontend code (like JavaScript). |
| We’re seeing 404s. | These are HTTP response codes from the server. A 404 means the page or resource couldn’t be found, usually due to a broken link or incorrect URL. |
| It’s throwing a 500. | A 500 is a server error response code, meaning something went wrong on the backend and the server couldn’t complete the request. |
| There’s some tech debt. | The site contains outdated or messy code that still works but slows things down. Cleaning it up takes extra time but prevents future issues. |
| We’ll need to refactor this. | We need to rewrite or reorganize the existing code to make it cleaner, more efficient, and easier to maintain. |
| Term/phrase | Marketer-friendly translation |
|---|---|
| Component. | Reusable website elements (e.g., banners, buttons). |
| Hook it up to the API. | Connecting to another tool to fetch or send data. |
| It’s decoupled. | Content is separate from the design/dev layer (more flexible). |
| Build is failing. | Something went wrong – it didn’t publish successfully. |
| Cache issue. | Changes aren’t showing because of stored data. Try hard-refreshing your browser. |
| Phrase | Likely meaning |
|---|---|
| We’ll spin up a new instance. | We’re creating a new version of the tool/server/site. |
| We need to scope that. | We need to estimate the time/effort before we commit. |
| Let’s fork it. | We’ll copy this to experiment without breaking the original. |
| Let’s hardcode it for now. | We’ll manually add it in until we can automate. |
| That’s not scalable. | This quick fix works now, but it’ll break later with more content/users. |
| It's just boilerplate. | Basic starter code, not customized yet. |
Final thoughts
Understanding developer language isn’t just about decoding tech terms – it’s about building better partnerships. Whether you’re planning a product launch, testing a new landing page, or rolling out a global rebrand, being able to “speak dev” helps you avoid miscommunication, improve timelines, and ship with confidence.
You don’t have to become a developer to understand one. You just need the curiosity to learn and the right tools to support collaboration. With a CMS like Storyblok, you can break free from old-school, monolithic platforms like WordPress or Adobe and take control of your content without touching code. It’s built for developers and marketers – so your whole team can move faster, collaborate better, and launch smarter.
So keep this guide handy, ask the “tech” questions you were once afraid to ask, and step confidently into conversations with your dev team. When you meet them halfway, amazing things happen.
