Jens Oliver Meiert

An Overview of the 50 Highest-Ranking Web Design and Development Glossaries

Published on Jan 7, 2025, filed under , (feed). (Share this on Mastodon or Bluesky?)

Disclosure: I’m the author and publisher of The Web Development Glossary, an updated web development glossary ebook series, as well as the corresponding companion site, WebGlossary.info. That said, this article makes it easy to verify the information given.

When you’re searching for web development glossaries (as well as web design and software development glossaries), you find a surprisingly large number of options. “Surprising,” because web development is so massive, running a glossary is not a 10-minute stint. You can have someone work on this full-time.

To provide a missing overview of the web development glossary landscape (which goes beyond a friendly but casual list), I’ve collected the best-ranking glossaries, and added data on how comprehensive they are, whether they’re maintained, and whether there’s anything special to call out (all of which is also available as a Google spreadsheet):

GlossaryNumber of entries (as of Dec 2024)?Maintained (within the last year)?Notes
Approachable Geek’s Terms You Need to Know50✗ no
Belov’s Web Development Glossary for Beginners30✗ no
Big Human Web Development Jargon Buster35✗ no
CareerFoundry Web Development Buzzwords50✗ no
Castus’s Glossary of Web Design Terminology174✗ no
Cloudogu’s Dictionary for IT and Software Development36somewhat
Clutch Software Development Glossary88✗ no
Clutch Web Development Glossary75✗ no
Coltness High School’s Software Development Glossary113✗ no
Coursera’s Front-End Development Terms24unclear
Coursera’s Software Engineering Definitions23unclear
Coursera’s Web Development Terms32unclear
DeepSource’s Glossary58✗ no
Design Brooklyn’s Glossary of Commonly Used Tech Terms25✗ no
Designveloper’s Web Design Terms45✓ yes
Digital Silk Web Development Terms50✗ no
Digital Silk Website Terminology55✗ no
Digitalfeet’s Web Development Glossary of Terms98unclear
DiviFlash’s Web Design Glossary102unclear
Edge of the Web’s Web Design Glossary65✗ no
Eric David Smith’s Glossary of Software Engineering Terms100✗ no
IMPACT Web Development Terms42✗ no
Itexus Glossary169unclear
MDN Web Docs Glossary583✓ yesCommunity-driven
Numinix’s Web Development Glossary218✓ yes
Oneupweb Web Development Words28✗ no
Oregon State University’s Handbook of Software Engineering Methods Glossary125✗ no
Ramotion Web Development Terms131unclear
Sayenko Design’s Web Design Glossary23somewhat
Simplilearn Essential Glossary244unclear
Smashing Magazine’s Web Design Industry Jargon and Web Terms97✗ no
SolidWP’s Web Design Terms65✗ no
SpdLoad’s Software Development Glossary110unclear
Startechup’s Web Development Buzzwords64unclear
Taazaa’s Dictionary of Software Development626unclear
The Portal People Glossary of Web Development Terms79unclear
The University of Chicago’s Glossary of Web Terms44✗ no
The Webmaster’s Web Development Glossary17✗ no
Thomas Bonnet’s Web Development Glossary23✗ no
TRooInbound Web Design Glossary108unclear
Vrije Universiteit Brussel’s Software Engineering Terminology173✗ no
Wbcom’s Web Design Terminology30unclear
Webflow’s glossary of web design and Webflow terms406✓ yes
WebFX Web Design Glossary16somewhat
WebFX Web Development Terms and Glossary72✗ no
WebGlossary.info (The Web Development Glossary)3,787✓ yesAlso available as an ebook
WebWave’s Web Design Basic Vocabulary54✗ no
Whole Wale’s Website Developer Glossary47✗ no
Wired Impact’s Web Design Vocabulary28somewhat
Wovenware’s Glossary for Software Development20✗ no

These are the highest-ranking glossaries for web design, web development, and software development.

You may have some questions now: Why do a few companies—like Clutch, Coursera, and Digital Silk—maintain several glossaries, when these could so beneficially be merged? Why do so many agencies have a glossary? Why are most glossaries so short (cf. the sorted spreadsheet)? Why are few being maintained? That’s not something this overview answers. But it should give a better idea, of the web development glossary landscape.

If you believe our field is large, complex, and serious enough to keep investing in a comprehensive glossary, then support The Web Development Glossary and WebGlossary.info. For example, spread the word, purchase the (irregularly updated) book, report issues and make suggestions, or become a backer!

About Me

Jens Oliver Meiert, on November 9, 2024.

I’m Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and I’m a web developer, manager, and author. I’ve been working as a technical lead and engineering manager for companies you’ve never heard of and companies you use every day, I’m an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for O’Reilly and Frontend Dogma.

I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)