Glossary of Common Terms
Content: Any user-facing information that a visitor interacts with and is the product of an editorial process. The website exists to present content.
CMS (Content Management System): Software that allows users to create, manage, and modify website content without needing to write raw code. The SHSU marketing website CMS is Cascade by Hannon Hill.
Component: A reusable building block within Cascade CMS that structures input content for consistent display. Editors "stack" components to build out page content.
Evergreen Content: Content that does not need regular updating. A student story is an example of evergreen content because once it is created, it does not need to be updated.
Evergreen Language: Wording that remains accurate over time. Evergreen language avoids relative time references and other details that expire. Writing "in 2019" rather than "six years ago" keeps a sentence accurate no matter when it is read. Evergreen language is part of evergreen content.
Information Architecture (IA): The deliberate organization of information, including site hierarchy, web content, and navigation. Good IA allows visitors to intuitively find and understand information.
Internal/External Links: Internal links guide visitors deeper into the same or other websites managed through SHSU’s Cascade CMS, while external links point to websites maintained by another organization or CMS.
Landing Page: A page that is the general entry point for a website or website section.
Orphan page: A page that sits outside of the navigation hierarchy. Orphan pages do not offer an intuitive entry point into the rest of the website. Avoid orphan pages.
Responsive Design: An approach to web design where a site automatically adjusts its layout to fit different screen sizes (desktops, tablets, and mobile phones).
Syndicated Content: Content that is republished and shared across the website. Example: News articles are published once, but through the news component, the headline, image, and description can appear on multiple pages.
Workflow: A series of required steps to ensure review of content before publication.
WYSIWYG ("What You See Is What You Get"): A visual text editor that allows users to format text and get an impression of how it will look on the live page without needing to know coding.
Want a term Added to this page?
Suggest terminology and concepts to add to this glossary by posting in the SHSU Web Editors Feature Request Channel.
Updated 8/10/26