Every term in plain words
Glossary
The words you meet in the HERON docs and around websites in general, each explained in one or two plain sentences. Terms are grouped by topic: writing pages, search, publishing, tools.
If a word is missing, the guides explain it where it first appears: heron docs --search "word" finds the place.
Writing pages
Markdown
A simple way to write text:
# makes a heading, - makes a list item, **bold** makes bold. HERON pages are written in it, and any text editor opens them.Front matter
The block at the top of a page between two
--- lines: title, description, heading and other settings. In HERON it is called the search block and has eight groups.Section
A block of a page that starts with
## Title {#anchor}. The theme draws each section as its own block.Anchor
The short Latin name in curly brackets after a section title, like
{#faq}. It tells the theme where the block goes and becomes part of the address: /page/#faq.Key
The name of a page file without
.md, with its folders: docs/guide. Links are written by key, so they keep working when an address changes.Slug
The part of the address that names a page, like
about in /about/. By default it is the file name; the slug field changes it, for example for a Russian address.Theme
The look of a site: templates, styles and interface texts in the
theme/ folder. It holds no page texts.Template
A file of the theme that draws one type of page. Module is a smaller file that draws one block.
Configurator
The questionnaire you fill in with
heron setup .: site name, domain, contacts, company details, the kind of organization, the theme. It writes the answers to site.yaml and fits the site structure to your project.Search and AI
SEO
Search engine optimization: everything that helps search engines find a page, understand it and show it for the right query.
Title and description
The page name and the short text that search engines show in results. Different from the heading on the page.
Sitemap
The file
sitemap.xml with the list of all pages open to search. Search engines read it to find new pages.robots.txt
A file that tells search robots what they may visit and where the sitemap is.
Canonical
The main address of a page. If a page opens at several addresses, canonical tells search engines which one counts.
hreflang
A note in a page that lists its translations, so a search engine shows a Russian reader the Russian version.
schema.org
A shared vocabulary for describing what a page is about: a business, a person, an article, questions and answers. Search engines use it for rich results.
JSON-LD
The format HERON uses to write schema.org data: a small block of data inside the page, invisible to readers.
llms.txt
A plain text file at the root of a site with a summary and a list of important pages, written for AI assistants. HERON builds it by itself. More about llms.txt
Indexing
A search engine adding a page to its database so it can appear in results. A test build is closed from indexing.
Publishing
Static site
A site made of ready files: HTML pages, pictures, styles. The server only sends them, nothing is calculated per visit. What a static site is
Build
Turning the site folder into ready files in
dist/. Strict build treats every warning as an error.Domain
The name of a site, like
heron.software. You rent it from a registrar.DNS
The address book of the internet. A DNS record connects a domain to a server.
HTTPS
A secure connection, shown as a lock in the browser. A free certificate turns it on.
Hosting
A place where site files live and are sent to visitors: a server, GitHub Pages, Cloudflare Pages.
nginx
A small, fast web server that sends the finished pages to visitors. HERON writes its config together with the site.
301
A server answer «this page has moved for good», with the new address. Rankings move with it.
410
A server answer «this page is gone for good». Search engines drop such addresses faster than after 404.
404
A server answer «no such page». HERON shows its own 404 page in the language of the address.
Tools
Docker
A program that runs other programs in a closed box, so your computer stays clean. HERON runs in it.
Image
A ready package of a program with everything it needs. HERON comes as one, and a finished site can be packed as one too.
Container
A running image. It sees only what you allow, for example the site folder.
Registry
A place where images are stored, like GitHub's GHCR or Docker Hub.
Tag
The name of an image version:
prod, beta, 0.1.0.Git
A program that keeps every change of a folder, so you can see history and go back.
Repository
A folder with its git history, usually stored on GitHub.
Commit and push
A commit saves a set of changes in git; a push sends them to GitHub.
Workflow
A file in
.github/workflows/ that tells GitHub what to do after every push, for example build the site image. Often called CI or GitHub Actions.Token
A long password for programs, with limited rights. GitHub and Docker Hub tokens let a server download a private image. Keep tokens out of the site folder and out of git.
pip
The installer of Python programs. HERON can be installed with it instead of Docker.
Terminal
The window where you type commands instead of clicking: Terminal on macOS, PowerShell or the WSL window on Windows, any terminal on Linux. Docker and the terminal
Command
One line you type in the terminal and run with Enter, like
heron build .. Several commands joined with && run one after another and stop at the first error.Current folder
The folder the terminal is «in». A dot
. in a command means exactly this folder; cd my-site moves into another one.Text editor
A program for plain text files, such as VS Code. Not Word: a site needs plain text without hidden formatting. Choosing an editor
localhost
Your own computer as seen from its browser.
localhost:8000 opens the preview HERON runs on your machine; nobody else sees it.Port
The number after the colon in
localhost:8000. One program listens on one port; if it is busy, use another number.