Website feedback glossary
Website projects come with their own vocabulary, and clients don't always know it. These are the terms that come up most when people review websites, with a plain definition of each and a link to more where we have it.
Feedback and comments
Visual feedback
Comments placed on the page itself, attached to the heading, image or button they are about. It replaces screenshots with arrows and emails that say "the second section". Most visual feedback tools also record the page address, the screen size and the reviewer's browser with each comment.
Pinned comment
A single piece of visual feedback, shown as a numbered marker on the element it refers to. Clicking the marker opens the comment and its replies.
Annotation
A note added on top of a page, document or image. In website reviews it is mostly another word for a pinned comment. "Website annotation tool" and "website feedback tool" usually mean the same kind of product.
Feedback widget
A small button or panel added to a website with a script, which visitors or testers use to send feedback. Widgets need installing on each site. Link-based tools load the page from its address instead, so nothing is installed.
Bug report
Feedback about something broken, usually with technical detail for developers: browser, device, console errors and steps to reproduce. Tools built for bug reports tend to send them into Jira, Linear or GitHub.
Sites and links
Staging site
A private copy of a website for building and reviewing changes before they reach the live site. Many hosts create one with a click. Staging should be hidden from search engines and is often password protected. See WordPress staging feedback without a plugin.
Preview link
A temporary address showing an unpublished version of a page or site, created by website builders and hosting platforms. Some preview links only work for people signed in to that platform.
Basic auth (browser password box)
A simple way to lock a staging site: the browser asks for a username and password before showing anything. It is easy for review tools to handle, unlike password forms inside the page.
Review link
A link you send to reviewers that opens the page with commenting switched on. In HTMLAnnotate, reviewers open it in any browser and need no account.
Responsive design and breakpoints
Responsive design means the layout adapts to the screen size. A breakpoint is the width at which the layout changes, for example from three columns on desktop to one on a phone. Many layout problems only show at certain breakpoints, which is why reviews should cover phone and tablet as well as desktop.
Process and sign-off
Revision round
One cycle of feedback and changes on a stage of the project. Proposals often include a fixed number. See how many revision rounds to include.
Design QA
The build team checking the built site against the approved design: spacing, fonts, colours, states such as hover, and every screen size. It happens before the client sees the build.
QA (quality assurance)
Checking the site works as intended: links, forms, layouts, speed and browsers. Design QA is one part of it.
UAT (user acceptance testing)
The client, and ideally real users, checking the site does what they need before launch. It ends with sign-off. See what UAT means for websites.
Sign-off
Written approval that a stage, or the whole site, is accepted. Changes after sign-off are normally quoted as new work. Our guide covers getting client website approval.
Change request
A request for something outside the agreed scope or after sign-off. It is usually estimated and approved separately.
Scope creep
The slow growth of a project beyond what was agreed, usually through many small extra requests. Clear revision rounds and sign-off points keep it in check.
AI and tools
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
An open standard that lets AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT use other tools. A feedback tool with an MCP server lets the AI share a page for review and read the comments back. See what an MCP server is.
HTML file
A single web page saved as a file, the kind AI tools often produce when asked for a landing page. It opens in any browser and can be uploaded to a review tool to collect comments. See getting feedback on an HTML file.
Page health check
An automatic scan of a page for problems such as broken links, images without descriptions and missing page titles. Our free broken link checker runs part of it on any page.
Questions
What is visual feedback on a website?
Comments placed directly on the page, attached to the element they are about, instead of written in an email or a document. Each comment usually shows where it was left and on which screen size.
What is a staging site?
A copy of a website used for building and reviewing changes before they go live. It usually sits on a separate address and is often password protected.
What is the difference between QA and UAT?
QA is the build team checking the site works as designed. UAT is the client or real users checking the site does what they need, just before launch.
What does sign-off mean in web design?
Written approval from the client that a stage of the project, or the finished site, is accepted. Changes after sign-off are usually treated as new work.
What is a revision round?
One cycle of feedback and changes: the client sends all their feedback on a stage, and the designer or developer addresses it in one go.
Put these terms to work: send a review link and get comments pinned to the page.
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