Glossary

Some frequently-used terms, while not all Omni CMS-specific, are still helpful to understand.

• 404: An error message displayed by a browser indicating that an Internet address cannot be found, for example that there is no page at the specified URL.
• Absolute Link: A link that is written as a full URL address (for example http://school.edu).
• Binary File: A computer file that is not a text file. This includes .png, .jpg, .gif, and .pdf files. See our full list of file types.
• Breadcrumb: A type of navigation that visually represents the user's location in a website or web app. "Home / Learn Omni CMS / Glossary" at the top of this page is an example.
• Cache: To reduce load times, browsers store copies of pages and files that they use when revisiting the site (instead of downloading all content from scratch). This storage is called a cache.
  • Clearing the Cache: A common remedy for web page problems, such as images not updating properly. Each browser has its own instructions for how to clear cache.
• Dynamic Content: Variations of your content served to different website visitors, based on criteria you set using Personalization.
• External Link: A link on your site that points to a page on another website.
• Frames: Containers used in Layout Builder that help you structure your page.
• Hardcoded: In general, to hardcode is to use an explicit rather than symbolic name for an element in the page code. When referring to links in Omni CMS, a hardcoded URL is one where the URL or file path is written directly in the page code, rather than using a dependency tag or similar marker.
• Implementation: Omni CMS exists with a unique set-up for each customer account, with its own settings and files. Each instance of this is called an implementation.
• Integration: Import data from your student information system (SIS) or customer relationship management (CRM) system, including Slate; Salesforce; Ellucian; and more, using any CSV file.
  • Part of the Personalization: Identified Visitors and Contacts module.
• Internal Link: A link on your site that points to another page in the same website.
• Relative Link: A link that is only relevant to the current website domain or location (for example /academics.html.). The browser sees the relative link and adds the domain and folder location of the current page to it to create the full URL.
  • Root-Relative Link: A subset of relative links in which all links are assumed to start from the root of the site.
• Root: The starting point of your website; the highest folder in the hierarchy of files. In terms of the live website, this is typically represented by your base domain.
• SaaS: "Software-as-a-service," or cloud-hosting of software. If your Omni CMS account is SaaS, the Omni CMS software is stored and maintained on Modern Campus servers.
• Segments: Categories of your website visitor's characteristics that you use to personalize your content.
  • For example, create a segment to target prospects in your state (geolocation) that have high GPAs (imported student data).
• Self-Hosted: If your Omni CMS account is self-hosted, the Omni CMS software is stored and maintained on servers owned by your institution or a third party you partner with.
• Tiles: Blocks of content, or content placeholders, used in Layout Builder.
• Tracking Code: A series of files used to track website visitors, deliver dynamic content variations, and more. Publishing the Personalization tracking code will place a file on the root of your site. Tracked pages will be injected with HTML script tags to reference this code and other tracking-related dependencies.
• XML: A meta-language which allows users to define their own customized markup languages, especially in order to display documents on the Internet. Omni CMS templates use XML.
• XSL: A language for expressing style sheets that describes how to display an XML document of a given type. Omni CMS templates also use XSL.
• Whitelist: To allow a web address or program access to an otherwise firewall-protected server.