Glossary of design, image, document and web terms

An image described with mathematical shapes (lines, curves and fills) instead of pixels. It can be enlarged to any size without losing sharpness, which is why logos, icons and signage are delivered as vectors (SVG, EPS, AI or PDF).

Try it with: Image Vectorizer: PNG & JPG to SVG · AI Image Vectorizer

An image made of a grid of pixels, such as a JPG, PNG or WebP. It is ideal for photos, but the pixels show when you enlarge it; to use it as a large logo you need to vectorize it.

Try it with: Image Vectorizer: PNG & JPG to SVG · Universal Image Converter & Compressor

Turning a pixel image into vector shapes that follow its outlines and colors. The result can be scaled and edited in Illustrator, Figma or Inkscape; the cleaner and sharper the source image, the better the tracing.

Try it with: Image Vectorizer: PNG & JPG to SVG · AI Image Vectorizer

Vector curves are defined by anchor points (nodes) and handles that set their direction. Fewer nodes mean a lighter file that is easier to edit; good vectorization avoids unnecessary nodes.

Try it with: Image Vectorizer: PNG & JPG to SVG

An open, XML-based vector format that browsers display directly. It is the standard for logos and icons on the web; optimizing it removes editor metadata and reduces its size.

Try it with: SVG Optimizer Pro · Image Vectorizer: PNG & JPG to SVG

Encapsulated PostScript, a classic print vector format that many print shops and stock marketplaces still ask for. It opens in Illustrator; to use it on the web, convert it to SVG.

Try it with: EPS to SVG & SVG to EPS Converter

Illustrator's native format, which stores artboards, layers and vector paths. Figma cannot open it directly, so moving a design from one program to the other requires a conversion.

Try it with: Adobe Illustrator (.AI) to Editable Figma Converter · Figma to Adobe Illustrator (.AI) Converter

ICO is the Windows icon format and the format of favicons, the icon shown in the browser tab. One ICO file holds several sizes (16, 32, 48 pixels…) so it looks sharp everywhere.

Try it with: PNG to ICO Converter · SVG to ICO Converter · App Icon & Favicon Generator

Resolution is the number of pixels in an image (for example 3000 × 2000). DPI or PPI says how many of those pixels are printed per inch: quality printing usually asks for 300 DPI at the final size.

Try it with: AI Image Upscaler · Image Compressor & Resizer

Lossless compression (PNG, lossless WebP) reduces file size without changing a single pixel. Lossy compression (JPG, WebP, AVIF) drops barely visible detail and produces much smaller files.

Try it with: Image Compressor & Resizer

An image format created by Google that is considerably smaller than JPG and PNG at similar quality and supports transparency. Every current browser reads it, so it is the usual choice for speeding up a website.

Try it with: Universal Image Converter & Compressor

Extra information in each pixel that says how much of what is behind it shows through. PNG, WebP and SVG keep it; JPG does not and fills the background with white. It is what lets you place a logo or cut-out on any background.

Try it with: AI Background Remover · Universal Image Converter & Compressor

Enlarging an image by asking an artificial intelligence model to rebuild the missing detail, rather than just stretching the pixels. It helps recover small or old photos and print them larger.

Try it with: AI Image Upscaler

Data the camera or phone stores inside the photo: model, date, exposure and sometimes location. It is useful for sorting photos, but worth checking or removing before you publish them.

Try it with: EXIF Viewer · Remove EXIF & Image Metadata · EXIF Editor

Coordinates of the place where the photo was taken, stored in its EXIF metadata. Anyone who downloads the original file can see them, so it is wise to remove them before sharing photos of your home or children.

Try it with: Remove GPS Location from Photo

The color model of screens, which mixes red, green and blue light. It is the right mode for web, social media and video, but an RGB PDF can print with dull or shifted colors.

Try it with: Professional PDF RGB to CMYK Converter · Color Converter Pro (HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, LAB)

The color model of printing, based on cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks. Printers ask for CMYK files so the printed color matches what you see; some very bright RGB colors have no exact equivalent.

Try it with: Professional PDF RGB to CMYK Converter · Color Converter Pro (HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, LAB)

A way of writing an RGB color with six hexadecimal characters, such as #1E90FF. It is the format used by CSS, Figma and most brand guidelines to copy an exact color.

Try it with: Color Converter Pro (HEX, RGB, CMYK, HSL, LAB)

A file that describes how a device or print process reproduces color, for example FOGRA39 for offset printing in Europe. Converting to CMYK with the right profile avoids surprises in the final color.

Try it with: Professional PDF RGB to CMYK Converter

An extra margin, usually 3 mm, where the background and images continue past the trim edge. If the cutter shifts slightly, no white slivers appear at the edge of the printed piece.

Try it with: PDF Preflight Print Checker

Checking a file before sending it to print: color mode, image resolution, embedded fonts, bleed and page size. Catching a problem here avoids reprinting a whole run.

Try it with: PDF Preflight Print Checker

Reducing the size of a PDF by recompressing its images, removing duplicate data and simplifying its structure. It lets you email it or upload it to a form with a size limit without losing legibility.

Try it with: Smart PDF Compressor

Information stored inside the PDF: title, author, the program that created it and dates. It sometimes reveals names or internal paths, so it is worth checking or removing before publishing the document.

Try it with: PDF Metadata Viewer · Remove PDF Metadata · PDF Metadata Editor

A version of a PDF or presentation that is read in the browser by turning pages like a magazine. You share it with a link or embed it on a website, and readers never need to download the file.

Try it with: PDF to flipbook · PowerPoint to flipbook

A plain-text format that marks headings, lists and links with symbols such as # or *. It is common in documentation and notes, and converts easily to HTML or PDF.

Try it with: Markdown to HTML Converter · Markdown to PDF Converter

The method used to compress video, such as H.264, H.265 (HEVC), VP9 or AV1. The container (MP4, MOV, WebM) is the box; the codec decides quality, size and which devices can play it.

Try it with: Video Converter · Video Compressor

The amount of data per second a video or audio file uses, for example 5 Mbps. Higher bitrate means more quality and a bigger file; lowering the bitrate is the main way to compress a video.

Try it with: Video Compressor

A text subtitle format with a number, a start and end time and the line for each block. YouTube, video editors and almost every player accept it.

Try it with: Subtitle Generator · Universal Subtitle Translator Online

Turning what is said in an audio or video file into text with speech recognition. With timestamps, that transcript becomes subtitles.

Try it with: Audio Transcriber · Subtitle Generator

A control that raises or lowers the volume of each frequency range: bass, mids and treble. It gives a voice more body, boosts the bass or removes a hum.

Try it with: Audio Equalizer · Bass Booster

How high or low an audio sounds. You can change the pitch without changing the speed, or both at once, which is what nightcore and slowed effects do.

Try it with: Audio Pitch Shifter · Nightcore Maker

A tuning where the note A sounds at 432 Hz instead of the standard 440 Hz, which slightly lowers all the music. Some people prefer how it sounds, although there is no scientific evidence of special benefits.

Try it with: 432 Hz Converter

An effect that moves the sound around the listener's head with panning and reverb. It is meant for headphones and is common in song versions for social media.

Try it with: 8D Audio Converter

A text format for exchanging data between programs, with objects in braces and lists in brackets. Almost every API uses it; a single misplaced character makes it invalid, so it is validated before use.

Try it with: JSON Formatter · JSON Validator

A readable data format that uses indentation instead of braces. It is common in configuration files (Docker, GitHub Actions, Kubernetes) and converts to JSON without losing information.

Try it with: JSON to YAML Converter · YAML to JSON Converter

Removing spaces, line breaks and comments from CSS, JavaScript or HTML code without changing how it works. The file gets smaller and the website loads faster.

Try it with: CSS Minifier · JavaScript Minifier · HTML Minifier

Tags added to the end of a link (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) so Google Analytics knows which campaign each visit came from. Remove them when you want to share a clean link.

Try it with: UTM URL Builder · Remove UTM Parameters

A two-dimensional barcode that a phone camera reads to open a link, a text or a Wi-Fi network. To print it large, download it as a vector (SVG or EPS).

Try it with: Custom QR Code Generator · URL to QR Code

A server instruction that sends the visitor of one URL to another. A 301 is permanent and passes search ranking to the new address; a 302 is temporary. Chains of several redirects slow down loading.

Try it with: URL Redirect Checker · Expand Short URL

Converting spaces, accents and symbols into sequences such as %20 or %C3%B1 so a URL is valid. It is needed when passing text in a link parameter.

Try it with: URL Encoder · URL Decoder