# MAXBURST Glossary — B2B Web Design, Ecommerce & AI Search Terms

Definitions of terms used in web design, B2B ecommerce, and search for manufacturing, aerospace, engineering, and industrial companies. Maintained by MAXBURST (https://www.maxburst.com/).

## MAXBURST Frameworks

### Intelligent Experience Optimization (IXO)
**Definition:** MAXBURST's integrated team approach in which digital marketing strategists, experience-focused designers, and developers collaborate on a website from day one.
**Context:** IXO puts SEO, AI visibility, content structure, and conversion planning into a site's foundation instead of handing them off after design and development.
**Related terms:** S.T.E.P. Process, Structured Data, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
**MAXBURST connection:** IXO is a MAXBURST-defined framework.

### S.T.E.P. Process
**Definition:** MAXBURST's four-phase website delivery framework: Strategy, Technology, Execution, and Performance.
**Context:** Strategy covers business goals and content structure, Technology covers the platform and architecture, Execution covers development and quality assurance, and Performance covers ongoing monitoring and optimization after launch.
**Related terms:** Intelligent Experience Optimization (IXO), Website Redesign
**MAXBURST connection:** The S.T.E.P. Process is a MAXBURST-defined framework.

## B2B Ecommerce and Catalogs

### Catalog-Only Ecommerce
**Definition:** An ecommerce site that publishes full product data, including attributes, variations, search, and documents, with prices, cart, and checkout switched off.
**Context:** Used by manufacturers whose buyers purchase through quotes, contracts, and purchase orders rather than online checkout.
**Related terms:** Quote Basket, Request for Quote (RFQ), WooCommerce
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST builds catalog-only WooCommerce sites for manufacturers and B2B industrial companies.

### Quote Basket
**Definition:** A cart-style feature that lets a buyer add several products and quantities and submit them as one quote request instead of an order.
**Context:** Quote baskets replace add-to-cart on B2B catalogs so sales teams receive a structured request with notes and files attached.
**Related terms:** Catalog-Only Ecommerce, Request for Quote (RFQ), Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST wires quote baskets into the client's CRM so requests reach the right sales rep.

### Request for Quote (RFQ)
**Definition:** A formal request from a buyer asking a supplier to price specific products, quantities, or specifications.
**Context:** In industrial B2B buying, an RFQ typically follows a shortlist of suppliers and precedes a quote and purchase order.
**Related terms:** Quote Basket, Purchase Order (PO)

### Purchase Order (PO)
**Definition:** A buyer-issued document that authorizes a purchase at agreed products, quantities, and prices.
**Context:** Most industrial orders are placed by PO through procurement systems rather than through a website checkout.
**Related terms:** Request for Quote (RFQ), Catalog-Only Ecommerce

### Dealer Portal
**Definition:** A logged-in area of a website where dealers, distributors, or approved accounts see account-specific pricing, catalogs, or reordering tools.
**Context:** Dealer portals let a manufacturer keep a price-free public catalog while serving pricing to approved buyers.
**Related terms:** Tiered Pricing, Catalog-Only Ecommerce
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST builds dealer and distributor portals on WooCommerce.

### Tiered Pricing
**Definition:** A pricing model in which different customer groups or order volumes see different prices.
**Context:** Common in B2B, where distributors, OEM accounts, and direct buyers are priced differently.
**Related terms:** Dealer Portal, B2B Ecommerce

### B2B Ecommerce
**Definition:** Online selling between businesses, often involving account pricing, purchase orders, approval chains, and large catalogs.
**Context:** B2B ecommerce differs from retail ecommerce because many purchases require a quote, negotiation, or approval before ordering.
**Related terms:** Catalog-Only Ecommerce, Tiered Pricing, Dealer Portal

### Headless Commerce
**Definition:** An architecture in which the ecommerce platform manages product data while a separately built front end displays it.
**Context:** Used for faster storefronts while staff keep editing products in a familiar admin.
**Related terms:** WooCommerce, Product Information Management (PIM)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST can run WooCommerce as the product data layer behind a separately built storefront.

## Platforms

### WordPress
**Definition:** An open-source content management system used to build and manage websites.
**Context:** WordPress powers marketing sites, content libraries, and, with WooCommerce, product catalogs and stores.
**Related terms:** WooCommerce, Content Management System (CMS)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST builds custom WordPress websites and is a Pressable partner for WordPress hosting.

### WooCommerce
**Definition:** An open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress that adds products, attributes, variations, carts, and checkout.
**Context:** WooCommerce can run as a full store or, with checkout disabled, as a product catalog.
**Related terms:** WordPress, Catalog-Only Ecommerce, Quote Basket
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST builds catalog-only WooCommerce sites, quote baskets, and B2B ecommerce.

### Shopify
**Definition:** A hosted ecommerce platform for building and running online stores, with Shopify Plus as its enterprise tier.
**Context:** Shopify fits businesses that sell standard products buyers can purchase without a quote.
**Related terms:** B2B Ecommerce, WooCommerce
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST is a Shopify Solution Provider and builds Shopify and Shopify Plus stores.

### Content Management System (CMS)
**Definition:** Software that lets non-developers create, edit, and publish website content.
**Context:** The CMS determines how easily a team can update products, pages, and resources after launch.
**Related terms:** WordPress

## Business Systems Integration

### Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
**Definition:** Software that manages core business operations such as inventory, orders, purchasing, and finance.
**Context:** Manufacturers often keep their system-of-record product data in an ERP, which a website can draw from.
**Related terms:** Product Information Management (PIM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST integrates websites with ERP systems so product data stays in sync.

### Product Information Management (PIM)
**Definition:** Software that centralizes and manages product data such as specifications, attributes, and media for distribution to channels.
**Context:** A PIM feeds consistent product data to websites, catalogs, and partners.
**Related terms:** Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Catalog-Only Ecommerce

### Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
**Definition:** Software that tracks leads, contacts, and sales activity, such as Salesforce or HubSpot.
**Context:** Routing website inquiries into a CRM lets sales teams follow up quickly and measure lead sources.
**Related terms:** Quote Basket, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST routes quote requests and leads into Salesforce, HubSpot, or the client's CRM.

## Search and AI Visibility

### Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
**Definition:** The practice of improving a website's content, structure, and authority so it ranks in organic search results.
**Context:** For B2B companies, SEO targets the long-tail, high-intent terms engineers and procurement teams use.
**Related terms:** Technical SEO, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST provides SEO as part of its search engine marketing service.

### Technical SEO
**Definition:** The part of SEO that addresses site architecture, crawlability, page speed, structured data, and indexing.
**Context:** Technical SEO determines whether search engines and AI crawlers can reach and interpret a site's content.
**Related terms:** Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Structured Data, Core Web Vitals

### Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
**Definition:** Structuring and writing website content so AI-powered search engines and assistants can understand, use, and cite it.
**Context:** GEO extends SEO to AI-generated answers such as those in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
**Related terms:** Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Structured Data, llms.txt
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST includes GEO in its search engine marketing and manufacturing SEO work.

### Structured Data
**Definition:** Standardized markup, usually schema.org vocabulary in JSON-LD, that describes a page's content to machines.
**Context:** Structured data helps search engines and AI systems identify products, organizations, FAQs, and relationships on a site.
**Related terms:** Technical SEO, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST implements schema markup in its website builds.

### llms.txt
**Definition:** A plain-text Markdown file at a website's root that gives AI systems a curated summary of the site and links to its key content.
**Context:** llms.txt and its longer companion, llms-full.txt, help AI assistants find and represent a business accurately.
**Related terms:** Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Structured Data

### E-E-A-T
**Definition:** Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, the qualities Google's Search Quality Rater Guidelines use to assess content.
**Context:** Clear authorship, credentials, case studies, and transparent policies are common ways sites demonstrate E-E-A-T.
**Related terms:** Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST builds sites to align with Google's E-E-A-T guidance.

### Core Web Vitals
**Definition:** Google's set of metrics for real-world page experience, covering loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability.
**Context:** Core Web Vitals affect user experience and are part of Google's page experience signals.
**Related terms:** Technical SEO

## Website Quality

### Website Accessibility (WCAG)
**Definition:** Designing and coding websites so people with disabilities can use them, measured against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
**Context:** Accessibility work happens at the code and content level; overlay widgets do not make a site conformant on their own.
**Related terms:** Website Redesign
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST delivered ADA, Section 508, and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility work for Couristan.

### Website Redesign
**Definition:** Rebuilding an existing website's design, structure, and often platform to meet current business goals.
**Context:** Redesigns for technical companies typically address outdated messaging, weak calls to action, mobile performance, and missing resources.
**Related terms:** S.T.E.P. Process, Content Management System (CMS)
**MAXBURST connection:** MAXBURST offers a free website evaluation for companies considering a redesign.