Glossary
Glossary: websites, law and the trades
From BGB to ZDH: terms and abbreviations around a trade business website, domains and email, law, tax and heating rules, explained briefly and clearly.
In short and in plain language
On this page you will find special words. Below each word you see the start of what it means. Click on a word. Then you can read the whole text.
The words are sorted from A to Z. At the top you see the letters. Click on a letter. Then you jump to the words with this letter.
At the very bottom you find a link to the questions and answers and a link to contact us.
A
- Alt text An alt text describes the content of an image in words. Screen readers read it aloud, and it appears when an image does not load. Purely decorative images get an empty alt text so…
- API An API is a programming interface. Two programs use it to exchange data without anyone having to type anything in. One example is an online shop that passes orders on to an…
B
- B2B B2B describes business between companies, as opposed to business with private customers. A website for business customers often answers different questions, for example about…
- balance sheet total The sum of all assets shown in a business's balance sheet at the end of the financial year. Together with staff numbers and annual turnover it helps decide whether a business…
- BBSR The BBSR is the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development. Among other things, it provides information on building energy law that…
- BDH The BDH is the German association of heating industry manufacturers. It publishes market figures, for example on sales of heat pumps and on the age of installed heating systems.
- BFSG The BFSG is the German Accessibility Strengthening Act. It implements a European Union directive on accessibility. Under it, many providers of products and services for consumers…
- BGB The German Civil Code governs general private law in Germany, such as contracts, sales and work services. For trade businesses it contains rules on contracts for work, acceptance…
- BGBl The BGBl is the German Federal Law Gazette, in which federal laws and ordinances are officially published. A reference to it shows where the binding text of a provision can be…
- BIBB The BIBB is the German Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training. It researches vocational training and publishes data on how businesses look for and find…
- BITV The BITV is a German ordinance on accessible information technology. It sets out how websites and apps of federal public bodies must be accessible. For companies, the BFSG usually…
- BMF The BMF is the German Federal Ministry of Finance. In official letters it explains how tax offices apply tax rules, for example which tradespeople's services can qualify for a tax…
- BSI The BSI is the German Federal Office for Information Security. It publishes recommendations and guidelines on topics such as passwords, data backup and email security. Small…
- business profile A listing of a business with a major search engine that appears in local searches and on the map. It shows details such as address, opening hours, photos and reviews. The details…
C
- CJEU The Court of Justice of the European Union gives binding interpretations of EU law. Its judgments shape how courts in the member states apply that law. For websites, its decisions…
- CMS A CMS is a program that lets you maintain the content of your website yourself. You edit texts, images and pages in the browser without programming. The look of the site stays the…
- consent A person's voluntary and clear agreement, for example to the processing of their data or to receiving advertising. On websites it matters for visitor measurement, embedded…
- Contrast Contrast is the difference in brightness between text and background. The WCAG set minimum values for it. Good contrast helps everyone, especially people with low vision or in…
- Cookie A cookie is a small text file that a website stores in the browser. Some cookies are needed for the site to work, for example for a shopping cart. For others, such as measuring…
- CSS CSS defines how a web page looks: colours, fonts, spacing and the arrangement of the content. Because the design is kept separate from the content, a page can adapt to the screen…
- CV A CV is a summary of a person's education and work history. In applications for a job or apprenticeship it usually belongs with the cover letter and certificates.
D
- DDG The DDG is the German Digital Services Act and sets out obligations for providers of digital services in Germany. For business websites it matters mainly because of the…
- DENIC DENIC is the central registry for domains ending in de. It keeps the register of domain holders and sets the procedures for changing provider or for disputes over a domain.
- DIHK The DIHK is the umbrella organisation of the regional German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. It represents commercial businesses and publishes surveys, for example on…
- DIN DIN is the German Institute for Standardisation, which develops standards describing technical requirements for products, components and processes. In construction such standards…
- distance contract A contract negotiated and concluded only by means of distance communication, such as email, phone or a website form. With such a contract the consumer usually has a right of…
- DIY DIY means doing something yourself instead of hiring a specialist. In the trades it often refers to comparisons with DIY-store prices. A trade business website can show which…
- DKIM DomainKeys Identified Mail is a method that adds a digital signature of the sending domain to outgoing emails. The recipient can check whether the email really comes from that…
- DMARC DMARC is a DNS record of a domain that tells recipients how to handle emails that fail the SPF and DKIM checks. In addition, the domain holder can receive reports about such…
- DNS The Domain Name System translates domain names into the technical addresses of servers. The DNS records of a domain determine, among other things, where the website and email…
- Domain A domain is the name of a website on the internet, for example the part after “www.” in the address. It is registered with a registry and points to the server on which the website…
- DWD The DWD is Germany's national meteorological service, a federal authority for weather and climate. Its data, for example on frost days or storms, help outdoor trade businesses…
E
- EE EE is the German abbreviation for renewable energies such as solar, wind, geothermal and ambient heat or biomass. In German heating law it describes requirements for the share a…
- EGBGB The EGBGB is the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code and adds further rules to the BGB. For businesses it matters mainly because it sets out what consumers are told before a…
- emergency service A business being available outside normal working hours for urgent cases such as a burst pipe, storm damage or a power failure. On the website, a clear statement of when and on…
- EStG The German Income Tax Act governs how the income of individuals is taxed in Germany. Trade businesses mainly know it for the tax reduction on tradespeople's services that private…
- EU The European Union is a union of European states with shared laws and rules in many areas. Many requirements for websites, for example on data protection, consumer rights and…
F
- FAQ FAQ stands for a collection of frequently asked questions with answers. On a business website it answers recurring customer questions, for example about the process, costs or…
- fixed price A total price for a job that is agreed in advance and applies regardless of the actual effort. It makes costs predictable as long as the agreed scope stays the same. Extra…
G
- GbR A GbR is a German civil-law partnership, a simple legal form in which several people join together for a common purpose. The imprint of a GbR usually names the partners authorised…
- GDPR The GDPR is a regulation of the European Union. It governs when and how personal data may be processed, for example names, email addresses or IP addresses. On a website this…
- GEG The Building Energy Act is the former name of the German law setting energy requirements for buildings and heating systems. It is now called the Building Modernisation Act, so…
- GModG The Building Modernisation Act is the new name of the German Building Energy Act and sets requirements for buildings and heating. For heating and plumbing businesses it can affect…
H
- heat pump A heating system that draws heat from the air, the ground or groundwater and uses electricity to raise its temperature. For heating businesses it is a frequent topic in heating…
- HGB The HGB is the German Commercial Code for merchants and trading companies. Among other things, it contains rules on bookkeeping and on keeping business records. This can also…
- hosting Providing storage space on a server so that a website can be reached on the internet. It usually also includes a database, a certificate for encrypted transfer and email mailboxes.
- HTML HTML is the language every web page is made of. It defines what each part of the page is: heading, paragraph, list, link or image. Clean HTML is the basis for screen readers and…
- HTTP HTTP is the protocol a browser uses to fetch web pages from a server. Without encryption, the data travels in readable form. Websites therefore usually use the encrypted variant…
- HTTPS HTTPS encrypts the data sent between browser and website. This way, others cannot read what you enter into a form, for example. Many browsers warn about pages without HTTPS with…
I
- IHK An IHK is a German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the regional self-governing body of commercial businesses. Skilled craft businesses usually belong to the Chamber of Skilled…
- Impressum (legal notice) The Impressum states who is responsible for a website: name, address and ways to get in touch. Business websites in Germany need an Impressum that is easy to find.
- IP The Internet Protocol is the method by which devices exchange data on the internet. Each device gets an IP address, which reaches the server when a website is visited and may…
- ISO ISO is an international organisation that publishes standards for products, services and processes. Many ISO standards are also adopted in Germany as DIN EN ISO standards. In…
- IT Information technology covers computers, networks, software and the processing of data. In a trade business it includes the website, email, office computers and accounting. IT…
L
- legal texts An umbrella term for the legally required texts on a website, such as the legal notice, privacy policy or a withdrawal notice. They should match how the website actually works…
- loading time The time a page needs until it is visible and usable in the browser. On a phone it helps decide whether a visitor stays or leaves. Large photos that were not resized are a common…
- location page A subpage of a website describing what a business offers in a particular town or region. It helps the business be found in searches that include place names, provided it contains…
M
- maintenance contract An agreement under which a business regularly inspects and services a system such as a heating installation. For the business it means plannable work, for the customer fixed…
- MB A megabyte is a unit for amounts of data, for example the size of an image or video file. Large files load more slowly on a phone. Photos for a website are therefore usually…
- micro-enterprise A very small business that stays below legally defined limits for staff numbers and annual turnover or balance sheet total. The German Accessibility Act provides an exemption for…
- minimum term The period a contract runs at least before it can be cancelled. For ongoing services such as hosting or website care it shows how long a business is tied in.
- MwSt MwSt stands for Mehrwertsteuer, the everyday German term for value added tax. Prices for consumers are generally stated including this tax.
P
- PDF PDF is a file format for documents that looks the same on every device and prints well. Businesses use it for quotes, invoices or information sheets, which are often harder to…
- privacy policy A text on the website explaining which personal data a business collects, for what purpose and how long it keeps it. It also names the rights of visitors. It should match what…
- property manager A company that looks after and manages residential buildings on behalf of their owners. It often hires trade businesses for repairs and maintenance. It chooses by different…
- PV PV stands for photovoltaics, the generation of electricity from sunlight using solar modules. For electrical businesses, planning and installing such systems is often part of…
R
- RC RC stands for the resistance class of burglar-resistant doors, windows and grilles under a European standard. The higher the class, the longer the component withstands a break-in…
- relaunch Rebuilding an existing website with a new design, structure or technology. Old addresses should point to the matching new pages. That way visitors and search engines can still…
- Responsive design Responsive design means that a website adapts to the size of the screen. On a phone the content is stacked, on a large screen it often sits side by side. There is only one website…
- RFC An RFC is a technical document that describes rules and standards of the internet. Many procedures around email and domains, such as SPF or DMARC, are specified in such documents.
- right of withdrawal A consumer's right to withdraw from a contract within a statutory period without giving reasons. It can apply to contracts concluded by email, phone, website or away from business…
- RSA RSA is a widely used method for encryption and digital signatures, named after its inventors. In email it is used, for example, to sign outgoing messages with DKIM. The key length…
S
- Screen reader A screen reader is a program that reads the content of a page aloud or outputs it on a braille display. Blind and visually impaired people use it to operate websites. For this…
- SEO SEO covers all measures that help a website to be found more easily in search engines. These include suitable content, a clear page structure, short loading times and clean…
- service page A subpage of a website describing a single service of a business, such as a bathroom renovation or a roof repair. Separate service pages help searchers and search engines find the…
- SGB The SGB is the German Social Code, which brings together the laws of German social security and is divided into separate books. For trade businesses it can matter for accessible…
- SHK SHK is the German short name for the plumbing, heating and air conditioning trades. It refers to businesses that plan, install and maintain bathrooms, water pipes, heating systems…
- small-business rule A rule in the German VAT Act under which businesses with a low turnover do not charge VAT, provided certain conditions are met. Those who use it quote prices without VAT and point…
- SPF The Sender Policy Framework is a DNS record of a domain that specifies which servers may send email for that domain. If it is missing or wrong, emails from a contact form, for…
- SSL SSL is the common name for encrypting the connection between a browser and a website. Today its successor TLS is usually used, but the name SSL has stuck. An encrypted website can…
T
- tap target An area on the screen that you tap with your finger, such as a button, a link or the phone number. If it is too small or too close to others, it is easy to miss on a phone.
- tax relief Here, the German income tax reduction for trade services in a private household. Under certain conditions private customers can deduct part of the labour costs from their income…
- TDDDG The TDDDG is the German law on data protection in telecommunications and digital services. For websites it matters mainly for cookies and similar techniques that access the…
- TR A technical guideline of the BSI describes recommendations and requirements for a particular security topic. For businesses such guidelines offer orientation, for example on…
- trade register The register kept by the German chamber of skilled crafts, known as the Handwerksrolle, in which businesses of licensed crafts are entered. Entry is usually a requirement for…
U
- URL A URL is the address of a page or file on the internet. It appears in the address bar at the top of the browser. It consists of the protocol, for example https, the domain name…
- UStG The UStG is the German Value Added Tax Act, which governs VAT on goods and services in Germany. For businesses it sets out, among other things, what an invoice has to contain and…
- UTC UTC is the worldwide reference time on which time zones are based. Technical systems such as mail servers often state times and reporting periods in UTC.
- UWG The German Act against Unfair Competition sets out which commercial practices and which advertising are not permitted. For businesses it concerns, for example, misleading claims…
V
- VAT Value added tax is a tax on goods and services that businesses charge their customers and pass on to the tax office. On websites it often appears next to prices, for example as…
- VAT identification number A separate tax number for business within the European Union, issued in Germany by the Federal Central Tax Office. If a business has one, it is usually stated in the legal notice…
- VDIV The VDIV is the German association of property managers. It publishes figures and surveys on the property management sector, which can be of interest to trade businesses working…
W
- W3C The World Wide Web Consortium is an international body that develops standards for the web. These include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which business websites can use…
- WC WC is a common abbreviation for a toilet, often in a small room of its own. In plumbing and bathroom work, a cloakroom WC is usually a smaller job than a complete bathroom.
- WCAG The WCAG are international guidelines for accessible web content. They describe testable requirements, for example for contrast, for text alternatives to images and for keyboard…
- website builder A ready-made online service for putting a website together yourself from templates, usually for a monthly fee. Getting started is cheap. Texts, images, upkeep and legal texts…
- WLAN WLAN is a wireless local network through which phones or laptops connect to the internet, usually called Wi-Fi in English. Testing a website over mobile data instead of WLAN shows…
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