Definitions beginning with I

i18n

Internationalisation prepares a product for adaptation to languages and cultures, including formats, writing systems and structure. Translating text is part of localisation rather than the whole preparation.

Reference: W3C : Localization and internationalization · Source consulted 2026-10-18

In practice: test dates, writing direction, error messages and text lengths in every language.

IaaS

Infrastructure as a Service: on-demand provision of resources such as virtual machines, storage and networking.

In practice: Include operations, backups and monitoring in cost comparisons.

ICANN

International organization coordinating the domain-name system and certain unique Internet identifiers.

In practice: Consult official rules and parties for the domain concerned before a transfer.

Icon

Graphic sign representing an action, object or state in an interface. Meaning depends on context and the audience’s familiarity with the symbol. An interactive icon needs an accessible name describing its function; a purely decorative icon should not add noise to reading.

Reference: W3C WAI : Functional images · Source consulted 2026-10-18

In practice: check the announced name of a magnifying glass, bin or cross. “Close panel” describes the action better than “cross icon”. Add a visible label when the symbol may be misunderstood.

IDE

Integrated Development Environment: software combining code editing, execution, debugging and development tools.

In practice: Choose an environment that supports tests and review, then document its essential setup.

Idempotence

Property of an operation whose intended effect remains the same when repeated with the same parameters. It does not mean every response or log entry is identical.

Reference: MDN : Idempotent

Source consulted : MDN · 2026-10-17

Repeat a synthetic operation and compare created records; do not infer the property from the method name alone.

iframe

HTML element displaying another document within the page, such as a map or embedded service. That document has its own browsing context. Plan an accessible title, appropriate permissions and a useful alternative when the remote content does not load.

Reference: MDN : HTML iframe element · Source consulted 2026-10-18

In practice: Check the title, keyboard navigation and behaviour when embedded content fails.

Image context

Title, nearby text and page content that explain why an image is relevant.

In practice: place the photo near text explaining its subject.

Image licensing metadata

Credit or licence details supplied to search engines through suitable structured data or IPTC fields embedded in a photograph. Supply only rights information verified for the particular image. Metadata presence does not grant general permission to reuse it.

Reference: Google Search Central · Image metadata · Source consulted 2026-10-25

In practice: Enter only verified rights and credits for the relevant image.

Image optimization

Preparing image dimensions, variants and loading for actual use. Check the resource really loaded: reducing its CSS width does not necessarily reduce transferred bytes.

Reference: MDN : Responsive images · Source consulted 2026-10-18

In practice: compare size and appearance on mobile, then deliver variants for actual display sizes.

Image sitemap

XML sitemap extension associating images with pages to help search engines discover media that may otherwise be difficult to find.

In practice: Use it for important images that are hard to discover and check their public URLs.

ImageObject

Schema.org type used to describe an image, its URL, dimensions, caption, creator or rights information. Distinguish the page describing an image from the image file URL. Dimensions and credits should match the resource actually published.

Reference: Schema.org · ImageObject · Source consulted 2026-10-25

In practice: Describe an image actually present on the page and keep its dimensions and URL accurate.

Impression

Count of a potential display of a result, advertisement or content according to the platform’s rules.

In practice: Specify the surface and counting method before linking impressions to an outcome.

Inbound marketing

Approach attracting prospects through useful content and services before guiding them toward a commercial relationship.

In practice: Define the help offered before a sales request and measure genuinely useful enquiries.

Incident response

Organisation of preparation, detection, response and recovery for cybersecurity incidents. Responsibilities and communications are part of the arrangements.

Reference: NIST · SP 800-61 Rev. 3 · Incident response · Source consulted 2026-10-31

In practice: name a coordinator, record the time and affected journeys, then retry the function on the live site after a fix.

Incremental loading

Display of an initial result set before requesting or loading later items.

In practice: keep items reachable through links even with infinite scrolling.

Index

Organized database in which a search engine stores information understood about resources it may present.

In practice: Check the exact URL status in the engine’s tool before interpreting missing traffic.

IndexedDB

Transactional browser database for structured data. Storage remains subject to browser policies, quotas and possible deletion; it is not a guaranteed backup.

Reference: MDN : IndexedDB API

Source consulted : MDN · 2026-10-17

Test draft creation, version changes and removal on a shared device before retaining local information.

Indexing

Process by which a search engine analyzes a resource and decides to add, update or exclude it from its index.

Source consulted : Google Search Console : URL Inspection · 2026-10-09

In practice: Check the canonical URL, status and coverage reports before requesting another crawl.

Indexing report

Search-tool view of known, indexed or excluded URLs and reported reasons.

Source consulted : Google Search Console : URL Inspection · 2026-10-09

In practice: inspect important pages individually before acting on an exclusion.

IndexNow

Protocol for quickly notifying participating search engines that a URL was added, changed or removed.

In practice: submit URLs actually created or changed, then verify discovery without expecting guaranteed indexing.

Information architecture

Organization of content, categories, labels and navigation paths so information is easy to find and understand.

In practice: ask someone to find an answer without knowing your internal organisation.

Information gain

New value a piece of content adds beyond existing information through first-hand experience, data, a method or original analysis.

In practice: Add an original observation, example or method that genuinely helps beyond existing summaries.

Infrastructure as Code

Declarative, versioned management of servers, networks and services through files and automation tools.

In practice: Review the change plan and test its application in an isolated environment.

Interaction to Next Paint

Interaction to Next Paint (INP): responsiveness metric observing relevant interactions during a visit and their delay until the next paint. It does not describe only the first interaction.

Reference: web.dev : Interaction to Next Paint

In practice: Reproduce the slow action on a modest device and identify work blocking the next paint.

Interface component

Reusable element with a defined role and behaviour, such as a button, card or form field.

In practice: test the component with short, long and translated content.

Internal link

Link connecting two pages on the same website, useful for navigation, discovery and understanding structure.

In practice: Connect pages that genuinely extend an answer and name their destination clearly.

Internet of Things

Network of connected physical objects able to collect, exchange or process data.

In practice: List devices, updates and exchanged data before connecting them to a service.

IP address

Numerical identifier assigned to a device or server on a network using the Internet Protocol.

In practice: Find which service uses the address before connecting it to a domain or network rule.

IPTC photo metadata

Information embedded in an image describing its creator, credit, rights and reuse conditions. Check fields after export and optimisation: a transformation may remove metadata. Keep originals, derivatives and displayed credits traceable to each other.

Reference: IPTC · Photo Metadata · Source consulted 2026-10-25

In practice: Enter credit and rights only from information confirmed by the rights holder.

ISR

Incremental Static Regeneration: progressive updating of static pages without rebuilding the entire site for every change.

In practice: Define acceptable freshness and test what happens during an urgent update.