September 28, 2026

Glossary: White-Label Web Production, AEO and GEO Terms for Agencies

Glossary: white-label web production, AEO and GEO terms for agencies

This glossary defines 25 terms agencies meet when they outsource web production or work on their visibility in AI assistants. Each definition is short enough to quote and links to the related page when you need more detail.

Working with a production partner

White label

White-label production means one company produces a website, a campaign or content that another company sells and delivers under its own brand. The producer's name appears nowhere on the deliverables, and the reseller keeps the client relationship. For agencies, it adds production capacity without hiring. See how white-label web production for agencies works.

Subcontracting

Subcontracting is the legal form behind most white-label work: an agency entrusts part of a client project to another company, which performs it under the agency's responsibility. The agency stays accountable to its client for quality and deadlines, so the contract must cover scope, acceptance, confidentiality and data protection.

NDA (non-disclosure agreement)

A non-disclosure agreement is a contract in which the parties agree not to reveal confidential information shared during a collaboration. In white-label production, it usually covers the end client's data, the agency's pricing and methods, and the existence of the partnership itself. It should be signed before any project information is shared.

Non-solicitation clause

A non-solicitation clause forbids a partner from approaching the agency's clients, or accepting work from them directly, for an agreed period. It protects the client relationship, which is the agency's main asset in a white-label model. It is usually signed together with the NDA, before the first project.

GDPR processor agreement

Under Article 28 of the GDPR, when a company processes personal data on behalf of another company (the controller), a written contract must set out the subject, duration, nature and purpose of the processing, the types of data and the obligations of each party. In agency work, this applies when a partner handles form entries, customer accounts or analytics data.

Retainer

A retainer is a recurring agreement in which a client books a volume of work or capacity for a period, usually a month, instead of buying each project separately. It gives the client predictable availability and the provider a predictable workload. Retainers often come with a lower unit rate than one-off projects.

Day rate

A day rate is the price of one day of work by a person or a team. Freelancers and consultancies often price this way. It is easy to compare but leaves the risk of overruns with the buyer, which is why many agencies prefer a fixed-price quote per project for production work.

Staging

A staging environment is a private copy of a website where changes are built and reviewed before they go live. It lets the agency and its client check design, content and features without touching the public site. In white-label production, staging is where the agency validates the work before presenting it under its own brand.

Handoff

Handoff is the moment a finished deliverable passes from the producer to the agency or the client: files, access, documentation and any training needed to run the site. A clean handoff also means the producer's access is removed and that accounts, licences and hosting stay in the name of the agency or its client.

Figma fidelity

Figma fidelity describes how closely a built website matches the design created in Figma: spacing, typography, colours, layout and responsive behaviour. High fidelity means the integration reproduces the approved design instead of reinterpreting it. It is checked by comparing the build with the design at each screen size. Related: UX/UI design.

Visibility in search engines and AI assistants

AEO (answer engine optimization)

Answer engine optimization is the practice of structuring content so that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google Gemini and Claude can find it, understand it and quote it as a direct answer. It relies on clear questions and answers, precise definitions, structured data and consistent facts. More on AEO.

GEO (generative engine optimization)

Generative engine optimization is the practice of making a brand and its content the sources that generative engines rely on and cite when they write an answer. Beyond the website itself, it depends on how consistently the brand is described in directories, reviews and third-party publications. More on GEO.

Programmatic SEO

Programmatic SEO is the creation of many pages from a structured data set and a shared template, each page targeting a specific search, such as one service in one city. It works when every page adds real, distinct information. Pages that only swap a keyword are treated as low value by search engines. More on programmatic SEO.

llms.txt

llms.txt is a proposed convention: a plain-text file placed at the root of a website that gives AI systems a short summary of the site and curated links to its key pages. It is easy to publish, but it is a signal, not a control. AI systems are not obliged to read or follow it.

Structured data

Structured data is machine-readable information added to a page, usually in JSON-LD format with the schema.org vocabulary, that states what the page describes: an organization, a service, an article, a product or an FAQ. It helps search engines and AI systems identify entities and facts without guessing them from the text.

hreflang

hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language or regional versions of a page exist, for example the English and French versions of the same service page. Correct hreflang pairs send each audience to the right version and keep language versions from competing with each other in results.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are Google's metrics for real-user page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) for loading, Interaction to Next Paint (INP) for responsiveness and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for visual stability. Google's targets are an LCP within 2.5 seconds, an INP of 200 milliseconds or less and a CLS of 0.1 or less.

INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

INP measures how quickly a page responds visually after a user clicks, taps or types, across the whole visit rather than only the first interaction. It is the successor to First Input Delay (FID) among the Core Web Vitals. Heavy JavaScript and long tasks on the main thread are the usual causes of a poor INP.

Platforms and services

Webflow

Webflow is a hosted platform for designing, building and managing websites visually, with a built-in CMS and hosting. It suits marketing websites that need close design control and non-technical editors, without server maintenance. Custom code and integrations extend it where the visual tools stop. More on Webflow development.

WordPress and Elementor

WordPress is an open-source content management system that can be extended with themes and plugins. Elementor is a widely used visual page builder plugin for WordPress. Together they allow flexible layouts, but they need regular updates and a controlled list of plugins to stay fast and secure. More on WordPress development.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. It turns a WordPress site into an online store with a catalogue, cart, checkout and order management, and extends through add-ons for payments, shipping and tax rules. It suits stores that need custom business rules and full ownership of their data.

Shopify

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform that provides the store, checkout, payments and hosting as a subscription. Merchants customise it with themes and apps instead of managing servers. It suits brands that want a reliable checkout and a fast launch, with design freedom through a custom theme. More on Shopify development.

PrestaShop

PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce platform, widely used in France and elsewhere in Europe. The merchant hosts it and extends it with modules and themes, keeping full control over code and data. It suits catalogues with complex product options and stores that need European payment and carrier integrations. More on PrestaShop development.

ChatGPT Ads

ChatGPT Ads are advertising placements shown to users inside ChatGPT and sold by OpenAI. They let a brand appear in conversations related to its offer, in addition to the organic visibility earned through AEO and GEO. As the channel is young, formats and targeting options are still evolving. More on ChatGPT Ads.

AI website rescue

AI website rescue is the repair and completion of websites or applications generated with AI coding tools that do not work as expected: broken features, security gaps, poor performance or code nobody can maintain. The work usually starts with an audit, then stabilises, secures and documents the project so a team can run it. More on AI app and website rescue.