Glossary
Plain-language definitions for the terms that come up when you set up WhatsApp lead capture, route website visitors to a sales team, or compare chat widgets. Written for operators — real estate agents, plumbers, clinic owners, e-commerce founders, and SaaS teams — not for vendors selling you the next acronym.
Linked entries open a longer page with the full definition, key facts, and frequently asked questions. Unlinked entries are short stubs that will get their own page soon.
Lead routing concepts
How website visitors get assigned to the right person on your team — the building blocks of a modern lead distribution stack.
- Lead routing → The rules and software that send each new lead to the right sales agent, automatically.
- Round-robin distribution → The simplest fair-share routing pattern: each new lead goes to the next agent in a rotation.
- Speed-to-lead → How fast you respond to a new inbound lead. Under 5 minutes is the practical industry benchmark.
- First-response time Elapsed time between lead arrival and first human reply. The single biggest predictor of conversion.
- Lead scoring Assigning each lead a number (or hot/warm/cold label) so the team works the most likely buyers first.
- Geo-routing Routing leads to agents based on the visitor's country, region, or city.
WhatsApp specifics
WhatsApp is the dominant channel for SMB sales in most of the world. These are the terms that decide whether your setup is compliant, cheap, or both.
- WhatsApp Business API → Meta's paid, per-conversation API for bulk WhatsApp messaging — and when you don't actually need it.
- Click-to-chat → A link or button that opens a pre-filled WhatsApp chat on the visitor's device. Free, instant, no API.
- wa.me link WhatsApp's official click-to-chat URL format. Free, works on any device, no setup required.
- WhatsApp Business app The free WhatsApp app for small businesses. Distinct from the paid Business API.
- WhatsApp ban risk The chance Meta blocks a number for breaking automation or messaging rules. Higher on unofficial API tools.
- Conversation pricing How the WhatsApp Business API charges: per 24-hour conversation window, with rates that vary by country and category.
Sales velocity metrics
How operations and revenue teams measure whether their lead flow is healthy — and where it leaks.
- Conversion rate Percentage of leads that turn into customers. The denominator everyone wants to grow.
- Time to first contact Operations-level metric for how long a lead waits before anyone touches it. Cousin of speed-to-lead.
- Lead leakage Leads that arrive but never get a reply — usually because they fell into the wrong inbox or arrived after hours.
- Pipeline velocity How fast deals move from new lead to closed-won. Speed-to-lead is the first input.
Widget & website terms
The technical pieces that sit on your website and make routing happen.
- Chat widget The floating button (usually bottom-right) that opens a chat or messaging menu on your site.
- Shadow DOM A browser feature that lets a widget's CSS never leak into — or be broken by — the host site's styles.
- Core Web Vitals Google's three page-experience metrics (LCP, INP, CLS). Heavy chat widgets routinely tank them.
- Visitor identification Inferring which company or visitor type is browsing — usually from IP / ASN data — before they say hello.
Keep exploring
The glossary is the index. The longer how-to material lives in the guides and articles.
- All guides → Step-by-step setup for WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, and more.
- Articles & insights → Longer reads on speed-to-lead, attribution, and WhatsApp strategy.
- Speed-to-lead calculator → See what a 5-minute vs 5-hour response time costs your pipeline.