---
title: Key concepts in plain words (glossary)
description: "Short, plain definitions of the words used in Hive Mail, from contact, list and segment to double opt-in, merge tag, flow, bounce and cron."
url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hive-mail-key-concepts-glossary/"
updated: "2026-10-28"
category: Hive Mail
---

# Key concepts in plain words (glossary)

Short definitions of the words you meet in Hive Mail, with a link to the page that covers each in full.

## People and consent

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Contact** | One person you can email, identified by a unique email address. See [Contacts](/docs/hive-mail-contacts/). |
| **Status** | A contact's permission to be emailed: Pending, Subscribed, Unsubscribed, Transactional, Bounced or Complained. See [Contact statuses](/docs/hive-mail-contact-statuses/). |
| **Transactional** | A person who gets service emails only, such as order receipts, and never campaigns. |
| **Consent** | A person's agreement to get your email. Hive Mail records when and how it was given. It is the site owner's responsibility. See [Consent and the law](/docs/hive-mail-consent-and-the-law-guide/). |
| **Double opt-in** | After signing up, the person gets an email with a button. They are subscribed only when they press it. See [Double opt-in](/docs/hive-mail-double-opt-in/). |
| **Unsubscribe** | A person leaving your marketing emails. Every marketing email has an unsubscribe link. See [Unsubscribe and preference pages](/docs/hive-mail-unsubscribe-and-preference-pages/). |
| **Do-not-email memory** | When someone who unsubscribed or bounced is deleted for good, Hive Mail keeps a one-way fingerprint of the address so imports and forms cannot add them back by mistake. |

## Organising your audience

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **List** | A named group you email together, like "Newsletter". A person can be on many lists. See [Lists](/docs/hive-mail-lists/). |
| **Public list** | A list people can see and choose on the email preferences page. |
| **Tag** | A coloured label on a contact, such as "VIP". See [Tags](/docs/hive-mail-tags/). |
| **Custom field** | An extra detail kept on every contact, such as "Plan". Each becomes a merge tag. See [Custom fields](/docs/hive-mail-custom-fields/). |
| **Segment** | A saved filter that finds everyone matching your rules right now. Unlike a list, it updates itself. See [Segments](/docs/hive-mail-segments/). |
| **Trash** | Where deleted contacts wait 30 days before they are removed for good. |
| **Signup form / connected form** | A form built in Hive Mail, or a form from another plugin whose submissions become contacts. See [Signup forms](/docs/hive-mail-signup-forms/). |

## Writing and sending

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Campaign** | One email you write and send, now or later, to a chosen audience. See [Create a campaign](/docs/hive-mail-create-and-send-a-campaign/). |
| **Template** | A saved email design you can reuse. See [Templates](/docs/hive-mail-templates/). |
| **Merge tag** | A placeholder such as `{{first_name}}` replaced with each person's details. A fallback after a bar, as in `{{first_name |
| **Preview text** | The short line many mail apps show after the subject. |
| **A/B test** | Two subject lines sent to small groups to see which does better. See [A/B subject tests](/docs/hive-mail-ab-subject-tests/). |
| **Brand kit** | Your logo, colours and font that new emails start from. See [The brand kit](/docs/hive-mail-brand-kit/). |
| **Marketing and service email** | Marketing email promotes something and needs consent. A service email is about something the person did, such as an order. |

## Delivery

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Delivery method** | What carries your emails out: WordPress mail (your SMTP plugin or host), Mailgun or SendGrid. See [How Hive Mail sends email](/docs/hive-mail-how-hive-mail-sends-email/). |
| **Queue** | The waiting line of emails, sent at the speed you set. |
| **Bounce** | An email that could not be delivered. Hard means the mailbox does not exist; soft means a temporary problem such as a full mailbox. |
| **Complaint** | A person marking your email as spam. |
| **Suppression list** | Addresses Hive Mail never emails: bounces, complaints, ones you blocked and people who asked to stop. See [Bounces and suppressions](/docs/hive-mail-bounces-and-suppressions/). |
| **Webhook** | A web address one service calls to tell another that something happened. See [Webhooks and API keys](/docs/hive-mail-webhooks-and-api-keys/). |
| **SPF, DKIM, DMARC** | Records in your domain settings that prove an email comes from you. See [Is my site ready to send email?](/docs/hive-mail-is-my-site-ready-to-send/). |
| **Cron and WP-Cron** | The timer that sends queued email. Cron runs on a server; WP-Cron is WordPress's own and only wakes up when someone visits. See [Scheduled sending and cron](/docs/hive-mail-scheduled-sending-and-cron/). |

## Automation, shops and visitors

| Word | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **Flow** | Steps that run by themselves for each person. See [Automation basics](/docs/hive-mail-automation-basics/). |
| **Trigger, step** | The trigger starts a flow, for example "a person joins a list". A step is one action or decision in it. See [Triggers](/docs/hive-mail-triggers/) and [Steps](/docs/hive-mail-steps/). |
| **Recipe** | A ready-made flow you can switch on and change. See [Automation recipes](/docs/hive-mail-automation-recipes/). |
| **Run** | One person's trip through one flow. See [Runs & Logs](/docs/hive-mail-runs-and-logs-and-flow-reports/). |
| **Abandoned cart** | A shopper who put things in a cart and left. See [Abandoned cart recovery](/docs/hive-mail-abandoned-cart-recovery/). |
| **Attributed revenue** | Orders credited to an email the buyer clicked. See [Reports and revenue](/docs/hive-mail-reports-and-revenue/). |
| **Visitor tracking** | An optional script that records visits to your site. See [Turn on visitor tracking](/docs/hive-mail-turn-on-visitor-tracking/). |
| **Engagement score** | A number on each contact that rises when they open, click or visit. See [The contact profile](/docs/hive-mail-contact-profile/). |

Next: [A tour of the screens](/docs/hive-mail-tour-of-the-screens/), [Frequently asked questions](/docs/hive-mail-frequently-asked-questions/).