Website Design.

Designing A Website

Web design skills are highly sought after as governments, industries, businesses and individuals are becoming ever more reliant on this medium as a form of communication. The continuous advancement of new technologies is enabling rapid developments of innovative ways to communicate, order and present information, including visuals and texts through video and audio media, with web design an exciting and key element of this expansion. 

Audiences are becoming increasingly proficient in navigating, accessing and sharing information and adapting to new technologies. It is important that artists and designers embrace new technology and new forms of accessing the internet and develop skills, knowledge and understanding in order to communicate ideas effectively in a highly competitive and progressive sector. 

Learners will develop their understanding of how design, technology and accessibility are used in the web design industry. They will also develop an understanding of the potential benefits of using relevant technologies to communicate information on screen.

 Content, coding, formats and modes of delivery and accessibility will be explored. Learners will address system platforms, browsers and displays. It is expected that web technologies and use of equipment will be taught as a foundation on which to build understanding, creativity and skills.

 Learners will be given specific themes and/or assignment briefs to focus their work and guide them through investigations and experimentation with hardware and software. Briefs will be designed within a relevant vocational context and take into consideration new industrial developments in computer hardware and software technology. 

These skills will help learners’ progress and adapt to a vocational environment where web design plays an increasingly important role.

 Know about website design technologies

Website design: applications eg web browsers, worldwide web, Uniform Resource Locator (URL); configuration eg content, layout, structure, appearance, general preferences, editor preferences, history, defaults, reload, download, upload, cookies, bookmarks; servers eg local, remote, file sharing; web applications eg email, file sharing, ecommerce, voice over internet protocol (VOIP)

Technologies: functions; features; user enhancement; current technologies eg HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Extensible HTML (XHTML), Dynamic HTML (DHTML), Cookies, JavaScript, Perl, ASP, Java, client side interactive scripts, server side scripts, database driven web pages; publishing eg File Transfer

Understand website design issues

Website design issues: effectiveness eg purpose, fitness for purpose, aesthetic qualities; content eg websafe,colours, image formats, font families, speakers and audio; layout eg HTML, tables, layers, CSS; readability, content, accessibility eg colours, navigation, target audience, fonts, aesthetic qualities, image,formats, layout, backgrounds, size, scrolling; Human Computer Interaction (HCI); platforms; web browsers; downloading eg modem, broadband, speed, economy, memory; client side constraints eg hardware, software, monitor resolution, size, memory, internet connection; plug-ins eg video player, SWF player, Shockwave player, audio player.

Be able to produce interactive web pages to a given theme or assignment brief

Interactive web pages: HTML eg tables, text, font, colour, layers, frames, body, links, anchors; edit, modify, insert code; format with CSS; hardware; software; computers; hardware devices eg desktop, laptop, mobile telephone, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), gaming device, digital camera, scanner; backup eg internal, external, storage devices; webpage design software; webpage publishing software; content development software eg image manipulation, SWF, 3D, video, Shockwave and audio; content; text; images eg JPEG, GIF, animated GIF, PNG; interactive; advanced content eg DHTML, Javascript, Shockwave, Image maps, Slices, SWF, audio, video, database; conventions eg World Wide Web, Consortium (W3C), Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Be able to review own website design work

Review: effectiveness eg fitness for purpose, relevance, target audience, clarity; accessibility eg audiences, ages, abilities; vocational application; relevance eg navigation format, content; language; technology; hardware; software; constraints; interaction; potential.

Website Design 

Be able to produce a website

Purpose: audience; device considerations (PC, mobile device, browser
software)

Content: eg text, images, animation, video, sounds, music, Web 2.0
content (social networking, information sharing)

Plan: page layout sketches (page design briefs, storyboards); site map;
legal and ethical considerations; copyright permissions

see also
http://memphis2010-anythingtodowithdesign.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/digital-communication_51.html

Structure: site structure, eg index page, linked content pages; page
layout, eg consistency, heading style, body style, colour scheme; folder
management (images subfolder); page naming conventions; template;
style sheets; hyperlinks; page structure, eg head, body, metatags

Software: hypertext markup language (HTML); cascading style sheets
(css); text editor, eg Notepad; visual editor, eg Dreamweaver

Testing: accessibility; code; link; spelling; preview; documented test
results.

Upload: file transfer protocol (FTP)

Reflective practice: finished product (compared with original intentions,
fitness for purpose, technical qualities, aesthetic qualities, content,
style); production skills; ideas generation; planning; preparation;
workflow and time management; technical competence; project
management; monitoring work in progress; creative ability; own work;

teamwork ; self-evaluation; comments from others, eg audience, peers,
tutors, client; documentation, eg notes, sketches, storyboards,
production logs

Developing a Website