About 8. Website Design & Development

Wireless, public hotspot, mobile broadband and unlimited network connections mean that accessing and using the internet to request, use and post information has never been so easy, or so important. As public, organisational and business demand increases so does user expectation. Designers need to use technology successfully to deliver high-quality and consistent User Experiences (UX) through friendly and functional User Interfaces (UI). However, as the software and hardware evolve so does the challenge of design. 

This unit introduces students to the underpinning services required to host, manage and access a secure website. Students will then be introduced to and explore the methods used by designers and developers to blend back-end technologies (server side) with front-end technologies (client-side). To help ensure that new designers are able to design and deliver a site that offers an outstanding User Experience (UX) supported by an innovative User Interface (UI), students will discuss the reasons, requirements, relationships, capabilities and features of the systems they will be using. This gives them an opportunity to explore various tools, techniques and technologies with ‘good design’ principles in order to plan, design and review a multipage website. 

Among the topics included in this unit are: domain structure, domain name systems, web protocols, database servers, development frameworks, website publishing, content management, search engine optimisation, web browsers, HTML standards, CSS and CSS pre-processing (LESS, SASS), presentation models, responsive design, integrated development environments, user requirements, interface design, user experience, branding, navigation, optimisation and validation. 

On successful completion of the unit, students will be able to explain the server technologies and management services associated with the hosting and management of secure websites, categorise website technologies, tools and software used to develop websites, utilise website technologies, tools and techniques with good design principles to create a multipage website and create and use a Test Plan to review the 
performance and design of a multipage website. 

As a result, students will develop skills such as communication literacy, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning and interpretation, which are crucial for gaining employment and developing academic competence.