Website Design & Development

Digital Technologies: Unit 16 (R/615/1633)

Wireless, public hotspots, mobile broadband and unlimited network connections means 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 successfully use technology to deliver a high quality and consistent User Experiences (UX) through friendly and functional User Interfaces (UI). However, as the software and hardware evolves, so does the challenge of design.

This unit introduces students to the underpinning services required to host, manage and access a secure website before introducing and exploring the methods used by designers and developers to blend back-end technologies (server-side) with front-end technologies (client-side). To help ensure new designers are able to design and deliver a site that offers an outstanding User Experience (UX) supported by an innovative User Interface (UI) this unit also discusses the reasons, requirements, relationships, capabilities and features of the systems they will be using and gives them an opportunity to explore various tools, techniques and technologies with ‘good design’ principles 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 this unit students will be able to explain 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 they will develop skills such as communication literacy, critical thinking, analysis, reasoning and interpretation, which are crucial for gaining employment and developing academic competence.

Learning Outcomes
  • LO1 Explain server technologies and management services associated with hosting and managing websites
  • LO2 Categorise website technologies, tools and software used to develop websites
  • LO3 Utilise website technologies, tools and techniques with good design principles to create a multipage website
  • LO4 Create and use a Test Plan to review the performance and design of a multipage website.