1. Introduction
The internet is perhaps the most important IT development of the last few decades. It provides new ways to communicate and share information. It has also revolutionised the way people and businesses use IT.
Businesses can now take part in a global marketplace, widening their scope for potential customers, all from a local base and with relatively low start-up costs. The need for good web designers and developers continues to grow as more and more companies realise they must develop a web presence and keep it maintained and updated. As web technologies develop there is an increasing need for websites to be interactive. This allows two-way communication between the user and the website.
The number of websites on the World Wide Web has increased dramatically and competition is very fierce. This means that designers must employ increasingly sophisticated techniques to capture interest, as well as ensuring that an appropriate company image is presented. Usability issues, such as navigation methods, must be considered carefully. A poorly-designed structure could result in users becoming confused or frustrated and navigating away from the website.
Learners will be.g.in this unit by evaluating existing websites, in the context of cross-platforms, range of browsers, and design features. Designing websites, which are accessible to all types of users, is a fundamental aspect of any website design.
This unit also considers the whole process from identification of need, design, implementation, testing, maintenance and review. It is important that learners do not just develop skills in specific techniques but are also able to select when and where they are most appropriate, basing this decision on client and user needs. As with any field of IT, a comprehensive understanding of the relevant legislation and guidelines is always fundamental.
1.1. Aim
To enable learners to understand the concepts of website design and apply their own creativity in designing and developing interactive websites.
1.2. Objectives
On successful completion of this unit a learner will:
1. Understand website design concepts
2. Be able to design interactive websites
3. Be able to implement interactive websites
4. Be able to test interactive websites
2.0. Unit / Module Content
1 Understand website design concepts
Users: types e.g. expert, regular, occasional, novice, special needs; requirements e.g. psychological, cultural, social and environmental, health and safety, education and work
Site analysis: purpose e.g. communication, real-time information, commercial, government, education, business, entertainment, downloading/uploading, web storage; fit for purpose e.g. meets organisational and site objectives; planning e.g. storyboarding, structure, hypermedia linkage, search engine key words, graphical design, user interface, audio/video sources, animation, text design; maintenance e.g. plans, logs, disaster recovery, testing
Accessibility: features e.g. alternative text, resizable fonts, support for screen readers, adjustable fonts; current standards and legislation e.g. Disability Discrimination Act, Data Protection Act, e-Commerce Regulations Act, Computer Misuse Act, W3C validation, copyright and intellectual property rights
Design: rules and heuristics for good website design; accessibility; functionality e.g. timings, navigation, ease of use, user-friendliness; evaluation tools e.g. W3C Mark-up
Validation Service Environment: features e.g. Uniform Resource Locators (URL),
Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML), Dynamic Hypertext Mark-up Language (DHTML), Extensible Mark-up Language (XML), Java Programming, JavaScript, Java Applets, plug-ins, client and server-side scripting languages; multimedia e.g. animation, sound/visual effects; hardware and software requirements e.g. computer platforms, operating systems, application software; browser behaviour e.g. execute scripting languages, display Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), applets, Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
2 Be able to design interactive websites
Identification of need: nature of interactivity e.g. online transactions, static versus dynamic; client needs and user needs e.g. image, level of security, development timescales, maintenance contracts, costs, search engine visibility; end user need e.g. appropriateness of graphics, complexity of site, delivery of content
Design tools: concept designs e.g. mood boards, story boards; layout techniques e.g. frames, tables, block level containers, inline containers; templates; colour schemes; screen designs
3 Be able to implement interactive websites
Structure: layout of pages; navigation; format of content; Cascading Style Sheets (CSS); page elements, e.g. headings, rules, frames, buttons, text and list boxes, hyperlinks/anchors, graphical images, clickable images/maps; interactive features e.g. product catalogue, shopping cart; images and animation Content: correct and appropriate; reliability of information source; structured for purpose e.g. prose, bullets, tables Development: mark-up languages e.g. (HTML), (XHTML), (DHTML); client side scripting languages e.g. JavaScript, Visual Basic (VB) script; features and advantages of software languages; web authoring software tools Tools and techniques: navigation diagram e.g. linear, hierarchy or matrix; building interactivity tools e.g. pseudo-code for client-server scripting; adding animation and audio/visual elements; ensuring compliance with W3C; meta-tagging; cascading style sheets
4 Be able to test interactive websites
Review: functionality testing (user environments, links and navigation); content; check user requirements; user acceptance; audit trail of changes Mechanisms: types e.g. browser compatibility testing, platform testing, script-language testing; valid (HTML) code; checking functionality against requirements, check internal and external hyperlinks (web files, web documents, images), error detection, error messages, dry running Supportive documentation: test plan; test results; programmer guidance; user guidance: onscreen help
TASK 1 to TASK 4:
You are required to follow the instructions as specified towards each task and support with research by using supportive materials like books, websites, etc., and give feedback on the findings by relating your arguments to the relevant case study as specified towards each task. Your report should fully follow the Harvard Referencing model.
TASK 1:
LO1 Understand website design concepts
The objective for this task is to address and exhibit an understanding on website design concepts. You are required to address the task as specified and research by using supportive materials like books, Journals, websites, etc. to address the learning outcomes as specified. Please note that the research and subjective skill needs to exhibit transferable skill by reflecting it to the case study. Answers reflected without reflective practice will be referred. [Read about ASP DOT NET Programming Assignment]
P1.1- You need to understand various design concepts to choose and use an appropriate Website design for Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd. Discuss the design concepts that have to be considered when designing a website for Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd (AC 1.1).
TASK 2:
LO2 Be able to design interactive websites
You are required to carry out a research, by using supportive materials like books, websites, etc., in addition to using the case study and give a feedback for the findings on P2.1 and P2.2. The answers need to be reflected to the Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd. case study chosen for the purpose. Answers without application to the chosen case study will be marked as resubmission
P2.1. For the case study given above consider User requirements, target audience, content of the website and so on and design a design an interactive website to meet the requirements of Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd. (AC 2.1).
P2.2 Evaluate your website design with other users for Effectiveness, Efficiency, Reliability, and Compliance (AC 2.2).
TASK 3:
LO3. Be able to implement interactive websites
You are required to carry out a research, implement a website for the given scenario and exhibit an understanding to be able to implement the project within agreed procedures and to specification. The purpose of any design is to function as a blue print and aid in the implementation. Hence this task is about effectively and accurately implementing your design and creating a functional website which meets all pre-defined requirements
3.1 Implement your website design effectively and create a fully-functional interactive website for Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd. that meets the given requirements and your design (AC 3.1).
TASK 4:
LO4 Be able to test interactive websites
You are required to carry out a practical research work and submit a report. Following implementation of your web site for Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd., you now need to use a range of techniques to review and test it, suggesting further development as appropriate, including the provision of onscreen help for users and a support manual for future site managers and answer P4.1 through P4.5
4.1 Employ a range of testing methods across the whole website for functionality, navigation and so on and critically review it (AC 4.1).
4.2 The objective of testing is to find out the differences, if any, between ‘expected results’ and ‘actual results’. Conduct an analysis on the actual test results against expected results to identify and report any discrepancies (AC 4.2)
4.3 Evaluate independent feedback on the website and make recommendations in your report, for improvements (AC 4.3).
4.4 Create onscreen help to assist the users of Shiny Kitchen Worktops Ltd. (AC 4.4).
4.5 Create documentation for the support and maintenance of the website (AC 4.5).
On achieving the above PASS criteria you also have the opportunity to achieve higher grades [Merit / Distinction] as detailed below;
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