Qualification - CERTIFICATE IN WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT VIT002

Study Website Development and Web Site Design

Why choose this course?

Website Development has become a huge industry; and there is high demand for developers who can bring results. I.T. Staff at ACS are world leaders in web site development, rest assured you will be trained by experts.This certificate teaches the most in demand web development tools like HTML, ASP.net, Visual Studio.net, Flash, E-commerce and Digital photography.

Career Opportunities

Web developer, Web specialist, Web programmer

Study Web Site Development and Web Site Design

Learn from developers and programmers who have been teaching website development since 1993.

COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONTENTS

To obtain this certificate, you need to complete a TOTAL of six modules: three compulsory, and the other three electives.

Compulsory Modules are:

HTML
Javascript
Graphic Design

Electives:

You must choose and complete three of the following:

SQL Databases
Information Security
E Commerce
Multimedia Flash
ASP.Net
Digital Photography
Photoshop
Visual Basic.Net

Outlines of Some of these Modules

Writing a Web Site (HTML)

Introduction to the Internet and HTML
The most important HTML Tags
Simplification through HTML Construction Software
Creating Links
Loading a Site onto the Internet
Adding Graphics
Designing a Web Site that Works
Advanced Features

Javascript
1. Introduction
2. JavaScript Essentials I
3. JavaScript Essentials 2
4. Functions
5. Events and Event handling
6. Advanced JavaScript
7. Dynamic HTML
8. Emails, Forms and Form Validation
9. Pop Ups and Navigation Menus
10. JavaScript Applications

Graphic Design
1. Scope and Nature of Graphic Design
2. Design Fundamentals - line, tone, colour, etc.
3. Colour Theory and Applications
4. Typography
5. Illustration - methods & techniques
6. Logotype Design
7. Layout Design
8. Design Systems and the Design Industry - design briefs, how to bid for jobs, etc.
9. Comparative Design - lessons from other designers (lots of research)
10. Design Project - a practical project applying everything prior to this.

E-Commerce

Introduction - what is e-commerce (more than the internet)
Success and failure - what makes the difference
Promotional strategies - are different on the internet
Optimizing web site potential
Increasing web site exposure
Automating supply of goods, services and cash flow
Managing constant change
Dealing with e-commerce problems

Digital Photography

Introduction To Digital Technology
Equipment
Digital Technology - Colour, resolution, sensors
Digital Cameras
Taking Photographs
Scanners
Uploading Images
The Digital Darkroom
Compositing & Imaging - Production & manipulation of images
Special Effects
Outputs & Applications- Printers, The Internet

Macromedia Flash

Comprehensive module on Macromedia Flash MX. This course will take you from the very basics of flash right up to developing interactive multimedia web solutions. There are twelve lessons in total, as outlined below:

Introduction to Flash
Using the Flash MX editor
Drawing & Colour
Working with objects & symbols
Working with text
Working with graphics
Animation
Actionscript
Using audio in your movies
Using video in your movies
Components
Publishing

ASP.NET

ASP.net is a program used to develop web sites. It has very real advantages over HTML (which is more widely used) and other web site programs (e.g. It will download sites much faster, and search engines are likely to rank ASP.net programs higher than others). There are 11 lessons as follows:

Introduction
VB.NET Essentials
Web Forms
Web Server Controls
Form Validation
Classes and Namespaces
Creating ASP.NET Applications
ADO.NET
Error Handling
Email from your Applications
Project: Creating an Online Store

Information Security
1. Introduction to Information Security
2. Information Security Ethics
3. Data Integrity and Backing up
4. Vulnerabilities of Operating Systems and Information Systems
5. Risk Management
6. Information Security Technologies, Developments and Initiatives
7. Physical Security
8. Developing a security Policy
9. Implementing and revising a security policy
10.Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
11.Information Security Maintenance

Visual Basic Programming.Net

Introduction
Variables
Understanding conditional statements
I/O handling
Controls and Objects – An Introduction
Structured Programming using Modules
Properties, methods, events & classes
Inheritance
Polymorphism
Using controls
Debugging
Developing a complete VB.NET application

Course Duration: 600 hours

How to be Successful on a Web Site

Developing a web site that looks good is only part of what it takes. At the end of the day, looking good does not make a site successful if no one ever visits it.

The most successful web site developers are always going to be the ones who are best at "optimising" the sites they develop. This is an area of web development that we have had a lot of experience with. To see how successful we are, you only need to try searching for "horticulture distance education" -see how many listings come up and where ACS comes!

How do we do it?

The things you need to do keep changing, there are some hints below. If you really want to learn though, you need to do a course like this certificate with an institution like ours that knows how to get the runs on the board.

1. Main Page Content should contain lots of “appropriate” searchable words. We have added varied lists of courses to the bottom of several sites which greatly increases words that can be searched on the main page. It is not as simple as copying our lists though –search engines would simply recognize these as a copy. If you add lists, they need to be synonymous but different words.

2. Proliferate the use of important Key Words – Make a list of words that people use when they search for a course or distance education. Try to include such words on the main page first; then work them into content on other pages.

3. Metatags – These are hidden words which the site visitor does not see, but search engines can identify. They are put into the pages by web site programmers.

4. Page Titles - Often all or most pages have similar titles and relatively simple titles that do not optimize rankings.

5. Link Swaps -You should strive to have links from sites that are relevant (similar disciplines) and ranking as well or better than you. Links from poorly ranked sites can even have a negative affect on your rankings and should be rejected.

6. Content –Quantity is important; but only if it is also quality. When you write things off the net (articles, newsletters etc) add them to the web site

7. Be Different - If search engines recognize your content as being too identical to other sites.

8. Frequent changes – The site must appear to be dynamic. Search engines identify sites that change frequently. The ideal may be to change something on every page weekly, though this is often impractical.

9. Navigation should be easy …. Keep words/icons that are clicked on unambiguous, visible and short and movement from place to place around a site should be logical. Pages should cross link to each other so you can move around easily and logically without needing to return to the main page.

10. Minimize clicks through – The more times a person needs to click from the main page, the less chance the page will be visited and given serious attention. Good design allows all important pages and information to be reached and read without more than one or two clicks from the main page.

11. Make it easy to take action – ACS does this with several click here features

12. Capture your visitors (e.g. Click to subscribe to newsletter) then act on what you capture. Be aware of the law though….several countries have tight laws on how you can capture and use email addresses.

13. Pages should download fast – Include photos, but avoid large images (2-10kb images are OK; 100kb images can be a real problem). The computer language used for the site can also be important (eg. ASP.Net2 downloads faster than html).

14. Graphics – Images and colour help hold people on a site longer and encourage bookmarking…. But they need to be attractive and professional (& small downloads)

15. Colour – Warm colours (reds, browns, yellows) encourage action more than cool colours. Cool colours relax a person more than warm. Colour schemes that are different attract more attention. Contracting colours can be used to focus attention where you want.

16. Target what you do –You need to focus everything you do on the sort of people who are most likely to enroll in courses

17. Support Web sites off the Web - It’s a well known marketing fact that people are more inclined to buy things if they are seen in 3 or more different places. The internet can be your primary focus; but other marketing activities are needed to raise visibility in secondary places (eg. posters, advertising, trade shows, press releases, magazine articles etc) in order to provide secondary support to the internet.

18. Add Video – Small downloadable video clips are increasing useful –but they must be relevant & topical. Content is more important than video quality

19. Article submissions – submit articles to top ranking article submission web sites; and include one or two (not more) links to your site. Some of these sites are in the top 100-500 ranked web sites world wide. This is a way you can achieve linking back from some of the highest ranked web sites.

Use IT expertise in conjunction with Product Expertise – We have often found that results suffer if you don’t properly marry a knowledge of I.T. with a knowledge of education and the courses you offer. Giving the work to an IT professional who is briefed on what is required may result in less than perfect selection and use of content (e.g. key words). Giving the job to an education professional with limited IT expertise may result in better choices for content; but poorer use of the content.