Course overview
By the end of the course you will be aware of all the aspects involved in creating a well designed website. This course includes, exploring and creating a design brief, using your brand online, ensuring continuity, and how to ensure you have an effective website.

Who should attend
This course is intended for those who are planning or who are already involved in the development or management of a website and understand general design and procurement terminology but would like to understand more about the process and the techniques used.

Course contents

Day 1
Design principals introduction
Successful online implementations
Successful online brands
Transferring a brand online
What to avoid
Ensuring customer expectation: Identifying an audience; Understanding an audience; Providing relevant information: Understand underlying data delivery mechanisms
Example sites to critic (to be detailed)
Usability: Customer need and experience; Ability to access content - different interfaces; Limits and concerns of customer; Reassuring customer via brand and quality of product; Navigation strategies - good practice; Information hierarchies - ensuring minimum click through
Determine core data: Main menus and footer menus; Deep hyperlinking; Avoiding orphaned pages
Online Editorial/copy issues
Differentiating information
Key points
Information flows and logical sequences
Creating effective headings
Shortening sentences
Paragraph structures
Active and passive writing
Bullets and numbering
Scrolling and inverted pyramid techniques
Intuitive information structures
Routes to information - keeping it flat
Maximum clicks policy
Creating a site map - menu options
Creating a site map - using folders and files

Day 2
XHTML 1.0 transitional specification
Current and future developments: XML, HTML 5, XHTML, Style Sheets, etc
Keeping data separate from delivery mechanism: Templates; Databases and SQL queries; Server side includes
Content delivery mechanisms: databases, content management systems
Browser/platform compatibility issues
Use of Meta-data techniques and policies
Accessibility issues: Online readers - e.g. Jaws, Menu skipping - HTML and Flash; Logical versus physical HTML; Font sizing; Style sheet compatibility issues; HTML validation tools; Correct use of comment coding; Naming conventions; Version controlling; PC/Apple Mac
The use of colour: 'Web safe' colours; Navigation techniques using colour; Readability
Text and Navigation: Strategic phrases: Word repetition in text and navigation
Practical: Introduction to chosen software; Software problems/versions; Homesite/Dreamweaver
Using and customising software for best results
Using libraries and/or snippets
Customising menus and using inbuilt testing tools
Creating templates form pre-prepared graphics and site maps

Day 3
The use of images: For content, for navigation, JavaScript, Flash, etc
Screen resolutions
DPI/PPI
Screen sizes
Scanning images
Digital cameras
Maximum file sizes
Avoiding unnecessary scrolling
Graphic navigation techniques - good practice
Alternative text - good practice
Using the GIFF image format: Indexed colour and colour palettes; Using colours; Adding different colours to an existing palette; GIFF 87a; GIFF 89a; Anti-aliasing; LZW compression; Horizontal over vertical designs; Interlacing; Other issues
Using the JPEG image format: JPEG compression algorithm; Hiding compression artefacts; Problems with flat colour; Progressive/standard encoding
PNG
TIFF
PSD
Planning the 'look and feel'
Using layout tools - Style Sheets
Converting graphics and adding to XHTML templates using tables
Testing screen resolutions and scrolling

Day 4
Planning a site from a tender: Create site map; Set-up test navigation; Differentiation of site sections; Determine core data; Main menus and footer menus; Create colour schemes
Setting up a template
Use selected software and built-in tools to check for file sizes and linking errors: Find and replace; Extended find and replace; Code validation
Group critic of work produced
Online/offline support resources
Evaluation process
Report to client

Related courses
Web Design Principles (2 days)
Creating and Publishing a Website

How to book
Please call us now on 020 8658 6994 or email us at admin@alphatraining.com

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