Overview
This course is designed to introduce students to the conceptual, design, and technical aspects of developing web sites. No prior knowledge of programming, or web or graphic design is assumed or necessary.
In the course, we will cover basic web technologies such as eXtensible HyperText Markup Language (XHTML), Cascading StyleSheets (CSS), beginning server programming using PHP, along with basic graphic design techniques in Adobe Photoshop. The course also addresses design principles, usability concerns for the web, user testing, and a number of other theories and principles to assist you in designing your website.
Meeting Times
This course meets for lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:30-3:20 in Philips 101. Sections meet on Fridays in the ACCEL Labs at the following times/rooms:
| Time | Location | TA |
| 12:20pm - 1:10pm | Accel Red | Irina Dubinskaya |
| 12:20pm - 1:10pm | Accel Orange | Katherine Wheeler |
| 1:25pm - 2:15pm | Accel Red | Kevin Lin |
| 1:25pm - 2:15pm | Accel Orange | Susanne Forbath |
| 2:30pm - 3:20pm | Accel Red | Alistair Ballantine |
| 2:30pm - 3:20pm | Accel Orange | Laewoo Kang |
Please note that section attendance is required.
First section is on Friday, August 26th. If you are not registered for the class yet, please attend the section that best works for your schedule.
Textbooks
The following textbooks are required for this course:
- Watrall, (WA) Head First Web Design
- Krug, (DMMT) Don't Make Me Think, Second Edition
- Freeman and Freeman, (FF) Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML
The following textbook is highly recommended, but not required. By "not required" I mean that if you have a very strong programming background, you can probably get adequate coverage from on-line resources detailed elsewhere in this site. For those students, the extra purchase is not required. For everyone else, buy and read this book:
- Ullman, (PHP) PHP for the World Wide Web
Throughout the semester we will use the Resources section of this web site to recommend to you good references on HTML, CSS, PHP, and other aspects of the course curriculum.
Evaluation
The material in this course is best learned through practice. Therefore,there will be assignments almost weekly, due on the following Tuesday at 5:00 PM. These assignments fall into four groups.
- Homeworks - relatively short, well-defined assignments.
- Projects - more open-ended assignments requiring creative design work and coding in HTML, CSS, and PHP.
- Final Project - a very substantial group (3-4 people) effort, involving an outside customer, which is due at the end of the semester. The description for the final project can be found here: Final Project Description
- Final Project Milestone - Intermediate work for the final project.
Regrading information is found at regrades.
For more information about the class, please check out our syllabus, or contact any of our course staff.
