Qualification - Foundation Diploma in Web Development and Editing

Learn to be a Web Content Developer and Editor

There is a lot more to setting up a website than the technical aspect - most of the setting up of websites is done by technicians but content writing is a profession in its own right. To be a content writer you need an eye for detail, to be able to write well and write to inspire!

The most important aspects of a website is firstly to attract people, secondly to keep them there and thirdly to make them want to return. The only way to achieve that is  through interesting, well written and appealing content. 

This Foundation Diploma sets out to inspire our students to create inspirational we content. It covers the basics of writing and editing as well as graphic design, HTML, internet security and internet marketing in the core units - it also gives you the opportunity to choose from a wide range of elective units to suit your needs and aspirations.

Modules

Note that each module in the Qualification - Foundation Diploma in Web Development and Editing is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.

Learn to Develop, Review, Edit and Continuously Improve Web Sites

Web sites come in all sizes, with varying levels of sophistication and reasons for being.

Product information should always be specific and tells the visitor as much about the product as possible, we also recommend keeping the information, layout and page design as simple and as easy to navigate as possible. Confusing the visitor will only frustrate them and they will go elsewhere. You can utilise your website’s analytics to see how long people are staying on a page and where the go after they visit the page (perhaps they go to a different page on your site, make a purchase or do they just go to a different site). Seeing how long a visitor stays on your page and whether they are clicking on your action buttons are also great ways to measure the effectiveness of a webpage. 

Grouping menu items together in obvious positions using simple, easy to understand wording will help visitors navigate through your site. Keeping things simple may look easy, however you may need to draw a simple site map so that you can effectively plan your website and ensure that you have considered everything. Pages can easily be added later, however if they aren’t easily placed in a menu item and you need to add a new menu, you may need to consider a redesign (depending on how your site is set up). Not using clever marketing terms or terminology that may be misinterpreted by your visitors is very important. You may think that using the words “Contact Us” may be a bit of a cliché, however if you try and use different terminology that some visitors don’t get like, “Call me”, this may not be as effective.

Keep your web design and layout simple and free from clutter. Too much clutter can distract the visitor from the purpose of the goals of the page and they may miss the call to action or important details of the site, as there may be too many things going-on on the page.

Styling, Formatting, Spelling and other Issues

In order for your website to retain customers, you will need to ensure that pages are well organised, free of clutter, have appropriate and well sized pictures, use consistent fonts and are free from spelling and grammatical errors. Information needs to be easy to find and not hidden away 3 pages deep. If someone browsing your site and the page looks messy, unprofessional or makes it difficult to find information, they will simply go to another site.

It is important that your website looks professional with standard styling throughout the site, formatting that is consistent and that the site is easy to read and free from spelling and grammatical errors. Some things to be aware of include:

• Automated formatting and spell checking on web pages can make life easier, but can also introduce potential for problems. For example, if you write “Ca” as the symbol for calcium, and do a spell check, your program might change the ca to the word “can”
• When you put more complicated features into a web page, there can sometimes be more potential for things to go wrong when updates happen.
• Using consistent style sheets across the website will make it easier to maintain a professional looking style throughout the site.

Having a style sheet that defines which fonts you will use, the size for text, menu items and heading will be a good guide to follow. Selecting a colour palate that compliments your brand can also be added to your style sheet to maintain consistency and have a great looking website that people will want to stay on your site and do business with you.

What to include on your website?

How do you differentiate your businesses from the many competitors’ sites that are out there? It is worthwhile doing some research on how similar business are displaying their information and the kind of information that they are displaying. This is a good way to identify what is expected. How you display your information and what you say about your company will be what sets you apart. Image is everything when it comes to websites. People will immediately judge the site on how professional it looks by the images you select and the appropriateness and quality of words that you decide to use on the site.

Customers want to ensure that by handing over their money online to your business that you are trustworthy, legal and will provide them with the product that they are promising. You should include other pages that will inform the customer all about how your business operates, such as:

• Privacy policy
• Refund policy
• Warranties and repairs policy
• About us section- history and who is behind the company
• Testimonials for the company or product reviews
• Contact us section- offering more than one way for a customer to contact your business

Obviously, the products/ Items for sale page will be the most important in terms of converting visitors to customers (see the computer example):

• Include optimized images of items
• Description (better in bullet points, tables or separated by headings)
• Avoid using large chunks of text. We are used to skimming information to find out what we need to know, we do not want to read essays about information
• The opportunity to ask more questions about the product easily
• Price
• Delivery and delivery price
• How to purchase products
• Payment methods

Other content or pages that you may like to consider include:

• Blog pages
• Media releases
• Videos

Given that more than half of your web traffic will originate from smart phones or tablets, you will need to ensure that the content that you select is easily browsed and reviewed on these devices. Sites that are not mobile friendly will be penalised by search engines and you will also restrict the clients who are visiting the site.

Why Choose ACS?

• Reputation: well-known and respected in publishing and writing The school runs a successful publishing business, the principal has been editor of national magazines; many of the staff are published authors).
• We have been experts in the field of IT and web development.
• Industry focus: courses designed to suit industry needs and expectations.
• Different focus: develop problem solving skills that make you stand out from others.
• Hands on: develop practical as well as theoretical skills.
• Lots of help: dedicated and knowledgeable tutors.
• Efficient: prompt responses to your questions.
• Reliable: established in 1979, independent school with a solid history.
• Up to date: courses under constant review.
• Resources:  huge wealth of constantly developing intellectual property.
• Value: courses compare very well by cost per study hour basis.
• Student amenities: online student room, bookshop, ebooks, social networking, acs garden online resources.

Career Opportunities: Web Content Developer, Web Content Editor, Web Developer, Web Marketing.