Website Design (Dreamweaver)

Course Outline

Adobe Dreamweaver

Week 1: Getting started
An introduction to the Dreamweaver interface.  Learn the basics of HTML coding and how to use it to create a simple web page with links and images. By the end of the session, you'll be able to mark up text ready to go online.

Week 2: Site design with CSS
See how to link a ‘cascading style sheet’ to your web page, and use it to dictate how your site will look.  Start taking control of the layout of your page by adding margins and using absolute positioning.

Week 3: Advanced web layout
Gain an understanding of 'floating', 'the box model' and 'normal document flow', allowing you to position elements of your website relative to one another. By the end of the lesson you will be able to create whole page layouts via the CSS.

Week 4: Images
Learn how to optimise images for publishing online, and how to use them as part of a page's content, or as a background element. You'll see how to produce and style a basic web gallery.

Week 5: Using javascript
By the end of this session you'll be able to implement Dreamweaver's built in SPRY functionality to create effects such as drop down menus, image maximizes and scroll down content. You’ll also use online libraries like 'lightbox JS' to produce stylish galleries.

Week 6: Embedding mediaThis week aims to get you up to speed with online video. You'll be able to optimise video for web and embed it within a page by uploading it to Vimeo, or YouTube or by hosting the file on your site.  We'll also look at how to easily add Flash to a page using Dreamweaver.

You will also have a brief introduction to Flash and learn how to create movie-clips and moving, interactive elements to add to your page.

Week 7: Site production
A session ensuring that all the elements of the previous sessions are pulled together ready for publishing.  It will also provide the opportunity to get more detailed help with any specific web site issues.

Week 8: Publishing your site

Picking an internet service provider to host your site, connecting to your host via Dreamweaver and uploading your site. We'll also discuss maintaining and updating your site, web design usability rules and what you can do next!