Build Your Own Website: From Wix to Coding for Beginners
- Description
- Curriculum
- Reviews
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Day 1: Introduction to WebsitesWelcome to the Course!
Welcome to "Build Your Own Website: From Wix to Coding for Beginners"! This course is designed to guide you step-by-step through the process of creating your very first website. Over the next three to four weeks, you will learn how to use both simple web-building tools like Wix and basic coding techniques to develop a functional and attractive website. This course is tailored specifically for high school students, so no prior experience is required. Let's get started on this exciting journey!
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Write a brief description of your website's purpose and set 3 specific goals -
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Day 2: Introduction to Wix
Overview of Wix and its features
Introduction
Wix is a popular website builder that offers a range of features to help you create and manage your own website. It's like going to an ice cream parlor with endless options, ensuring you find the perfect tools to enhance your online presence. Whether it's designing a professional logo, boosting your SEO, or utilizing advanced analytical tools, Wix has got you covered.
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Familiarize yourself with the Wix interface
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Day 3: Choosing a Template
How to Choose the Right Template for Your Website
Introduction
Choosing the right template is like finding the perfect canvas for your online masterpiece. It's the first step in creating a website that truly represents you or your business. Wix offers a wide range of beautiful templates designed by professionals, each including sample content, color themes, galleries, inner pages, and built-in business features.
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Choose and apply a template that aligns with your website's purpose
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Day 4: Customizing Your Template
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Customize the homepage of your website
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Day 5: Adding Essential Pages
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Add content to the essential pages and customize their layout
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Day 1: Adding Media and Widgets
Introduction
Adding media and widgets to your Wix website enhances its functionality and visual appeal. Media can include images, videos, and audio, while widgets can provide additional features like product showcases and embedded content. Today, we'll explore how to add and set up the Product Widget, as well as how to embed external content.
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Create a media-rich page with at least one image, one video, and one widget
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Day 2: Creating a Blog
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Write and publish two blog posts
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Day 3: Integrating Social Media
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Ensure all social media links are working and visible
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Day 4: Adding an Online Store
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Add at least three product listings with images and descriptions
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Day 5: SEO Basics
Introduction to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Welcome to today's lecture on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a critical aspect of digital marketing that involves optimizing your website to increase its visibility in organic search results. This lecture will cover the basics of SEO, including its importance, how it works, and the key components involved in developing an effective SEO strategy.
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Optimize the homepage and one blog post for SEO
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Day 1: Introduction to HTML
Basics of HTML and its role in web development
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on HTML, or HyperText Markup Language. HTML is the foundational language used to create and structure web pages. It is essential for anyone interested in web development to understand the basics of HTML as it forms the backbone of web content.
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Assignment: Write basic HTML code to create a webpage with a header, paragraph, and image
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Day 2: Introduction to CSS
Basics of CSS and how it styles HTML
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). CSS is a crucial component in web development, responsible for the visual presentation of web pages. This lecture will cover the basics of CSS, its history, how it works with HTML, and the different ways to implement it.
What is CSS?
CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is a style sheet language used to describe the presentation of a document written in HTML or XML. It defines how elements should be rendered on screen, paper, or in other media.
Key Features of CSS:
- Styling and Layout: Controls the layout, colors, fonts, and overall design of web pages.
- Separation of Content and Presentation: Allows for a clear separation between the structure (HTML) and the visual presentation (CSS) of web pages.
- Efficiency and Maintainability: Enables efficient styling across multiple pages and easier updates.
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Assignment: Style your HTML page with colors, fonts, and layout changes
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Day 3: Introduction to JavaScript
Basics of JavaScript and its role in web interactivity
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on JavaScript, a cornerstone technology in web development. JavaScript (JS) is a versatile and widely-used programming language that enables dynamic and interactive features on websites, making them more engaging, responsive, and user-friendly.
What is JavaScript?
JavaScript is a high-level, client-side scripting language used to create dynamic interactions in web development. It is one of the core technologies of the web, alongside HTML and CSS.
Key Features of JavaScript:
Interactivity: Brings web pages to life by responding to user actions.
Real-Time Updates: Enables real-time content updates and personalized content.
Versatility: Used in web apps, mobile apps, server applications, and games.
JavaScript vs. HTML and CSS
HTML (HyperText Markup Language):
Structure and content of web pages.
Basic elements like paragraphs, headings, and images.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets):
Visual styling and layout of web pages.
Controls colors, fonts, and overall design.
JavaScript:
Enhances interactivity and user engagement.
Enables animations, dynamic content loading, form validation, and more.
Role of JavaScript in Web Development
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Assignment: Create a JavaScript function that changes an element's content or style
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Day 4: Integrating Code with Wix
How to add custom code to your Wix site
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on adding custom code to your Wix site. This session will cover the basics of embedding custom code snippets, the benefits of doing so, and the steps to add these snippets to your Wix website.
Why Add Custom Code?
Adding custom code to your Wix site can help you:
- Verify Site Ownership: Useful for services like Google Search Console.
- Monitor Site Traffic: Integrate tools like Google Analytics.
- Track User Activity: Implement tracking scripts for user interactions.
- Enhance Functionality: Add features that are not natively supported by Wix.
Note: While adding custom code can significantly enhance your website, Wix does not provide support for third-party code snippets. For any issues, you should contact the code provider directly.
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Assignment: Enhance one page of your Wix site with custom code
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Day 5: Review and Practice
Review of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript basics
Introduction
In today's competitive employment marketplace, demonstrating high competency and skill in in-demand languages is crucial. Web development, in particular, is a highly sought-after skill set, essential for designing smooth-running and visually appealing websites for both mobile and desktop platforms. This lecture will review the basics of three fundamental front-end languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Importance of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in Web Development
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are essential for front-end web development. They define the structure, style, and behavior of web pages, respectively.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language):
- Purpose: HTML structures the content on web pages using a syntax of tags.
- History: Created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1993 and is now in its fifth generation, HTML5.
- Learning Curve: Relatively simple to learn, making it an excellent starting point for beginners.
- Functionality: Defines elements like paragraphs, headings, images, and links.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets):
- Purpose: CSS styles the HTML content, giving web pages their polished and professional look.
- History: Currently in its third generation, CSS3.
- Functionality: Controls layout, colors, fonts, and responsiveness across different devices.
- Interactive Elements: Adds background colors, headers, shapes, and more, enhancing visual appeal.
JavaScript (JS):
- Purpose: JavaScript controls the behavior of web elements, adding interactivity to web pages.
- History: One of the core technologies of the web, widely used on the client side.
- Learning Curve: More complex than HTML and CSS but essential for dynamic web development.
- Functionality: Enables animations, form validation, dynamic content updates, and interaction with third-party libraries.
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Assignment: Complete a mini-project by creating a custom-coded feature for your Wix site
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Day 1: Domain Name and Hosting
Choosing and purchasing a domain name, understanding web hosting
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on choosing and purchasing a domain name, and understanding web hosting. These are foundational steps in creating a successful online presence. A domain name is your website's address on the internet, while web hosting is the service that stores your website's files and makes them accessible to users.
What is a Domain Name?
Definition:
A domain name is a unique web address used to identify and access a specific website on the internet. It's composed of a name and a top-level domain (TLD), such as "example.com".
Importance:
- Ease of Use: Domain names make it easier for users to find websites without needing to remember numerical IP addresses.
- First Impression: Your domain name impacts how people find and perceive your website even before they visit it.
Structure:
- IP Address: Numeric address assigned to every computer, like "172.217.3.196".
- Domain Name: Human-friendly version of an IP address, like "google.com".
Components:
- Top-Level Domain (TLD): The right-most segment of a domain name (e.g., ".com", ".org").
- Second-Level Domain (SLD): The part of the domain that comes before the TLD (e.g., "example" in "example.com").
- Subdomains: Prefix added to a domain name to create stand-alone sites (e.g., "blog.example.com").
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How to Choose a Domain Name
Tips:
1. Easy to Type and Pronounce: Avoid words that are frequently mispronounced or have multiple spellings.
2. On Brand: Reflect your brand name. If the exact name is unavailable, consider adding a keyword.
3. Right Domain Extension: Choose a TLD that suits your business needs. ".com" is the most trusted and memorable TLD.
Examples:
- Education: harvard.edu, khanacademy.org
- Retail: amazon.com, walmart.com
- Tech: apple.com, google.com
Steps:
1. Do a Domain Name Search: Use a domain name search tool to check availability.
2. Choose a Domain Registrar: Select a registrar based on pricing, customer support, and additional features like privacy protection.
3. Purchase and Register: Once you find an available domain, complete the registration process.
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Assignment: Purchase and configure your domain name
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Day 2: Final Customizations and Testing
Ensuring your site is user-friendly and functional
Introduction
Welcome to today's lecture on ensuring your website is user-friendly and functional. In a competitive digital landscape, a user-friendly website is crucial for retaining visitors and converting them into customers. We will cover best practices to enhance usability, accessibility, and overall user experience.
Why User-Friendliness Matters
- First Impressions: A user-friendly website makes a positive first impression.
- Bounce Rate: Poor usability increases bounce rates, where users leave the site quickly.
- Conversion Rates: A well-designed site increases the likelihood of visitors taking desired actions.
- Return Visits: 88% of online users are unlikely to return to a website after a bad experience.
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Assignment: Conduct a peer review and make final adjustments based on feedback
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Day 3: Launching Your Website
Steps to launch your website
Introduction
Launching a website involves meticulous planning and execution to ensure a smooth user experience and a successful online presence. In this lecture, we will cover the essential steps needed to launch your website, from pre-launch planning to ongoing maintenance.
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Assignment: Promote your website on social media and other platforms
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Day 4: Website Maintenance
Maintaining and updating your website
Introduction
In the constantly evolving digital world, maintaining and updating your website is crucial to keep your audience engaged and your content relevant. Regular updates not only improve user experience but also boost your site’s performance and SEO. This lecture will cover the essential steps and best practices for maintaining and updating your website effectively.
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Assignment: Write a maintenance plan for your website
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Day 5: Course Review and Q&A
Review of key concepts and best practices
Introduction
An FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page is a critical component of any website, offering users quick answers to common questions and enhancing their overall experience. This lecture will cover the importance of an FAQ page, best practices for creating one, and how to maintain it effectively.
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Assignment: Complete a final project by creating a comprehensive website using both Wix tools and custom coding elements