"In a society that increasingly rewards specialists and narrowness, Web publishing is one of the few fields left where the generalist is valuable. To make a great site, you need to know a little bit about writing, photography, publishing, Unix system administration, relational database management systems (RDBMS), user interface design, and computer programming."
Philip Greenspun, Preface to Philip and Alex's Guide to Web PublishingIf we are running this course as a studio and a small business, then we should be demonstrating best practice. What is best practice for the Web?
It isn't the construction costs that kill Web sites, it is the maintenance cost. Database backed Web sites cost less to maintain. They offer a lot of interesting possibilities, too.
The best resource that I know is:
Like it or not, we are going to be living in an XML world in the near future. Most of the major projects that I know of are being developed in XML if they are back-end processes. As the browsers flow though (which is a slow process), XML will flow through to front end Web pages, as well.
And it isn't just text mark-up, either. Scalable Vector Graphics will provide a standard for using vector-based images (like Flash) on the Web. And behind every SVG is XML.
Neilsen-Norman - Jakob Neilson...
CSS or XSS, I don't care.
and site planning
What they are, why they are important, how they develop
"The Ideas Incubator at the Interactive Information Institute (I-Cubed) at RMIT University has a well-resourced MediaLab housing a variety of Mac, NT and SGI workstations, an audio and video editing suite, scanners and printers. Animation and virtual reality (VR) software is available. It is a productive environment encouraging social and intellectual activities for participants.
The Ideas Incubator needs your involvement, enthusiasm and energy; bright ideas are the lifeblood of the collaboration we thrive on. Make the effort to come to the workshops and attend the talks and we will all be enhanced."
http://www.iii.rmit.edu.au/programs/me/me.htmlI³: http://www.iii.rmit.edu.au/
IT Works is a media design service run out of Creative Media. It accepts internal and external projects, and employs staff and ex-students to undertake the work.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential as a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding.
http://www.w3.org/RMIT is one of the few Australian universities that is a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). That provides access to materials on developing standards for the Web, including:
World Wide Web Consortium: http://www.w3.org/