Background

A website is a collection of web pages at a specific web address that we can view through a web browser. Websites normally fulfil a particular purpose, such as for web searching, for viewing videos, for social media, for an encyclopedia, for shopping, for news and TV channels, for organisations and companies, and countless websites for people with common interests and passtimes, and so much more. The invention of the Internet and the World Wide Web has allowed organisations to publish websites to tell the world about their activities; it has made it possible for entrepreneurs to set up new kinds of businesses; and it has made it easy for friends and people with common interests to communicate with each other. The internet continues to evolve and change how all of us learn, communicate, and do business.
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The design brief

Design a website for any beneficial purpose and for an audience of your choosing. Your website can serve your local community, school, sports team, club, hobby, or whatever you like; however, your website must be non-commercial and not for profit. Determine which functions and features that your website must include based on an understanding of the needs of users of the website. Consider the purpose of your website and the values that you would like to foster amongst its users, and think about how a website can help you to attain them. Make a detailed mock-up of your website and a presentation to show your design solution to your fellow students and teachers. Work on this project on your own, or together with a classmate.
 

​​​​​​​The design thinking process

Follow the six stages of the design thinking process to ensure that you are thorough and do everything necessary to succeed in your design project. First, you endeavour to understand the design topic and EMPATHISE with the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DEFINE what is essential to the product or system that you are designing. Then you IDEATE, that is, you creatively come up with ideas and develop them. The next step is to PROTOTYPE your chosen design solution in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Then you TEST your design idea to elicit the opinions of users. And finally, at the end of the process, you REFLECT upon your project to benefit from the experience. Use the appropriate methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you proceed along the design thinking process.
 

Note for teachers

Students may build an actual functioning website using website builders that are found on the web, if they have the time. Alternatively, the students may make a mock-up of their website, also known as a wireframe model. A mock-up is made during software development or website design to look like a working application or website, but it doesn’t actually work. A mock-up shows how the website will work once it is built. The students may make a mock-up to simulate their website’s windows and functions with office presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote using their button features and so forth, or they may use professional apps for designing and simulating software and websites.
​​​​​​​Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the PROTOTYPE Stage for Level IV to safely supervise this design project.