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Malcolm Lismore is a freelance photographer based on the North West coast of Scotland.

His biggest passion in


photography is for the natural world. He sells many images of the rugged Scottish landscape, its natural wildlife
and coastal birds. However, it’s not just landscape and wildlife photography he is interested in, like many
photographers he can also be hired for weddings, portraits, and special events.

Malcolm is looking for new ways to promote his business and has approached you to develop a website that will
act as a showcase of his photography skills and allow users to make enquires about hiring him for weddings and
special occasions. The website will need to provide the following features:
 A home page from which it is possible to navigate to the other resources in the website. The home page will
need to quickly communicate the purpose of the site, be visually engaging and provide clear navigation to the
rest of the site.
 A page that provides basic information about Malcolm, his experiences and his passion for photography.
 A page that provides information about Malcolm’s prices.
 A series of pages (initially between three and six pages) that will act as a gallery and showcase of Malcolm’s
photography. This is a really important part of the website as it will be the main way in which the services of his
business will be promoted. You will need to think carefully about how to present the images and how to
structure this part of the site. Bear in mind that in the future Malcolm will want to add many additional
photographs to this part of the site.
 An enquiry form. Malcolm would like to provide a way for customers to make enquiries about possible
bookings. The user will need to be able to enter details such their contact details, location and date of the
wedding etc. into a HTML form.

Develop a web-based solution for the above scenario and produce a report covering the following tasks.

Assignment Brief
Malcolm Lismore is a freelance photographer based on the Northwest coast of Scotland. His biggest passion in
photography is for the natural world. He sells many images of the rugged Scottish landscape, its natural wildlife,
and coastal birds. However, it’s not just landscape and wildlife photography he is interested in, like many
photographers he can also be hired for weddings, portraits, and special events.

Malcolm is looking for new ways to promote his business and has approached you to develop a website that will
act as a showcase of his photography skills and allow users to make enquires about hiring him for weddings and
special occasions.
The website will need to provide the following features:
• A home page from which it is possible to navigate to the other resources on the website. The home page
will need to quickly communicate the purpose of the site, be visually engaging and provide clear navigation to
the rest of the site.
• A page that provides basic information about Malcolm, his experiences, and his passion for photography.
• A page that provides information about Malcolm’s prices.
• A series of pages (initially between three and six pages) that will act as a gallery and showcase of
Malcolm’s photography.
This is a really important part of the website as it will be the main way in which the services of his business will
be promoted. You will need to think carefully about how to present the images and how to structure this part
of the site. Bear in mind that in the future Malcolm will want to add many additional photographs to this part
of the site.
• An enquiry form. Malcolm would like to provide a way for customers to make enquiries about possible
bookings. The user will need to be able to enter details such their contact details, location, and date of the
wedding etc. into a HTML form.

Develop a web-based solution for the above scenario and produce a report covering the following tasks.

regarding

Designing, publishing, and accessing a website involves several key steps and considerations to
create a successful online presence. Here's an overview of the process and the factors to keep
in mind:

1. **Designing a Website**:

- **Define Purpose and Goals**: Start by understanding the purpose of your website and its
goals. Is it for e-commerce, information sharing, blogging, or something else? Knowing your
objectives will guide the design process.

- **User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design**: Create a user-friendly and
visually appealing design. This includes designing the layout, navigation, and visual elements
(e.g., color schemes, fonts, and images) to provide a positive user experience.

- **Responsive Design**: Ensure your website is responsive, meaning it adapts to different


screen sizes and devices. Mobile-friendly design is crucial as a growing number of users access
websites on smartphones and tablets.

- **Content Creation**: Develop high-quality content, including text, images, videos, and
other media. Content should be relevant to your audience and aligned with your website's
goals.

- **Information Architecture**: Organize your content logically. Use a clear menu structure
and hierarchy to make it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for.

- **SEO (Search Engine Optimization)**: Optimize your website for search engines to
improve its visibility in search results. This involves keyword research, meta tags, and creating
high-quality, original content.

- **Security Considerations**: Implement security measures to protect your website and


user data. Use HTTPS for secure data transmission and regularly update software and plugins
to patch vulnerabilities.
2. **Publishing a Website**:

- **Domain Registration**: Choose and register a domain name that reflects your brand and
is easy to remember. Domain registrars provide this service, and you need to pay for the
domain annually.

- **Web Hosting**: Select a web hosting provider to store your website's files and data.
Consider factors like server performance, uptime, customer support, and scalability. Shared
hosting, VPS (Virtual Private Server), and dedicated hosting are common options.

- **Content Management System (CMS)**: Install a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal
to manage and update your website easily. These platforms offer templates, plugins, and tools
for creating and maintaining content.

- **Website Development**: If you have specific design or functionality requirements, you


may need custom web development. This could involve coding in languages like HTML, CSS,
JavaScript, PHP, and databases like MySQL.

- **Website Testing**: Before making your website public, thoroughly test it for
functionality, compatibility, and performance. Check for broken links, cross-browser
compatibility, and mobile responsiveness.

- **Uploading and Configuring Content**: Upload your website files to the hosting server
and configure the settings. Ensure that the CMS is properly set up, and content is populated.

- **DNS Configuration**: Set up DNS (Domain Name System) records to point your domain
name to the hosting server's IP address. This step is crucial for users to access your website
using the domain.

3. **Accessing a Website**:

- **Domain Name**: To access a website, users typically enter the website's domain name
(e.g., www.example.com) into a web browser's address bar. The browser then sends a DNS
request to resolve the domain to an IP address.

- **HTTP/HTTPS**: When users request a webpage, the web browser uses the HTTP or
HTTPS protocol (secure) to communicate with the web server. HTTPS is recommended for
security, especially for e-commerce or data-sensitive sites.

- **Web Server Processing**: The web server receives the request, processes it, and
retrieves the requested webpage or content. This may involve dynamic page generation for
database-driven sites.
- **Content Delivery**: The web server sends the requested content to the user's browser,
which renders the webpage and displays it to the user.

- **Browser and Device Compatibility**: Ensure your website is compatible with various
web browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox, Safari) and devices (desktop, mobile, tablet) to reach a
broad audience.

- **Website Performance**: Monitor and optimize your website's performance, including


page load times, to provide a smooth and responsive user experience.

Creating, publishing, and accessing a website involves a combination of design, technical


setup, and ongoing maintenance. It's essential to keep the user experience, security, and
performance in mind throughout the process to ensure your website is functional, engaging,
and accessible to your target audience.

The purpose and relationships between communication protocols, server hardware, operating
systems, and web server software are crucial in the context of hosting and delivering websites
and web applications. Let's break down the roles and interactions of each component:

1. **Communication Protocols**:
- **Purpose**: Communication protocols are sets of rules and conventions that enable data
exchange between different devices and systems on a network. They dictate how data is
formatted, transmitted, received, and acknowledged.
- **Relationships**:
- Communication protocols, such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), play a vital role in
web communication. When a client (usually a web browser) requests a web resource, it uses
HTTP to communicate with the server.
- Other protocols like HTTPS (HTTP Secure) provide secure, encrypted communication
between clients and servers, ensuring data confidentiality and integrity.
- Protocols like TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) and DNS (Domain
Name System) are fundamental for routing and resolving domain names to IP addresses.

2. **Server Hardware**:
- **Purpose**: Server hardware refers to the physical computer and associated components
that store and serve web content. It's designed for high availability, reliability, and
performance.
- **Relationships**:
- Server hardware hosts the operating system and web server software. It needs to have
the processing power, memory, and storage capacity to handle incoming requests and deliver
web content efficiently.
- The choice of hardware depends on the expected web traffic, resource requirements, and
redundancy (backup systems to ensure uptime).

3. **Operating Systems**:
- **Purpose**: An operating system (OS) is system software that manages hardware and
provides services to applications. On web servers, the OS coordinates and manages resources,
handles security, and ensures software compatibility.
- **Relationships**:
- The OS is the intermediary layer between server hardware and web server software. It
abstracts hardware complexities and provides a platform for running various software
applications.
- Popular server operating systems include Linux distributions like Ubuntu, CentOS, or
Windows Server. The choice depends on factors like compatibility, security, and
administrative preferences.

4. **Web Server Software**:


- **Purpose**: Web server software is designed to handle client requests and serve web
content. It listens for incoming requests, processes them, and delivers web pages, files, or
application data.
- **Relationships**:
- Web server software, such as Apache, Nginx, or Microsoft Internet Information Services
(IIS), runs on the operating system and interacts with server hardware.
- It interprets HTTP requests from clients, processes them, and returns appropriate
responses. Web server software can also manage load balancing, content caching, and
security (e.g., SSL/TLS).
The relationships among these components work as follows:
- A web server software, running on the operating system, listens for incoming requests on a
designated port (e.g., port 80 for HTTP or 443 for HTTPS).
- The operating system ensures that the server hardware resources are available for the web
server software to use.
- Communication protocols, like HTTP or HTTPS, enable clients (web browsers, apps, or
devices) to make requests to the web server.
- The web server software processes these requests and, in some cases, communicates with
other server-side components (e.g., application servers or databases) to generate dynamic
content.
- The web server software sends the appropriate responses back to the clients.

In summary, these components work together to facilitate the hosting, delivery, and
communication of web content. Proper coordination and configuration among
communication protocols, server hardware, operating systems, and web server software are
essential for the smooth functioning and security of web services.

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