Students in Web Development & Design grow from first-time developers into confident digital creators who can design, build, troubleshoot, and present work for real audiences. Explore the major units and signature projects that shape each year of the program.
Freshman Year
Freshman year builds the creative and technical foundation of the program. Students progress from their first structured webpage to responsive websites, interactive JavaScript experiences, personal branding, and an independent front-end capstone.
Web Foundations & Developer Workflow
Students learn how the web works while developing professional habits for semantic HTML, foundational CSS, debugging, accessibility, and organized file management. Major Project: About Me Webpage — Students create a professionally styled personal webpage that introduces who they are while demonstrating clean structure, thoughtful design, and accessible development practices.
Responsive Multi-Page Web Design
Students move beyond single pages to plan and build complete website experiences using navigation, visual hierarchy, typography, Flexbox, Grid, wireframes, and mobile-friendly layouts. Major Project: Responsive Multi-Page Website — Students design and develop a polished website that works smoothly across desktop and mobile devices.
JavaScript Fundamentals & Interactive Thinking
Students begin programming with JavaScript by exploring variables, functions, conditionals, loops, events, DOM updates, and debugging. Major Project: Interactive JavaScript Webpage — Students bring a webpage to life with dynamic content, user interactions, reusable functions, and logic-driven features.
Advanced Front-End Development & Interactive Applications
Students combine responsive design, forms, accessibility, reusable JavaScript systems, and dynamic interfaces while becoming more independent problem solvers. Major Project: DCTS Career & CTE Pathfinder — Students build an interactive survey that helps incoming students discover DCTS career pathways based on their interests, skills, and preferences.
Digital Branding, Media Production & CMS Integration
Students connect development with branding, optimized media, content strategy, and content management systems. Major Project: Personal Brand Integration — Students create a personal visual identity and apply their colors, typography, media, and messaging to a WordPress portfolio website.
Front-End Development Capstone
Students bring together a year of coding, design, accessibility, planning, testing, and revision in an independent production sprint. Major Project: Front-End Development Capstone — Students plan, build, refine, and present a responsive website or interactive web application that showcases their strongest skills.
Sophomore Year
Sophomore year pushes students into advanced front-end development, client strategy, digital fabrication, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, automation, and ecommerce. Projects become larger, more realistic, and increasingly connected to business and community needs.
Front-End Development Reactivation
Students quickly rebuild coding confidence through HTML, CSS, responsive layouts, JavaScript, debugging, accessibility, and professional workflow review. Major Project: Front-End Skills Reactivation — Students rapidly create a responsive five-page website with semantic structure, forms, flexible layouts, and interactive JavaScript features.
Advanced Front-End Systems & Interactive Applications
Students develop application-style interfaces using APIs, JSON data, reusable JavaScript, error handling, accessibility, and responsive UI systems. Major Project: Weather Forecast Application — Students connect to live weather data and build an interface that lets users search by ZIP code and switch between hourly and daily forecasts.
Client Communication, UX Strategy & Digital Planning
Students learn how professional projects begin by researching client needs, defining scope, planning user experiences, developing wireframes, and communicating solutions. Major Project: Client Planning & UX Strategy — Students complete a simulated discovery process and produce the strategy, wireframes, technical plan, and proposal for a client website.
Community Storytelling, Illustration Translation & Digital Fabrication
Students combine storytelling, visual design, 3D fabrication, quality control, and audience-centered communication for a real elementary audience. Major Project: 1st Grade Story & Keepsake Collaboration — Students transform drawings from first-grade classrooms into original children’s stories and matching 3D-printed keychains or magnets, then help deliver the finished creations to the young artists.
Cybersecurity, Hosting Systems & Ethical Technology
Students investigate digital threats, secure hosting, DNS, privacy, accessibility law, copyright, and ethical technology practices. Major Project: Cybersecurity Research & Awareness Presentation — Student teams explore a current issue and create an engaging professional presentation that teaches others about risks, real examples, prevention, and industry best practices.
AI, Automations & Business Systems
Students explore how artificial intelligence, prompt engineering, workflow automation, and systems thinking can improve real business processes. Major Project: Business Automation & AI Solutions — Students identify a realistic business challenge and develop an AI-assisted or automated solution that improves efficiency, organization, communication, productivity, or customer experience.
Ecommerce, Conversion Systems & Online Business
Students learn how online stores combine technology, branding, merchandising, customer trust, security, and conversion-focused design. Major Project: WooCommerce Storefront Development — Students build a functional WordPress storefront with products, navigation, branded media, responsive layouts, and a customer-centered shopping experience.
Sophomore Year Finals
Students refine their strongest work and demonstrate the technical, creative, and business skills developed throughout the year. Major Project: WooCommerce Business Capstone — Students transform their storefront into a polished ecommerce experience by improving usability, accessibility, SEO, branding, multimedia, and conversion strategy.
Junior Year
Junior year blends DCTS production experiences with Harrisburg Area Community College coursework. Students expand their knowledge of web technologies and content management systems while developing professional communication, career-readiness, and portfolio skills.
WEB101 Web Foundations, Technologies & Digital Workflow
Students explore the web industry, digital tools, multimedia systems, professional workflows, and career pathways. Major Project: Digital Career & Technology Exploration — Students research a web-related career and create a professional presentation covering responsibilities, skills, education, salary expectations, trends, and industry tools.
WEB101 Web Design, Development & CMS Foundations
Students connect HTML, CSS, UI/UX, design systems, and content management concepts in a hands-on website workflow. Major Project: Introductory Website Development — Students create a small website experience that blends WordPress, code, imagery, hyperlinks, styling, usability, and responsive thinking.
WEB101 Interactive Technologies, Databases & Emerging Technology
Students gain exposure to databases, server-side development, artificial intelligence, and the systems that power modern web experiences. Major Project: Emerging Web Technologies Exploration — Students investigate a current technology and create a guided demonstration, research presentation, or applied example connected to real-world web environments.
WEB101 Semester Finalization & Exam Preparation
Students revise their work, strengthen presentation quality, organize their portfolios, and reinforce major course concepts. Major Project: WEB101 Final Project Refinement — Students improve selected semester projects for professional presentation and future portfolio use.
WEB110 CMS Foundations, Website Structure & Content Creation
Students build confidence with WordPress, themes, pages, navigation, content organization, blog systems, and publishing workflows. Major Project: CMS Website Foundation — Students develop a functional multi-page WordPress website with organized content, images, navigation, and blog functionality.
WEB110 UI/UX, Accessibility, SEO & Website Improvement
Students evaluate and improve websites through usability, accessibility, SEO, content writing, calls-to-action, and testing. Major Project: Website Optimization & UX Improvement — Students transform an existing WordPress site into a clearer, more accessible, more discoverable, and more user-friendly experience.
WEB110 Advanced CMS Workflows, Collaboration & Publishing
Students explore plugins, permissions, collaboration, publishing, responsive page building, and professional CMS production. Major Project: Cultural Awareness Landing Page — Students use Elementor and visual storytelling to create an accessible, responsive landing page that communicates a meaningful cultural topic with authenticity and purpose.
WEB110 Finals
Students finalize their strongest CMS work and demonstrate professional website-production skills. Major Project: WEB110 Final Website Refinement — Students improve usability, accessibility, SEO, navigation, organization, and presentation quality before adding completed work to their portfolios.
WEB125
This HACC course will extend students’ college-level web development experience during the second semester. Major Project: Project details will be added as the course curriculum is finalized.
WEB130
This HACC course will continue building college-level technical and production skills during the second semester. Major Project: Project details will be added as the course curriculum is finalized.
Community Storytelling, Illustration Translation & Digital Fabrication
Junior students join Sophomores in a creative community collaboration centered on storytelling, audience awareness, visual design, and fabrication. Major Project: 1st Grade Story & Keepsake Collaboration — Students help transform first-grade drawings into original stories and personalized 3D-printed keepsakes for the young artists.
Professional Portfolio & Career Readiness
Students prepare to pursue co-op placements, internships, networking opportunities, and future employment through personal branding and professional communication. Major Project: Professional Branding Package — Students update their portfolio website, redesign their resume, create business cards, and deliver a memorized elevator pitch that introduces their skills and career interests.
NOCTI Preparation & Senior-Year Readiness
Students review technical knowledge and practice production skills as they prepare for industry-aligned assessment expectations and Senior year. Major Project: NOCTI Practical Practice Assessment — Students complete a hands-on experience modeled after the NOCTI Web Design and Development examination, including development, design, troubleshooting, accessibility, and file-management tasks.
Senior Year
Senior year operates as an adaptable production studio. Students respond to real client needs, research emerging software, develop passion projects, strengthen their portfolios, and take on increasingly independent work. Because technology changes quickly, Senior projects evolve throughout the year to reflect new tools, opportunities, and challenges.
Production
Students use the full range of skills developed throughout the program to solve authentic problems for the school and community. Major Projects: Client & Innovation Production — Depending on current needs and student interests, projects may include custom software for school use, HVAC equipment-tracking systems, electronic medical record tools for DCTS medical programs, websites for local nonprofits or small businesses, digital marketing plans for community partners, emerging-software research, and independent passion projects.
Curriculum, project topics, software, and timelines may change as technology, industry practices, client needs, and student opportunities evolve.