CP3402 - Content Management Systems

CP3402 Assignment 1

Task:

Design, create and publish websites for your own startup idea using two different well-known CMSs.

“A startup is a company working to solve a problem where the solution is not obvious and success is not guaranteed” says Neil Blumenthal, cofounder and co-CEO of Warby Parker.

Wikipedia says a startup is an entrepreneurial venture or a new business designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. It is not just a new business... So, your idea must have some innovative or novel aspect to it. Examples of business ideas that are NOT startups include: online store, website design company, site for any brick-and-mortar store, restaurant, gym … Those are all “tried and   true” businesses where the solution is obvious, and are therefore not suitable for your assignment topic.

Here are some lists of startups if you need some ideas:

• AngleList's 52 startups to watch out for 2020

• 70 best startups to watch in 2022

Your idea can be new or something you have used before, and it can be fictitious or real, as long as you have not already made a website for it (you cannot re-use or re-make an existing site).

Choice of CMS:

You must use "proper" self-hosted CMSs (e.g., WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, etc.), NOT site builders or WYSIWYG systems like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, etc.

You may not use wordpress.com (which is hosted by wordpress.com and is not something you could move to a different host if you chose).

If your chosen system does not have an export/backup feature, then it is not suitable for this assignment. You may not use plugins (in any CMS) that replace the core functionality, like nicepage, Elementor, etc.

Design:

You will make the same site in two different CMSs. The two sites should have the same content and structure but do not need to be identical. They should look as similar as practical, but you do not need to create custom themes/templates. You can use any available designs/themes, but they should be appropriate for your goal and target audience. As an idea of what is meant by "similar", you should be able to describe the site and how to use it to anyone and they could see/use either site with no trouble. E.g., if you said, "click on the blue About Us link at the top", that should work for both sites.

Content:

Most of the content is up to you, but it must be suitable and complete. You must create the content yourself. Even if it's a fictitious idea, you cannot copy from somewhere else.

Content could include: details of your (potentially fictitious) product or service (like features, benefits, pricing, comparisons), contact information, privacy/legal statements, etc. Your site should have a clear goal (with calls-to-action)!

Some content requirements:

•   You must include a short video that you make for your startup. This does not need to be fancy or take a long time – you could just record it on a phone or digital camera that you get your dog to hold.

•   You need some kind of team page that describes the team behind the startup. This team must

include you as one of the members and you should have your own realistic bio for your goal career. That is, think about how you might describe your future self (in 5 or 10 years) and write as if you’ve  achieved that. This is an intentional exercise for you to focus on your own career goals.

•   You need to choose, install, and use at least one additional plugin/extension that is not provided in a base install of each CMS (these do not need to be the same) to provide some useful extra and visible functionality to enhance your sites (e.g., map, form, image gallery, etc. but not something ‘invisible’ like security, backup, statistics, etc.).

Hosting:

The actual sites must be published on a public Web server (or servers), anywhere you like. It is up to you to figure out appropriate hosting. Thesubject resources page describes several hosting options, all of which have free/student tiers or credits available. You must use hosting that will still be up/visible for at least 6 weeks after submission. Note that this means you should not use joomla.com or similar “demo” hosts.

Documentation:

In the Reflection and Insights section of a1.html, describe your experience using the two different CMSs and hosting in a meaningful way.

What have you learned through this assignment regarding the different systems? What has your experience taught you about the CMSs as systems?

This should be thoughtful and to-the-point; not a complete review of the two different systems, but your insights and lessons learned. Don’t just describe differences and preferences between CMSs - a simple comparison (X was easier than Y) is not very insightful.

Submission:

Complete the template submission file, a1.html, with the requested information including links to your sites and plugins (look for the?? in the HTML).

Submit the a1.html file along with appropriate "exports" of your sites (use the CMS's export/backup feature) by uploading to LearnJCU under Assessments.

Submit 3 separate files: a1.html and the two export files of your sites.

If LearnJCU won’tallow your file type,such as xml, then zip up that one file, not all of them.

Integrity:

The work you submit for this assignment must be your own. You are allowed to discuss the assignment with other students and get assistance from your peers, but you may not do any part of anyone else’swork for them and you may not get anyone else to do any part of your work. Work that is too similar to other websites (either another student’s work or any public site) will be dealt with promptly according to University procedures for handling plagiarism. For this assignment, it is acceptable to use free resources including themes/templates from appropriate sources, but you may not use anything in away that infringes copyright or other laws (be careful with images). You should cite the original source in your documentation  (a1.html file). You should write your own content.

Due:

Submit your assignment by the date and time specified on LearnJCU.

Submissions received after this date will incur late penalties as described in the subject outline.