Build Your Place on the Open Web
Work through one small project from its first question to a handoff another person can use.
- Format
- 14 practical modules
- Starting point
- No paid account required
- Outcome
- Project, source and explanation
Before you begin
Choose a project with one main audience and a few records. A school resource guide, local service directory or personal portfolio is enough. Keep a learning journal: requirement, change, check and what surprised you.
Modules are a sequence, not a promise about completion time. If you already know a topic, produce its deliverable and use the check to decide whether to move on.
01How the Web Actually Works
Your task
Sketch what happens when a visitor enters a URL: name lookup, a request to a server, a response and browser rendering. Identify which part serves your own project.
Produce
One annotated request diagram.
Check your understanding
Explain which part can fail when the browser shows “site not found” versus an error page from the server.
02Domains, DNS and Hosting
Your task
Create an ownership sheet for a practice project. Name the registrar, DNS provider, host and the person responsible for each. Use a classroom or local project if purchasing a domain is unnecessary.
Produce
An ownership sheet with a recovery contact for each service.
Check your understanding
Explain why changing web hosting should not casually change mail routing.
03HTML and CSS Foundations
Your task
Build a page with a header, navigation, main content and footer. Add a heading hierarchy, a real link, a list and a responsive two-column layout. Start with your own text.
Produce
A readable page at narrow and wide widths.
Check your understanding
Use it with the keyboard and double the text size. The reading order and main content must still make sense.
04What a CMS Does
Your task
List what an editor should change and what should be shared across pages. Compare editing the HTML directly with changing a record through a content management system.
Produce
A table separating content, presentation and behavior.
Check your understanding
Explain what would justify a CMS for this project—and what would make it unnecessary.
05WordPress Architecture
Your task
In a local learning installation, inspect the active theme and plugins. Identify where content is stored and which component owns a visible feature. Use sample content only.
Produce
A diagram of the local theme, plugin and content responsibilities.
Check your understanding
Explain which part you would change to alter appearance without changing the underlying records.
06Git and GitHub
Your task
Create a local repository for your project source. Record an initial version, then one small improvement with a clear commit message. Inspect the difference before recording it.
Produce
Two understandable commits and a setup note.
Check your understanding
A partner can identify what changed and why. No passwords or personal records belong in the repository.
07Content Modeling
Your task
Choose a subject with relationships: courses and projects, services and needs, or products and applications. Create three records and define stable identifiers.
Produce
A field map and a small sample dataset.
Check your understanding
Rename a record without breaking its relationships. Explain the question each relationship helps answer.
08Building With Blocks
Your task
Build a reusable page structure in the editor. Try a long heading, an omitted image and a short body. Decide which parts an editor should be able to change independently.
Produce
A reusable layout with three realistic content variations.
Check your understanding
A second person can edit the content without changing shared site presentation.
09Creating a Small Custom Feature
Your task
Choose one feature with an observable result: a resource filter or a helpful empty state. Write the acceptance criteria before implementing it.
Produce
One feature with a short test record.
Check your understanding
The feature handles an ordinary case, missing data and no matching results.
10Working With an AI Coding Assistant
Your task
Give an assistant the bounded requirement from the previous module. Ask it to identify assumptions, propose the smallest change and explain what needs checking.
Produce
The requirement, reviewed change and a note describing AI’s contribution.
Check your understanding
Explain every new dependency and every changed file without relying on the assistant’s assurance.
11Accessibility and Privacy
Your task
Complete the main journey using only the keyboard. Inspect labels, focus, headings and error messages. List every data collection point and whether it is necessary.
Produce
An issue list with fixes and a data inventory.
Check your understanding
A visitor can understand and complete the task without a mouse; you can explain where collected data goes.
12Testing and Publishing
Your task
Write a release checklist naming the source version, preview destination, public destination and person approving release. Test the main journey in the preview before publishing.
Produce
A release record and a recovery plan.
Check your understanding
A reviewer can tell exactly what action changes the public site. Classroom publication follows the educator’s policy.
13Documenting the Project
Your task
Write a README covering the problem, setup, structure, dependencies and limitations. Give it to someone who has not seen the project.
Produce
A setup and handoff document revised after the handoff.
Check your understanding
The new person can open the project and find the feature you built without asking for the original chat.
14Presenting the Finished Work
Your task
Demonstrate one visitor journey, explain one tradeoff and show one mistake you fixed. State what remains limited and what you would investigate next.
Produce
A working site, repository and short project explanation.
Check your understanding
Another person can distinguish what you built, what a tool supplied and what you actually tested.
What a finished project demonstrates
| Evidence | Ready when… |
|---|---|
| Main journey | A new visitor can complete the stated task. |
| Source and setup | Another person can open or run the project from the instructions. |
| Testing | The record shows cases checked, failures found and remaining limits. |
| Explanation | You can explain the content model, dependencies and AI contribution. |
Ask a partner to use the project without coaching. Note where they hesitate, make one focused improvement and record what changed.