Website Design Course — HTML, CSS & Responsive Design

You do not need a framework, a build tool or a computer science degree to build a fast, good-looking website. You need HTML, CSS and a clear head about layout. This course teaches exactly that, and by week ten your own site is live on the internet at a real address.

Who this course is for

• Beginners who want a skill they can charge for within a few months
• Students building a portfolio before applying for internships
• Small business owners tired of waiting on a developer for small changes
• Graphic designers who want to build what they design
• Bloggers and freelancers who want control over their own site

No coding background required. If you can use a browser and a text editor, you can start.

What you will be able to do by the end

• Write clean, semantic HTML that search engines and screen readers understand
• Style a page confidently with CSS, including colour, type and spacing systems
• Build layouts with Flexbox and CSS Grid instead of fighting them
• Make a site work properly on a phone, which is where most of your visitors are
• Build a working contact form and understand what happens after Submit
• Buy a domain, set up hosting, upload files and put a site live

Course outline

How the classes work

• Live online classes on Zoom or Google Meet, screen sharing in both directions
• Everything is written by hand in a plain editor first, so you understand what tools generate for you later
• One build task between classes, reviewed together at the start of the next
• Small groups, or one-on-one if you are working on a specific project of your own
• All tools used are free: VS Code, a browser, and free hosting for practice

What you need to join

• A laptop or desktop computer. This course cannot be done on a phone.
• A stable connection for screen sharing
• Roughly 4 hours a week including practice, if you want it to stick
• A domain and hosting only in week 10, and only if you want your site publicly live

Common questions

Do you teach WordPress?

Not in this course. HTML and CSS come first, because they are what you fall back on when a theme does not do what a client wants. WordPress is far easier once you can read the code underneath it.

Is this design or development?

Both, weighted towards building. You will learn enough visual judgement to make sensible layout, type and colour decisions, and enough code to build them properly.

Will I be able to take freelance work after this?

You will be able to build and deliver a simple business or portfolio site, which is what most first paid jobs are. Larger projects need more practice, and the portfolio you finish here is what you show to get them.

Do I need to learn JavaScript separately?

Week 9 covers the interactive pieces most small sites need. Full JavaScript is a course of its own, and you will know by then whether you want it.

See our other web development courses, or if you need help with a university project or assignment specifically, request a tutor — connecting with one is free, and you pay only the lesson fee you agree.