The pathway below represents an efficient and effective course taking sequence for this program. Individual circumstances might require some changes to this pathway. It is always recommended that you meet with an academic counselor to develop a personalized educational plan.
The courses have been intentionally placed and should be prioritized in the order in which they appear. If you are unable to take all the courses in a semester, you should prioritize enrolling in the courses in the order below. Some courses have been noted as “Appropriate for Intersession” . Should you need (or want) to take classes in the summer and/or winter intersessions, the program recommends these courses as appropriate for the condensed schedule of the intersessions.
Some pathways combine a “Certificate of Achievement” and an “Associate Degree”. If you are pursuing only the Certificate of Achievement, you are only required to take the courses marked “Program Requirement” .
All pathways include at least one “Gateway Course” which introduces you to the program and/or field of study and helps you decide if you want to continue with this Academic and Career Path.
Most Associate degrees (though not Associate Degrees for Transfer) require satisfying the SMC Global Citizenship requirement. If the Program Requirements do not include a “Global Citizenship course” , be sure to select a General Education course that also satisfies Global Citizenship.
A Website Software Specialist designs, develops, and manages websites with the skills needed to be successful in today’s job market. A Website Software Specialist needs to be knowledgeable in a variety of Internet technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and server-side scripting), as well as Web authoring applications such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and WordPress. They are primarily responsible for developing user friendly and interactive Web pages, integrating and optimizing different multimedia components, and implementing hosting, publishing, and development workflow strategies.
Upon completion of the program, students will:
- Upon completion of this program, students will learn a variety of Internet technologies and web-authoring tools for website development and maintenance.
- Upon completion of this program, students will gain the necessary knowledge and skills for designing, developing, and managing websites.
Icon Key
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Gateway Course
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Program Requirement
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General Education
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Appropriate for Intersession
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Available Online
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Global Citizenship
Semester 1
15-17 Units
This beginning course explores the foundations of technology as well as current trends and emerging topics in information technology. Students complete hands-on projects in operating systems, web browsers, and web-based office applications. Students will also be introduced to topics such as understanding programming, computer security and social media.
This hands-on course provides all the skills necessary to navigate, create and manage content on the World Wide Web. Students will become familiar with the Internet and its underlying technology and security. The course also covers the principles of Web page design, the use of graphics and other media files, and the creation of linked documents. Students will use both HTML and a Web authoring program to create and edit Web pages, and will have the opportunity to put their Web sites online by publishing to a Web server.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 1
SMC GE Area IV-B Course 3-5 units
SMC GE Area IV-A Course 3 units
SMC GE Area II-B Course 3 units
Semester 2
16 Units
HTML5 is the next generation of HTML. This hands-on course will explore the differences between HTML5 and XHTML, validating pages to current Web standards and using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) exclusively to control the look and feel of a site. Students will create and enhance Web pages with links, graphics, tables and forms. Proper use of HTML5 and CSS3 can provide true separation of content, structure and presentation in Web pages, making them structurally sound, easier to maintain, and more consistent with legal requirements for accessibility.
- Skills Advisory: Students should have a working knowledge of Windows.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 50
This hands-on course introduces students to Web development using the newest features in client-side markup languages to create modern day visual front-ends. Following responsive Web design practices, students will learn how to make front-ends dynamically react to the user by using features such as floating windows, animations, carousels and sliders, nifty widgets, drop down menus, parallax scroll effects, single page applications and simple games. Students will also learn various client-side techniques for working with data, form data validation, and data collection using Web services, XML, and AJAX to process user input such as product orders. Technologies included in instruction are the current versions of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, XML, jSON, and AJAX.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 51
- Skills Advisory: CIS 59A
- Skills Advisory: GR DES 66
This course is for the non-design student interested in learning Photoshop. Students will learn image creation and editing using Adobe Photoshop. Students learn to create, repair and modify images, scan photos, plan composite images and create special effects for use in a variety of applications. Hands-on experience is provided in a microcomputer lab. This class covers the objectives necessary for the Visual Communication using Adobe Photoshop (ACA) certification.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 1
This class is designed for students who are either undecided about their educational or career goals, validating their decisions, or seeking to transition into a new career. Students are guided through a process that focuses on their individual interests, skills, personality and values to aid in the selection of a major, determine a career direction and develop career goals. Students will relate their self-assessment information to possible college major and career choices. Decision-making models and goal setting techniques are examined and will be used to develop short and long term education and career plans.
- E - Lifelong Understanding and Self-Development
ENGL 2 recommended for transfer options
See the full list: SMC GE Area III Course
CS 3 recommended in preparation for CS 87A
Semester 3
15 Units
WordPress is the world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS) platform, powering personal blogs, some of the largest community/society websites, eCommerce web stores and fan sites built with cutting edge technology. This course provides students with the knowledge, skills, and hands-on experience to create, enhance, and maintain a successful WordPress site. Students learn the necessary skills to install WordPress, design, and build a WordPress website, create and sustain a blog, populate the site with content aggregation, and build a content management system. Students will be able to edit the site, integrate analytics, optimize for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and build for multiple contributors. The design and integration of WordPress themes, widgets, and plugins will be emphasized.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 50
Digital marketing enables an individual or business to promote an organization, brand, product or service using a variety of online marketing strategies: content marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing and e-marketing. Numerous tools and applications are utilized to deliver these strategies, such as a content management system; blogging; content creators and editors for images, posts and videos; crowdsourcing; podcasting; RSS feed and directories; social media business accounts and ad managers, like Facebook Ad Manager; search engine advertising, like Google Ads; SEO techniques and tools; third party tracking and analytics tools, such as Google Analytics; email and direct message marketing; and event promotion. This course provides the skills to use these tools and applications for a successful digital marketing campaign.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 1
This hands-on course for non-design majors provides a complete coverage of Dreamweaver features from basic to advanced. Topics include Web page creation, Web site management, HTML, Dynamic HTML, and Java Script. Students will learn to integrate images, sound, and other multimedia using Dreamweaver. This course covers navigation bars, formatting text styles, cascading style sheets, and content management. Upon completing this course, students will be ready to plan, build, upload, and maintain a professional Web site.
- Skills Advisory: CIS 50
This course introduces the Python programming language. Students will learn how to write programs dealing in a wide range of application domains. Topics covered include the language syntax, IDE, control flow, strings, I/O, classes and regular expressions. Students may use either a PC (Windows) or a Mac (Linux) to complete their programming assignments.
- Skills Advisory: CS 3
- Area IV-B: Language and Rationality (Group B) Option 2
BUS 34A recommended
Semester 4
14 Units