The internet allows access to a large amount of information, but to find what he is searching for, the user has to navigate through numerous websites. From this perspective, web portals can be of great help to the user, as they allow him the access to a wealth of information from one place and thus present an entry point for finding certain content.
However, the process of designing a web portal can be a complicated and lengthy one, demanding a lot of experience and technical knowledge. The goal of this diploma thesis is to show the teachers of Design and technology how to design a web portal by themselves with the help of a WordPress CMS system. It takes a relatively short period time, demands no technical knowledge and enables the teachers to offer their students a little more than usual.
The first part introduces the web portals and tools for designing them. Some of the most popular free of charge and open source systems are presented, namely WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Moodle. Out of these, WordPress CMS system is chosen, on the basis of evaluation and comparison, as the most suitable for quick, simple and efficient web portal design. The diploma thesis subsequently focuses on the designing of a web portal, with a detailed presentation of procedures. At the same time, WordPress system is thoroughly presented, including the possibilities of application, functionality, selecting visual image by using a graphic design template and extending functionality by using plugins.
As a part of the thesis, a model web portal for the environmental content at Design and technology was created. For the purpose of practical presentation of application possibilities and functionality, it is publicly available on the following website:
http://tit.si. Testing of this web portal and evaluation were made, too; we also present the results of a survey conducted among the Design and technology teachers. These prove the success of the design and implementation and indicate reasons for utilisation of all application possibilities and functionality presented.