I'm a student who enjoys computer science and has mostly worked on personal Python projects. After learning some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in lessons, I want to take on a more substantial project: an interactive information website for teenagers and young adults whose parent has cancer. Much of the existing information seems aimed either at young children or at adults, so I'd like to create something that feels more relevant and approachable for this age group.
I want the site to be genuinely useful rather than just a large collection of text. What features, design choices, and coding practices would make it accessible, appealing, and maintainable? I'd also like to publish it eventually so that other people can use it. What should I consider when choosing a hosting option, and how could I help the right audience find it?
3 Answers
Be extremely careful with privacy and medical advice. Don’t collect names, health details, accounts, or other personal information unless you fully understand the legal and security requirements. A public forum or messaging feature could also expose vulnerable users to harassment, so it may be safer to avoid social features entirely at first. Keep the site educational, include clear disclaimers, link to trustworthy professional resources, and have qualified people review the content.
For publishing, a static site is probably the easiest route: build it with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, keep the content in files, and deploy it through a beginner-friendly static host. Services such as Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages, or Netlify can work well for small projects, especially if you use version control. Once it’s live, share it through schools, counselors, healthcare charities, and youth-support services rather than relying only on general search traffic.
Start with a focused informational site before adding complicated interactive features. Organize it around questions a teenager might actually have, use short sections, clear navigation, calming colors, and plenty of whitespace. You could later add small features such as a mood check-in or private journal stored only in the browser, but the core content should be useful even without them. Speaking with a medical professional or a reputable cancer-support organization would also help you check that the information is accurate and appropriate.
That makes sense. I’ll focus on making the information clear and reliable first, which should also keep the project manageable while I’m still learning.