ARISE AFRICA NETWORK VOCATIONAL COURSE (AAN)

Module 10 — Web Security, SEO & Freelance Business

Learning Objectives

Key Terms & Definitions

XSS
Cross-site scripting — injection of malicious scripts into webpages.
CSRF
Cross-site request forgery — tricking authenticated users into submitting requests.
HTTPS
HTTP over TLS/SSL — encrypted web traffic.
Meta tags
HTML tags providing metadata to search engines (title, description).
Robots.txt
File instructing search engines which pages to crawl.
Sitemap
XML file listing pages for search engines to index.
Accessibility (a11y)
Making websites usable for people with disabilities.
Core Web Vitals
Performance metrics from Google: LCP, FID, CLS.

Theory — Security, SEO & Business

Security

Front-end security includes escaping untrusted content, using HTTPS, and following secure coding practices. Never store secrets in client-side code. Use CSP (Content Security Policy) headers where possible on the server to reduce XSS risk.

SEO Basics

On-page SEO focuses on quality content, meaningful titles, descriptive meta descriptions, semantic HTML and structured data when applicable. Fast-loading sites and mobile-friendly designs rank better.

Freelance Business

Prepare a portfolio with case studies, technologies used, and clear outcomes. Create proposal templates with scope, timeline, milestones and payment terms. Define basic pricing packages and communicate value clearly.

Practical Labs

  1. Run a Lighthouse audit (or DevTools audit) and implement three performance improvements (image compression, remove unused CSS, enable caching).
  2. Write meta titles and descriptions for your site pages and create a sitemap.xml file.
  3. Create a one-page freelance proposal and a simple portfolio page showcasing 3 projects.
Faith Corner

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." — Colossians 3:23. Deliver your best and act with integrity in business.

Knowledge Check — 5 Questions

Q1. Which practice helps prevent XSS?


Q2. Which is important for SEO?


Q3. What is Lighthouse used for?


Q4. What should a freelance proposal include?


Q5. Which Core Web Vital measures layout shifts?