Web+Activity+One

Web Activity One Click here to view my website.

Web Activity One was an interesting and unique assignment for me because I hadn't ever used and created a website in //Kompozer//. I first viewed and followed the tutorials that Dr. Smyth had provided for us on //Kompozer//. I thought the videos were simple and easy-to-follow as I created my first website. However, I decided that I would develop another website using one of the CSS Templates because I felt like the first one was extremely basic. I wanted my website to look visually appealling because I plan on using it in the future for my job.

I learned new and challenging information throughout the whole assignment. As I stated earlier, I have used Wikispaces and Google Sites in the past, but I haven't ever utilized a program, like //Kompozer//, to design a website from scratch. I encountered several difficulties with the template, creating multiple pages to replicate my home page, and finally getting the website to function correctly on my domain. Ultimately, I believe that this assignment was beneficial as I gained a great deal of knowledge and will use this information in the future to continue the website I created.

Reasoning for my design choices with specific references to the Web Style Guide: As I designed my website, I attempted to keep each page consistent with the others. Every page within my website has the same underlying structure (Titles, Navigation Bar, Font, Font Size/Color), but covers different pieces of information. This quote perfectly relates to the one above. As I stated earlier, I think that websites should show consistency in the format and structure because it provides the viewer with what to expect as he/she navigates from one page to another. Personally, I want every font and image to look the same within the website because I think it shows good design principles if the website is consistent and easy-to-navigate through. As you see, I chose a CSS Template that included a search box on the website. I think it's important for the viewer to be able to search an idea or piece of information if the need arises. I actually decided to use one of the free CSS Templates on the website listed below. The reason I chose to use a template was because I wanted to structure the information in a consistent way so that each piece looks similar as the viewer navigates from page to page. When I started my website, I actually had developed a plan in my head and on paper of the way that I wanted the pages to look. I searched for a template that best connected to the images in my plan and developed this website in order to draw the attention of parents and students. In the Web Style Guide, it explains some features that many websites contain, such as page headers, home links, global navigation, search engines, contact information, and page footers. We were required to include each of these in this week's assignment which would relate to my reasoning for choosing these pieces of information as design choices.
 * "In web sites paths are the consistent, predictable navigational links that appear the same way throughout the website."
 * "Consistency is the golden rule of interface design."
 * "The most fundamental support for users who prefer to search is to make search easily available from every page of your site."
 * "Cascading Style Sheets allow web publishers to retain the enormous benefits of using semantic HTML to convey logical document structure and meanwhile giving graphic designers complete control over the visual display details of each HTML element."
 * "Web "sites" are complete abstractions--they don't exist, except in our heads."
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Entire Chapter on Page Structure and Site Design

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is a brief description of the steps that I followed to create my website: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. I opened the program, //Kompozer//, and searched for the template that I had downloaded on my computer //(File, Open File).// <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Then, I //inserted// my information into the template. When creating a new page, I had to //copy// and //paste// the index file in my KSmithWA1 Folder and //rename// it. I repeated this step three times. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. On all of the pages, I //linked to either a website or e-mail address// by highlighting the words, clicking the link button, and then choosing the file or typing in the e-mail address that I wanted to link to on my website. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. I also //linked to// and //embedded// a //video// from YouTube on page two of my website. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. In addition, I //added navigation// to each page for easy access between different pages. I completed this by highlighting the words, clicking the link button and then choosing the file that I wanted to link to within my website. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">6. After the previous step, I //inserted an image// into each page to represent the reasoning behind my entire website. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">7. Lastly, I published my website and uploaded it to my personal domain on Go Daddy's Site.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">All items that I addressed from the competency worksheet: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Level One <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Level Two <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Level Three
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create a Site (Kompozer)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create a New Page
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enter and Format Text
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Insert an Image
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create a Hyperlink
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create an E-mail Link
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Set the Title
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create an ordered or unordered list
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Preview a Page in a Browser
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Insert/Embed Media
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Modify Page Properties
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Create or modify CSS
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Upload to a Domain

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Resources: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">CSS Template: [] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">YMCA Image: [] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">YMCA Video:[] <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">YMCA Information: Director Handbook