A New Project

Hi all! Miss me?

At this point I have no plans to update this blog, as this project is long finished. However, if you’re interested, I am working on another project. This one is using Drupal 7.

 

Reflections

So, the independent study ended up being a lot more involved than I had originally planned on it being.

The Drupal site took a lot longer because I had some problems with the Views Module. I finally got it sorted out, and now feel reasonably comfortable using it. My biggest problem with the Drupal site was finding tutorials that were easy to understand. So many of the tutorials out there suppose a level of knowledge that I just don’t have. This doesn’t preclude me from using the software, it just means that I have to work a little harder to figure it out.

The html site I ended up changing templates about 6 times before I finally settled on one that looked like it had most of the main components that I needed already. One of the previous templates I had actually spent about a week tweaking before deciding that it was too much hassle to deal with some of the strange things that the original creator had done with it.

I found the Redish book informative. Most of the content in there I already sort of knew, but she did a really great job of organizing it so that the design elements that I was adding unconsciously were now something that I paid attention to.

The Bell book was helpful for some of the sites that it provided and software that it mentioned. In his book he really talked about different programs that are out there for website building. He talked about the pros and cons to each of them and really helped to give a clear view of what they were like.

Bell 15-17: The Mobile Web

So not only to web designers have to get used to the whole Web2.0 trend of design that is currently going on, now they have to pay attention to the Mobile Web as well. 15 years ago, not many people had cell phones. Those who did own a cell phone carried around these huge boxy objects that look nothing like the slim, tiny cell phones that are around today. Using a phone for anything but talking was unheard of. Going online with your phone? You’re crazy, CRAZY I TELL YOU.

And now, we have cellphones that can do almost anything. They have mini word processing programs on them so that you can write a memo, email, or send a text message. They contain cameras (both video and snapshot) so that you never miss an important event. You can even send a photo that you’ve taken with your phone to a friend. Cell phones have mp3 players, alarm clocks, calendars, games and most of all Internet access.

Now personally, I don’t have Internet access enabled on my phone (something about the outrageously high bill to go along with it). But it has the capabilities. And many people are willing to pay the extra money so that they can have Internet access on their phones. So now, web designers have the task of making sure that their websites are cellphone friendly. Which means that they need to be able to load quickly on a 2-3 inch screen.

Sheesh. Since I do not have the time, I will not be checking to see if my sites are Mobile Web compatible. That is a project for another day.

Using Media in your Website

Extra media on a website is something that should be carefully thought through before adding. Even though sites like YouTube have gained a lot of popularity, most people still don’t expect added media when they go to a site. And if the media isn’t relevant, is irritating, or is necessary but won’t load on their computers, it only takes a user one click to leave your site and never come back.

There was a trend on MySpace for a while of having a song load every time someone visited your page. Now this is fine in moderation, but after hearing the beginning of Britney Spear’s Toxic 30,000 times, it starts to get old very quickly.

A podcast is a little different than simply having your site reload music on every page. A podcast can do a lot to enhance your website, as long as it is relevant, necessary, and will load on the user’s computer.

One thing that you really need to make sure of is that your media is available cross-platform. In other words, you should be able to open in on a Mac and on a PC. It can be extremely frustrating to try and convert media from a PC only format and run it on a MAC. The way to avoid this is to always use media that is in a crossplatform format. It will save both you and your users a lot of hassle in the future if you just use ‘neutral’ formatting to begin with.

In chapter 12 of BAWFF, Bell mentions that Audacity and Jashaka are really good open source audio and video editors. I have not used any of these yet, but have heard really good reviews about them from a few other sources. I plan on downloading and playing around with these over break to reward myself for surviving exams.

So, as long as you use media responsibly and in places where your users will expect it, it can do a lot to make your site stand out.

Drupal Frustrations

I love Drupal. Up until the point when I’m banging my head against the computer desk, unable to find the tutorial I need to show me how to use something.

I’m at that point.

Blasted Views module. All I want is to create a view for the homepage of my Drupal site, so that I can display some news updates. That’s it. That’s all I really want. Why is that too much to ask for? The stupid thing  just refuses to cooperate with me.

This is the point where I feel like I’m just b.s.ing my way through this.

Alright. I’m off to go look for a tutorial that actually makes sense.

Facebook, text editors, and Google Images

In chapter 8, Bell discusses the joys of creating a web presence on Facebook or MySpace. Uh-huh. Because the use of Facebook is really as noble and professional as that. Facebook and MySpace are two of the biggest time-wasters on the internet. They are the bane of college and highschool students everywhere. There are endless apps that will swallow up your time if you let them.

That said, I now need to go update my status.

But seriously, if all you want is a basic page on the internet, go with it. It will take care of all of the formatting for you and its free.

In 10, Bell provides some basic HTML tags and discusses the benefits and negatives to using either a text editor or a WYSIWYG editor. In his list of tags Bell makes a bit of an error. While you can use <bold> or <italic> as a tag, it is better to use <strong> or <em> because these appear on speech readers and will emphasize the semantic meaning behind the text appearance.

And last but not least, in chapter 11, Bell talks about images on the internet. Contrary to all popular belief, it is NOT legal to take an image off the internet and use it for your own purposes. Even if you found it on Google Images. He did, however, mention a few websites that had photos that were available to use, such as Creative Commons, and Free Stock Photography.

Bell 5-7

In chapter 5, Bell talks about some of the great open source alternatives to proprietary software. These programs are great for both web design, and average computer use. One program that he talked about in particular is GIMP. GIMP is a great open source alternative to Adobe Photoshop. If you have never used Photoshop before, I would definitely recommend going with GIMP instead. GIMP has all of the basic functions as Photoshop and has the advantage of being free.

However, if you have worked with Photoshop previously and really know what you’re doing with it, then you may want to continue using it because GIMP doesn’t have some of the more advanced features that Photoshop does.

Another program that Bell talked about was Notepad ++. Notepad ++ takes the basic Notepad program and makes it easier to use.  This version highlights all of your tags, making it easier to figure out any mistakes you made with your code. It also comes in a portable version, which means you can run it off of your jumpdrive and take it with you anywhere. This is the version that I use, and I love it.

In chapters 6 and 7, Bell talks about uploading your files to the web, and about basic website layouts. He covers some of the current best practices regarding organization and link locations. All very basic, but he does a good job explaining it.

Bell 1,3-4 and Drupal site genre update

The first few chapters of Mark Bell’s Build a Website for Free skim over the basic concepts of web design. He discusses font and color choices. He also really stresses the importance of planning out exactly what your website should look like, what its function is going to be, and who your audience is. While Bell doesn’t go into as much detail as Redish does in LGOTW, the basic concepts are the same.

 

 

As one of the major projects for my independent study, I chose to create a website using Drupal. Originally, I had planned on creating a crafty-type site for selling quilt patterns. My mom had been nagging me about doing something like that for a while, so I figured it would be a way to do two things at once. Well, since then, my parents have decided to move. My mom has been insanely busy, and has had no time to design quilt patterns. Hmm. What to do? Eventually I decided to create a site for the homeschool group that I belonged to for a number of years. The group has really grown lately, and while they do now have an email list, most of the information is communicated through the mailed-out newsletter.

 

Since there are about 50 families involved, it has gotten quite expensive to mail out a newsletter. Problems have come up in the past when something on the calendar has changed but not all of the families were notified. There is also a teen-run magazine/newsletter that goes out. People interested in homeschooling (or homeschoolers that have recently moved to the area) would also benefit from an easier way to contact the group coordinator, rather than relying on word of mouth.

 

Other homeschool groups in the area already have websites. Most of them are very poorly designed, and aren’t very helpful to potential members.

 

I am going to create a site that fits the needs of my former homeschool group. Once the site is done, I plan on approaching the group coordinator to see if they would be interested in using it.

Meaningful links and well-proofed content

Chapters 12 and 13 in LGOTW are about having meaningful links and well proofed content on your website. So what does this mean?

 

Meaningful links

Ever click on a link that didn’t take you where you thought it would? Or how about those links that look like they will take you to more information on a certain topic and finding that they take you to an ad instead? Irritating as hell, right?

 

So DON’T DO THAT to your users. It’s a rotten thing to do, and you will piss off (at least) hundreds of people that visit your site. Make sure that it is clear where your links will take people, and that the links actually work. Test your links to make sure that none of them are broken. If it is feasible, a broken link page apologizing for your error is always better than getting an error page on the screen.

 

Well Proofed Content

Remember those English professors that took off points for any misspelled words, misplaced punctuation, or bad grammar? Well now you don’t just get back a paper well covered in red ink to show you just where you went wrong. Life is no longer that simple. Instead, site visitors will judge the professionalism, accountability, and trustworthiness of your organization, all based JUST ON YOUR WRITING. Scary thought, right? What is even scarier is the fact that few (if any) people will bother to contact you to tell you that you made a mistake. Instead they will just leave your site.

 

So, to avoid driving all of your visitors away, make sure that your content is proofread before it is posted on your site. Then make sure that it is proofread again after posting. If you can, get a friend with decent writing skills to then proof your work one final time. It is exceedingly easy to miss errors because you already corrected them mentally, and forgot to go back and actually make the changes.

We are Not amused at your lack of bullet points

In chapters 8 and 9 of LGOTW, Redish discussed the benefits of using tables and bullet point lists when the circumstances call for it. Makes sense right? I mean really, given the choice, the average web user would prefer information that leaps out at them, rather than having to dig through long paragraphs to find what they need.

 

For long lists of info, Redish recommended splitting up the list (if possible) into a bunch of shorter bullet point lists.

 

Tables are useful when the user needs to figure out what they need in relation to something else.

For example, I have X brand of vacuum and have recently burnt out the belt. So I go to company X’s website, where there is this lovely table that gives me the information on what size belt I need for this model of vacuum. This would be a lot easier than trying to read a long paragraph that says the same thing, but takes twice as long to read.

 

Redish also discusses talking directly to the web user. Many people are instantly transported back to English class whenever they have to write something that will be publicly available. This may come as something shocking and borderline sacrilegious, but you do NOT have to always write in the academic third person. But, this doesn’t mean that you get to write in singular 1^st person either.

 

When writing for a company website, think ‘royal we’ (as in WE are Not amused). Use ‘we’ to refer to your site, and you to the consumer. This helps to eliminate a lot of confusion caused by attempting to write in the third person. It also gives your site a friendlier tone. “We want to help YOU” is the emotion of the site. Isn’t that a better message to send to your audience than “we are going to make this as difficult as possible to make you feel like an idiot”?