You will note in the web assignment description that I wanted you to create a four page web and that I said two pages can be nonsense text yes, you can input text that doesn't make sense. Some web designers use Latin. You can quote the constitution, but this nonsense text should look like it fits in with the rest of your content. That means it should be the same style and font. (You don't have to do nonsense text if you don't want to.)
Remember you will be creating a web, this means the pages you ultimately turn into me will have a common purpose and theme. Your web pages are interrelated and "co-dependent" the parts add up to a whole -- a web site.
Begin with:
1. Defining:
The goal of your web site.
o State your purpose for your web in a sentence.
o Who your target audience is (normally, you would interview potential users and stakeholders, but this is not required in this class.)
o What type of technology your target users will be using.
Knowing what kind of technology your user will be using is derived from knowing your target audience, i.e. your "personal user". Consider, for example, a musician might assume his users have ipods and up to date computers to download music and burn or rip.
Factors to consider:
• What kind of computers will your users be using?
• What kind of operating systems?
• What kind of connection?
• What level of expertise do they have with technology?
• Are they male? Female?
• Adult? Child? Teenager?*
• Other constraints? (for example, is the typical student a soldier in Iraq or Alaska?)
2. Describe the theme of your web site is/will be -- this will be the visual design for your web site. Theme includes your design ideas for graphics or metaphors you will use in your web design. Technically, theme reflects every item addressed in #1. (Note from your instructor: Everything in your web is related to each other. Consider the differences between a web site for kids who love dinosaurs or for adults who love baseball. Neither one of these sites bears what I would call excellent visual design, but the theme and style of the two sites is very different. Also study the CTC web site and the one for Distance Education. Both look professionally done, but the designs are different.)
o Decide where the navigation menu will be.
o How will the content be laid out?
o How will content "objects" relate to one another?
o What colors will you use?
o Background?
o Header?
o Footer?
o Background? (Consider the colored background of the CTC main web site and the Distance Education one)
o Icons (if any)?
o Major content area vs minor content area. (Think of a newspaper or magazine layout).
o How much white shape will you be using?
3. Create a diagram of the organizational structure of your web site will be (see tutorial 2). This is called a storyboard in your book. This is an example of information architecture task. This helps you design the navigation structure of your web site. Some students use PowerPoint to do this-- this is a student choice.
4. Create a table that shows:
o The pages that will be in your web site.
o What their individual purpose will be.
o What media will be in each page, including images.
o What coding will be used in each page.
o The file names of each web page, including file extensions. Note how each file is named something that reflects its purpose.
o Brief descriptions of the content in your web site. (For your future web designing, your own planning document may look different, but the below is what I want you to do.)
Consider the following planning table for the American Nursery web site (please note my comments in italics):
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A sample of the planning table you should create for your web planning project. (Each page would be a link or button in the navigation menu.)
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Page Title
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File Name
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Content/Purpose
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Media
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Coding
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American Plant Nursery
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index.htm
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Home page for the web site. (The home page will briefly describe/show the web site's purpose: selling trees, plants, organic products; promoting organic gardening; show the theme, and show what else can be found in the web site and give the user a reason for continuing to use the web site. For example, I might want to show a video clip of a gardening expert demonstrating compost. I would have an area or a button that says buy plants and trees, learn about organic gardening in addition to having a link in my navigation menu for each of these main categories. )
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howtocompost.mpg,
banner, tree and plant images
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html with links to JavaScript, and CSS pages (CSS would be used for the menu, and formatting the web site. JavaScript would be used for dynamic page and form navigation.)
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5. Decide on the navigation structure and menu for your web site.
o I would take this information from column Page Title in the above table. Typically each page for your site, including home, needs to be represented in your navigation menu. Each page in my organic commercial web site will be listed in the navigation menu. Navigation menu needs to be on every page. The home page link needs to be on every page. No element of your navigation menu should disappear from page to page.
6. Create a home page and a secondary page for your web site.
o Showing the home page shows that you understand what a home page is/
o Use the title tag in the head section of the html to name your web pages.
o The home page will show the theme and design for your web site and what the home would look like.
o The secondary page will show what the interior pages will look like.
o The secondary page should be any page that you happen to have in your web site. For example, on an Elvis web site, the secondary page might be "Elvis's Favorite Food" or "Elvis's Favorite Songs."
o The secondary page should have a working link to the home page.
o The rest of the home page does not have to have working links.
7. Create a brief outline of your content. This should be similar in content to the content column above.