Week 2 Lab

I have made a start on a template from the website. It is far from finished but I like the appearance and navigation at the moment. I need to decide on what sub pages I want to put in the menu headings and also what the layout of the main body are.

I created a banner and a footer in fireworks and I like the way they have turned out. I am now going to work on the lab exercise which has been set and will come back to this project as soon as possible.



John

Week 1 Lab (1st October 2009)

Web Authoring and Design
Week 1 – Lab exercise 1/10/09

Google the following terms and write a paragraph to explain them:

HTML:

HTML stands for Hyper text Markup language. Web browsers use html code to display what the developer has created in a web page. A web site built using only html will be quite basic compared to newer websites which use xhtml, flash and scripting to enhance the user experience as well as the aesthetics of the site. Most people find it easy to learn the basics of HTML.

Javascript:

Javascript is the most popular scripting language used on the web. This is a client side scripting language. Despite similarities in conventions, it is not a direct descendant of Java however is considered to be named after Java for purely commercial reasons.

PHP:

PHP is a scripting language which is widely used for web development. It usually runs on the server. It was developed in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf and is useful for sites which require automatic updating.

Web Authoring Software:

Web authoring software is a piece of software which allows users to create and publish websites without the need for a huge amount of html experience. Popular packages include Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage. There are some free packages available including nvu which are also easy to use. By creating a site in one of these packages, one of the benefits is that if you change or move a link or file, all of the other links can be updated automatically. Some packages integrate FTP (file transfer protocol) details so you don’t need to build your site in one package and then publish it with a separate FTP program.

Image manipulation Software:

Image manipulation software is a piece of software that allows photos to be changed or touched up in a way that alters their initial appearance. Popular packages include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro. A free piece of software called GIMP is also popular.

Static web page:

A static web page is a page that always has the same content on it when it is downloaded by users. It only changes when the publisher makes changes to the site manually. It cannot be personalised in any way by the site user. It is easy for a developer to build a static web site as one of their first attempts but becomes difficult to maintain if the site increases in size or needs regular updates.

Dynamic web page:

Dynamic pages are pages where the content is separate from the design of the site. For example, all of the BBC news pages have the same template however when a new story is published, it is done dynamically by adding the story to a database which then generates a space on the BBC news website.

Web 2.0

The term "Web 2.0" was coined by Darcy DiNucci in 1999. She was attempting to explain that as the web will become available on many different platforms and developers should be thinking about this. It is now used to describe how user generated content is able to appear immediately on the web and web users can customise their own experience.

Web Accessibility

Web accessibility means making website usable by people of all abilities including disabled people. Site developers should bear in mind how a blind or deaf user will be able to use their sites. Blind people can use software such as screen readers to read out written content whereas deaf users may need captions or subtitles if they have to watch a video. Even less serious disabilities such as colour blindness should be considered by avoiding colours which some not have enough contrast to make them easily distinguishable.

Lecture 1 (1st october 2009)

Lecture 1 was enjoyable. I am familiar with many of the themes such as the importance of consistent navigation and of sites being easy to use and not over-complicated.

I am looking forward to learning more about functionality and interactivity. I also think the project of designing a site to promote at least 6 scotttish tourist attractions will be very interesting.

John