When i came to Distinctive Publishing i had no idea of how to create a website or even start a layout of a website for that matter, but by the help of the step by step tutorials that were uploaded to youtube and easily accessible by any computer to view at anytime, meant that i could learn not only at work but also at home.
The first assignment we were set was to learn how to use the software we would be using most throughout the course, which was Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Step by step tutorials of how to use the software were uploaded to youtube and all we had to do was follow and copy the video's so that Dreamweaver and Photoshop became a second nature. For Dreamweaver the video's included content such as how to set out a web page, Image Place Holders, Wire Frames, CSS Style Sheets, etc... With Photoshop we designed a header that we would one day use for our one page websites. We added paintbrushes to use on photoshop, used gradient colour, used different text and previewed it to see if the text would work with the design of the website we had decided to base the project on.
Once we felt comfortable and confident with the software we were set the task of designing the layout of the idea of our one page website by using photoshop. Adding headers, text, images. My one page website was based on nightlife within Newcastle. So i had to research everything about particular clubs in the area. When i had all the information i needed i added the text of drink prices, entry fee, opening and closing times, what Dj's were performing. I also included images of the clubs which i believed to be the best places to visit that week showing foam party's, strobe lights and people dancing on the crowded dance floor. I really believe that sometime within the future this website could grow and develop and help people plan there night out, So Ben told me to set up a Facebook page and i did. The web page was only being designed and yet a Facebook page was created to get followers so that they would spread the word to the northeast that soon such a unique web page would be available for use. Within 2 days there was over 100 followers.
The Photoshop design was then finished and i felt confident to move onto the next step which was setting up the Wire Frame in dreamweaver for my very own one page website, Creating a CSS Stylesheet using (DA-FONT & FONT SQUIRREL) We also used youtube video's to learn these techniques to. At first setting up a CSS Style sheet was difficult and confusing but like photoshop and dreamweaver it became a second nature. Thanks to the previous video's i done at the beginning of the course i found it easy to use and i was quick to finish the project. I did make a lot of changes though from the photoshop design. I decided to change the font, Colour scheme also. My skills had developed and i was beginning to use more tools to create better graphics and make the web page look much more professional, i was even adding links to Facebook, embedding video's and beginning to write in code but I would finish and think, you know what that could look so much better, or that doesn't work and needs changing, i was beginning to think like a Web designer. Eventually i was happy with the final product and had finished my one page website.
Next on the list was to make my web page live. We made an account on X10hosting.com and linked our web page to it getting a domain name and user name. We then downloaded a software called FileZilla this was recommended to be the easiest and less confusing free software. Once it was downloaded all we needed to do was set up an account and attach the web page. We then opened the software up and a box appeared, the box was split in to 2 down the middle. On the left was the files from our computer on the right was the website space, all we had to do was add every file we used in Dreamweaver over into the website file and save. It was as simple as that and with in 30 minutes our website was up and running free of charge.
My website is now live on the web for everyone to view it is linked to my Facebook web page so my followers can see the daily updates. The main reason why it is linked to Facebook is because basically everyone uses the Social networking site. It could be possible for millions to see world wide and not just the people of the North East. I never stopped with the web page, i created a completely new one. I created a "About us" page just giving a brief description of what the web page is about. I then linked that to the original one page website and then used FileZilla to make that go live to. Again i never stopped there either i wanted to make it look professional so i revised code and found a code to add a drop down menu it looks simple and was easy to add and just all round makes the website look more professional but also lets me progress the site as i can add to it any time i feel ready, For example i still need to include the Appropriate age for the website because this website is made for people over the age of 18 due to it being about Alcohol and Nightlife. I don't want underage kids turning up to events and telling the club that my Website is sending out false advertisements. Also one Image in particular may offend people, it is a picture of Female promoters in a club posing, this is there job and in theory is a major part of the clubs success but for some people this could be offensive so i need to solve this situation to cause no offence.
The next challenge was to fix little problems such as some font's could only be used in certain search engines for example here at Distinctive we work on Mac's therefore safari is the default search engine and when we preview our work it opens up in safari and if it doesn't work we fix it to suit that particular engine but that doesn't necessarily mean that we have fixed it for others such as Firefox, Chrome and Internet explorer. So what we did was the font that we had downloaded off DaFont we imported that to Font squirrel and downloaded the kit, then within the style sheet we embedded the font code including font size and colour. After that we went to CSS3.com and added the CSS3 code and also added that to the style sheet so that every web browser could view that particular font we had used with in our web page. After the style sheet was finished we had to attach the style sheet to our HTML which then officially allowed every web browser to see our web pages as it was meant to be seen. Other small things such as making sure hyperlinks worked was assessed easily by previewing the HTML in safari, clicking on the Hyperlink and making sure that it sent us to the correct page for example making sure that my Facebook icon linked me straight to my Facebook website page and not anything else. Making sure pictures & video's were in the correct alignment and not distorting the page in any way, and of course spell checking.
Seems i had made a Facebook page for my site Ben told me a way of making it more appealing by adding a small web page onto the Facebook profile itself. The software i used was called Wix.com. So not only was i running a Facebook page and creating a website, at home i was committed and made a wix page for Facebook which i updated everyday before i came to work, it was basically so that people got a rough idea of what my finished web page would be like and would just make it much more interesting not just daily update status's it included video's and pictures also. It contains an about us page which appears by animation it basically tells viewers about the six page and what sessions is all about.
My final thoughts - Basically i had times when i felt like giving in cause it was at times so confusing it was difficult and stressful at times, but i stuck by and said no i will finish this.. and i did. Don't get me wrong i enjoyed it at times to, creating images on photoshop was something i really enjoyed such as headings etc.. i have never tried anything like this before and have learnt so much over such little time, and i expect to only get better and try my hardest to develop my skills and get my website to a professional standard.
