WEBSITE: The Final Countdown

While I do believe that redesigning the website was certainly our hardest project this year (which was probably why it was the last), I also feel that it was the most interactive and informationally grueling project that we were challenged with to date. When we first opened the Dreamweaver program as a class and were slowly introduced to the content that we were to redesign, I felt so overwhelmed. It was slightly more difficult for me personally to navigate through because I was working with a newer version of the program than the rest of the class, which made reorganizing the content and altering the layout slightly more complicated. However, the more we used the program, the less visually confusing it became. I don't want to refer to this slight relief of confusion as “easier”, because it certainly was not easy my any means, but once we learned a basic overview of what exactly we were reading, my brain was certainly less mangled by it all. Once the initial shock of what we were actually doing was over, going through the motions of the program and seeing my website come to life was fascinating, quite frankly. I had never used a program like this before, let alone think that I of all people would be able to successfully complete the project without causing my laptop to burst into flames. I wish I had more time with my professor to really gain an in-depth knowledge of this program because I can certainly see myself creating my own website one day, or even going back and using the one I just made… the only thing missing is my own domain for the site. I felt the software made it easy to change viewing preferences and inserting images and text, although there were several things I could not alter on the site simply due to my lack of knowledge of the program and limited class time. A feature I especially liked was the “preview”, where it would allow you to see the progress you’e made and where you need to make improvements, on the actual internet browser. I felt that was very helpful when aligning and sizing my images for my header photo and portfolio images. The main purpose of a website in general is to get your information out to the public in order to essentially promote yourself. With that said, I thought it was extremely beneficial to us to add in our links to social media accounts specific to us, as well as our phone numbers and emails also linked on the website. I personally used Facebook and blogger, since I do not use twitter nor to I have a Linkedin. As part of the portfolio page, I also felt it was very beneficial to us to add previous project visuals as examples of our work for potential employers to view. By displaying them this way, it not only makes them easier to view, but easier to essentially “distribute” to a widespread number of people, by keeping it all on one medium. Overall, as difficult and at times frustrating as I found this project to be, the knowledge gained not only from using Dreamweaver, but the other Adobe programs as well, has proven to be beneficial to me for work and recreational use and I plan to continue learning about the programs and seeing what else I can create long after the semester ends.