Monday, April 25, 2011

Final website: final week

You will have all this week to finish your exam websites. Please take your time, ask questions and plan your site carefully! Remember, this site is your exam grade! It counts more than any other project. I will be looking over your WIREFRAMES while you are working on your website to make sure you are following the blueprint you have set for yourself. If you are not, you'd better have a good reason why, or points will be deducted.

Remember the steps (in order:)
• Wireframe
• Measurements
• Pick images
• Resize images
• Construct site

Use your time WISELY in class. If I see goofing off, facebooking, YouTubing or get excuses of class materials left at home, your grade will suffer.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Photoshopping your images

Tonight you will start photoshopping your images for your website. Make sure you bring your detailed wireframes with you, as we will use those for the blueprint for your website and sizing your images in photoshop. Once you have ALL your images photoshopped to the correct size, only then will I allow you to start your HTML. Remember, this last website is your exam grade, so take your time and make it GREAT!

I will be assisting during class and helping you get your images to the correct sizes, as listed on your wireframes. Remember, I want to see two, detailed wireframes in class tonight before you can work on your images!

HOMEWORK:
• Keep working on your images
• Start coding your site using Dreamweaver (after I've approved your images)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Let's work on the FLOW of your websites

The websites you turned in last week were good. Now it's time to make a GREAT website. We're going to jazz up our designs a bit with a few easy tricks to make them flow a little better, look a little nicer and generally be easier on the eyes.


We're going to talk about resizing images to fit the page. Remember, you're supposed to be wireframing your sites before you build them. You should go into the construction phase with a nice set of blueprints for how your website should look. You should know how big your images need to be before you start constructing the html. We will wireframe TWO pages of a new site and you will be required to come up with correct sizes for your photographs/images on your wireframe. Then, you will create all your graphics using photoshop before you even open dreamweaver. You will use your wireframe as your blueprint and create all your graphics from that.


We're also going to talk more about consistency with your navigation and footers. These need to be the same on every page, so people don't have to look for them. We will talk about creating a web "template" to use so the headers/footers can always be the same. It is imperative that you don't make a visitor think too much, or else they may click right out of your site. We want them to stay!


You will be designing this website for YOURSELF. It can be a portfolio website or a personal website, but it will be for YOU and have YOUR name on it. So make it good, or people will know who built the bad website! :)


HOMEWORK:

• Pick the type of website you want to build: personal or professional.

• Gather together some photos to use. Remember, if you are getting them off the web, make sure they are big enough (resolution) to use! If they are tiny, they probably won't work. Please feel free to take your own photos if you would like!

• On paper (not computer) wireframe TWO pages for your site. Remember to keep your header, footer and navigation consistent!

• Clearly mark measurements for website width, table/cell widths, etc on your wireframes. You MUST do this!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tonight I'll test your know-how!

I hope everyone now understands the principles of building a tables-based website. Tonight in class, you'll have a quiz. I will be asking you to build one, on your own. Don't panic! I'll be asking the class to complete each step, one-at-a-time, so nobody will be left behind. This will be a simple skills test to see if you understand how to: change page background color, insert a table, center that table, add/merge cells, enter text, center text, make a simple link, insert an image, etc.

This isn't going to be as hard as you think, but I must see that you have the skills down before we move on. Once we are done with these, you will be allowed to leave.

NO HOMEWORK!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Review: Using Wireframes, measuring, working on a GRID

We are going to review some of the skills learned in previous weeks tonight. I want to make sure you understand the concept of planning a website out from beginning to end. I will give you materials and ask you to follow along with me in constructing a simple website.

Take your time and get this right. I may just ask you to do this for a QUIZ sometime soon. (hint, hint)

We will spend all class period tonight working on these and answering questions.

NO HOMEWORK!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Websites are due TONIGHT!

You have the entire class period to work on them, but your websites are due BEFORE you leave tonight. Remember, all work MUST be saved in the root folder you created and your images must be in a specific "images" folder INSIDE the root folder. Don't give me any other files than just your website files when turning these in!

Use your class time wisely, as I will take these up before you leave. NO exceptions! If you're not finished, you'll just have to turn in what you've got done and hope for the best. You have had plenty of time to get these done, so if they aren't finished, you weren't using your class time wisely and I will grade accordingly.

The good news is: NO HOMEWORK!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Finishing your website!

O.k. class, let's try our best to finish construction of your websites during tonight's class. I will evaluate the class tonight to see if this is possible or not, but I would really like you to work hard tonight to get them finished. If necessary, I may give you Wednesday's class to work on them too.

Don't waste time! If I catch you surfing the web tonight during class, POINTS WILL BE DEDUCTED. Use ALL of your class time and get these done!

HOMEWORK:
• WORK!
• WORK!
• MORE WORK!