WEB/240 Week 1

Supporting Activity: HTML5 Tags

Describe at least one HTML5 tag that has not been used in a previous response to this question. What is this tag used for and how does it differ from previous tags mentioned? Is this a tag you will use on the site you create for this class? Explain why or why not.

Supporting Activity: Web Displays

Select a website and compare how it looks on two different monitors, browsers, or computers running different operating systems. Make sure you look at every page of the site, and then answer the following questions:
     • What were the two different browsers, monitors, or operating systems that you compared?
     • What differences, if any, did you notice? What do you think caused these differences?
     • If you did not notice any differences, describe at least one difference that might be noticed when

        using different browsers, operating systems, or monitors to view a web page.
     • Discuss why there these differences exist between monitors, browsers, and operating systems.

Supporting Activity: W3C Recommendations

Discuss one advantage of involving various companies in the development of the W3C Recommendations.

Supporting Activity: Organizing with Folders

Consider you are designing a website consisting of three web pages and three images. Discuss how you would organize the files within the root directory of the website.

Supporting Activity: CSS Technology

Discuss why an external style sheet is usually the most effective type of style sheet to use.

Supporting Activity: Enhancing the User Experience

As a web designer, what are some ways you might create the best possible user experience?  In other words, what are the considerations for designing a website that works well on a desktop computer and mobile devices and smart phones?

WEB/240 Week 2

Individual: Website Evaluation Table
Use the Week Two Learning Team Collaborative discussion to assist you with this assignment.
Create a table or form describing 10 specific design criteria that can be used to evaluate any website. This table or form will be used in Week 3 to evaluate multiple websites.
Submit using the Assignment Files tab

Individual: Website Design and Development, Part 1

Refer to the Week 1, Overview: Individual Website Design Document Instructions for an overview of this project.
Part A: Complete your website design document by covering the following information in detail:
• Topic
• Purpose
    • Why do you need this site?
    • Why do your visitors need this site?
• Audience
    • Brief description of target audience
    • General geographic location of audience
    • Estimate number of people
    • Estimate average age
    • Level of familiarity with computers and Internet
    • Key target audience insight - Most compelling thing you want the audience to

        think, learn or do as a result of visiting the site

   • A site map showing the interconnections of the pages of the site. This should

       include all pages, including the placeholder ones you need for future expansion.
    • A description of the purpose and functionality of the interactive form your site will

        have.

Update this in future weeks based on instructor feedback and accounting for any changes in the site as you develop the site.

Part B: Create a draft version of your homepage for your planned website demonstrating the use of HTML and application of design elements. You should include placeholders for any multimedia you are planning to add in the coming weeks.
Submit both parts; your website design document and homepage (filename should be: index.html) to the Assignment Files tab.

NOTE: Both websites were built using Adobe Dreamweaver with templates from the 'start menu' of Dreamweaver.  NO PRE-MADE WEBSITE PAGES WERE USED since that will get you a Zero Score.  This Tutorial includes HTML , CSS, and Image files for two Individual Websites.

Supporting Activity: Development and Production Environments
The process of creating and maintaining a website typically involves both development and production environments. What is one reason for maintaining the two separate environments and the purpose of each? Explain. Is there a scenario for bringing the two together? Explain.

Supporting Activity: Image File Names

Select one of these guidelines and discuss the rationale for it. Please provide an example in your discussion.

* Use all lowercase letters.

* Do not use punctuation symbols and spaces.

* Do not change the file extensions (should be .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, or .png).

* Keep your file names short, but descriptive.

Supporting Activity: Website Goals

An important consideration for a web designer is to prioritize the goals for each web project.  For example, a client might want to focus on preserving and promoting their brand identity.  Discuss other types of goals a client might want to achieve with a web.

Supporting Activity: Design Principles

"In this chapter, you will learn how to ...

* Use graphics appropriately on web pages

* Describe the principles of visual design

*Design for your target audience

* Design clear, easy-to-use navigation

* Improve the readability of the text on your web pages

* Describe the most common types of website organization

* Apply the concept of universal design to web pages

* Describe web page layout design techniques

* Apply best practices of web design"

Choose one item from this list and discuss it with respect to the website you will be designing for this course.

Supporting Activity: Cross Browser Compatibility
Discuss ways by which a web designer can help ensure a web page is cross browser compatible.

Supporting Activity: Using CSS to Define Fonts
Before the advent of CSS the <font> tag was used to control the font style, size, color, etc. on a web page.  Today, most web designers incorporate the font definitions in a style sheet.  Discuss the advantages of using CSS with respect to defining the fonts used on a website.

WEB/240 Week 3

Individual: Website Design and Development, Part 2

Note: The Week 3 Website includes a Custom Video.  This tutorial has a generic video about Photography, but I can create any theme/business topic.  Email me @ uoptutorials@yahoo.com and I will make a new video for you for no charge (only cost to you is the cost of this tutorial).

Expand your design document to integrate changes based on instructor feedback.
Update your site to at least three pages, with placeholder pages as needed. Include multimedia appropriate to the site. Use CSS as appropriate to control the look of the site. Make sure your navigation bar is fully functional.
Submit your website folder, including all contents (images, CSS, etc.) as a compressed zip file using the Assignment Files tab.

Individual: Website Evaluation

Submit, individually (using the Week Three Learning Team Collaborative discussion for support), the following:
• An evaluation of the Elias Group website and the two similar websites using the evaluation form or table you created in Week 2. The two similar websites do not need to be from the Virtual Organizations.
You may use two websites found on the Internet.
• Recommendations for improving the Elias Group website based on the evaluations (consider the similar sites and the current Elias Group website - how can the Elias Group website be improved?).
Submit your assignment using the Assignment Files tab.

Supporting Activity: Images and Multimedia
What are two site examples that have images or multimedia that are used effectively on the site? Why do you think they work well on the site? Include the URLs of the sites in your response for others to view your selections.

Supporting Activity: Streaming Media
Research the role of streaming media to support organizational objectives and then answer the following:
• What are three possible ways that streaming media can be used to accomplish the

    objectives of an organization?
• What are two benefits and two challenges that might be faced when implementing

    streaming media within an organization?

Supporting Activity: The Anchor Tag

The anchor tag, <a>, is one of the most important html tags for the HTML designer. It becomes even more important when considering search engine optimization. The anchor tag is used to facilitate both internal and external links on a website.
Discuss the difference between an internal link and an external link.  Provide an example of each.

Another approach to designing for both traditional websites and websites that display on mobile devices is to create two separate sites...one a traditional computer website and a second completely separate mobile website.
Discuss one advantage and one disadvantage of this approach.

Supporting Activity: Using Tables
"The purpose of a table is to organize information. In the past, before CSS was well supported by browsers, tables were also use to format web page layouts. An HTML table is composed of rows and columns, like a spreadsheet. Each individual table cell is at the intersection of a specific row and column."
Discuss how you might use a table format on the website you are creating for this class.

WEB/240 Week 4

Individual: Website Evaluation
Based on your recommendations from Week 3, create a prototype or mockup of the home page and a secondary page of your choice for the Elias Group website. You can use a web design tool such as
Dreamweaver or a simliar method for creating the mockups.
Submit your two redesigned pages using the Assignment Files tab.

Individual: Website Design and Development, Part 3
Expand your design document to integrate changes based on instructor feedback.
Update your site to include an interactive web form discussed in your website design document. Use JavaScript to validate the form contents and display the results of that validation to the user in a popup window.
Submit your website as a compressed zip file using the Assignment Files tab.

Supporting Activity: JavaScript
What is the purpose of using JavaScript on a website? What is a specific example of a JavaScript application that will be beneficial on the site you are creating? How can you use JavaScript for form validation? Finally, how does JavaScript differ from Java?

Supporting Activity: JavaScript Framework
What is an example of a JavaScript framework? In the framework you have described, what is an example of an application that would work well on the site you are building for the class? What is the purpose of the application and how will it enhance your site?

WEB/240 - Week 5

Individual Website Evaluation Project

Option #1 The Elias Group = 11 Pages with screenshots, 2,344 Words!!!

Option #2 Huffman Trucking = 8 Pages with screenshots, 2,005 Words!!

**BOTH OPTIONS INCLUDED**

Finalize and submit your 5- to 6-page written evaluation for the Elias Group website. The evaluation should include the following:
• The purpose and intended audience of the Elias Group website.
• A discussion of the design criteria created in Week 2, including a description of why each was considered to be important (this needs to written in paragraph format).
• The results of the comparative review of all three websites. This should be written as a comparative review in paragraph format, comparing the results of the completed evaluations from Week 3. The completed evaluation form(s) should be provided as an appendix at the end of your paper, not within the body of the paper.
• A detailed analysis of the Elias Group website based on the chosen design criteria that may include graphics, figures, images screen mockups, and descriptive text where appropriate.
• A detailed description of the changes made in the redesign prototypes/mockups. Provide a screenshot image of your mockups in this section of your paper.
• A desciption of how you would use metadata and other promotion tools/methods to promote the redesigned website.
• Discuss how the website changes will help the Elias Group be more successful in the future.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Submit the evaluation paper using the Assignment Files tab.

**BONUS**

Website HTML & CSS files for The Elias Group is included - Home Page & Contact Page with images!!

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Supporting Activity: Web Project Development

Discuss how the website project you created for this course might have benefited from more than one person working on it.

Supporting Activity: Reviewing Websites

Discuss the features you would look for when reviewing other websites before designing your own. Is this the process you used for the website you created for this course?

Supporting Activity: E-Commerce Overview

Discuss one disadvantage of e-commerce that could impact customer satisfaction.

Supporting Activity: Web Page Elements

If the <title> tag is considered the second most important element for search engine optimization (SEO), what is the most important web page element for SEO?

Supporting Activity: SEO Techniques

What factors might contribute to the popularity of a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.)?

Supporting Activity: Responsive Design Advantages

One of the advantages of responsive web design is that visitors to a website can get the same viewing experience with different browsers in different devices.  And, a web designer doesn't have to manage multiple web pages, which can reduce the maintenance and overall cost of a website.