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Computer
Science
In this Issue... Web
Sites
Coming in May... Your Design Portfolio what goes in and how to obtain samples |
Why
Create A Web Site? Before you begin your Web site design, it's a good idea to think about its purpose. Why are you creating a Web site? Do you even need one? What will it do for you? These are important questions to consider. It's important to know why you're doing this before you begin. After all, you are going to spend an awful lot of time or money on your creation. In fact, your Web site will take on a life of it's own. Why is an important question for peace of mind, so that you know if you're achieving your goal or not. For example, my goal with Writing at Its Best is to present my work in a professional way, as well as offer information for beginning and intermediate writers. Why am I doing this? Because I believe that every human being needs to give something back to society to help improve the world in which we live. I offer not only my articles but information and links on writing in general. There are many reasons why you should create a Web site. Here are a few of the more common ones: To make some money - A good reason. However, in spite of all of the hype, it is just as difficult, if not more so, to make a decent living on the Internet as it is in the "real" world. It's essential that you understand your purpose is to make money, and focus your Web site towards that goal. To educate - A very good reason to create a Web site. To entertain - Many excellent web sites do this well. Humor Web sites are a good example. To direct - Portal sites fall into this category. The idea is to send visitors to other useful places. To give your opinion - A site containing book reviews is a good example. Why is it important to know why you are creating a Web site? The answer is simple: So that you know when you've hit your target. If your mission is to educate, then knowing that you have the ability to evaluate your creation and determine if that purpose has been met. Knowing why also allows you to pick the proper statistics for measuring how successful your site really is. If your purpose is to make money, then the only really good statistic is dollars earned. Page views and hits are simply not important with this goal. On the other hand, if your mission is to educate people, then page views are critical, as each page may be a lesson read. If your mission is to direct people to other sites, then the number of people who left your site and the links they clicked on would be the useful statistics. Note that it's possible, and even desirable, to have more than one reason why you're creating a Web site. You might be doing this because you want to make some money selling herbs and at the same time educate people about them. Finally, if I know why I'm creating something, I tend to do a much better job than if I don't have a clue about the reason. And if someone else is designing your site, you'll feel more confident knowing that it's being done for the right reasons. Knowing why, whether you design your own site or let ABC Web Services do it for you, will help you aim more precisely and be able to hit your target more often.
Create an Internet presence -- not just a Web site An article written by Susan Gamble for the Birmingham Small Business Magazine, November 2000 Many small businesses have tested the waters with web pages. Some have had successful pages, while others have received no "traffic" at all. What makes the difference? Planning, designing and marketing. PlanningWhy must planning be the first step to creating an internet presence? Before actually programming any pages, a plan for the site must be developed. Would you build a house without plans? Don't try it with a Web site either! Detailed planning is required to avoid headaches and frustration. Here are some things to consider: 1. Goals 2. Audience 3. Perception 4. Competition 5. Content and Structure DesigningNow that you've completed the planning stage, you'll want to choose a company to take your "wish list" and begin designing your site. The company should include a team of qualified, creative individuals. Make sure that they get plenty of input from you! You know more about YOUR business than anyone else. What key elements are essential in designing a website? Here are some key elements that you'll need to consider: 1. Graphics 2. Text 3. Technology 4. Maintenance 5. Site Testing MarketingAn effective Web site is a union of graphics, text and technology that reflects a company's present goals and marketing strategy. To gain "Internet presence," a Web site must be marketed to its target audience. In the early days, a company could create a Web site and customers would come. However, this isn't true anymore. With millions of sites on the Internet, finding one particular site can be like finding a needle in a haystack. What marketing strategies can be employed to increase traffic to your web site? The following tips should help 'Net surfers find your home on the Internet. 1. Programming for search engines 2. Registration 3. Promote online and offline 4. Measure success
Remember, marketing your site and drawing "traffic" is a continuing process. Check out your statistics at least monthly to determine whether you are meeting your original goals! by Susan Gamble The
Six Steps to Creating a Web Site To create your website follow these six steps:
Why are the six-steps to creating a web site important? By following these six steps, you will develop a website that is not only rich in content, but will be aesthetically pleasing for the visitor. Once you've created a website, constantly check and revise your data to keep it current and informative. People like to visit websites that are continually updated. 1. Determine
the Intended Audience If your audience is younger students, shorter pages with few activities and less text on each page will be more "child-friendly" rather than a long list of activities or text on one page. The older the student or audience is, the more diversified your web activity can be on one page. If you cannot determine an intended audience for your web pages you need to ask yourself why you are creating the pages at all. 2. Create a Storyboard
3. Gather
Information Visit
examples of other web pages that have the same content
that you will be sharing. While viewing these examples,
ask yourself the following questions:
Create bookmarks of resource sites that you want to incorporate into your web page. Find sites that offer additional activities that will engage the visitor while using your web page. Look for quizzes, puzzles, games, slide shows, and other additional resource links that you can add to your web page. 4. Create an Aesthetically Appealing Web Page What
items should be included in order to create an aesthetically appealing web
page? Graphics: Use graphics on your web pages to give them more appeal. Remember though, graphics can have dramatic effects on the download time of pages and don't go overboard and create pages that look far to busy. You need to manage graphics carefully.
Add background color or a background image. Take care here. Background images and colors can make the page contents difficult to view.
Vary your font color: Light backgrounds should have dark text and dark backgrounds should have light text. Be sure that your text is readable if you are using a background color or image. Be careful when choosing your colors. Not all computers see the same colors e.g. a color selected on your computer using all colors may look totally different on a computer set to display only 256 colors.
Vary your font size: Change the body text by changing the font size and change the size of headings and sub-headings using the Heading styles.
Give credit to the graphic's artist: Read the terms artists have given when using an image from their website. Many appreciate a link back to the website where you got the graphic, while others state that no link is necessary. Make
sure you check the copyright on other sites before using
their graphics. It is very important to take in to consideration the size of your web pages including images and the names you give your files when publishing web pages. 5. Navigating around your site Plan
how people will navigate within your website. Every page
should have a link to either the main menu page of the
site or a link to your school or class homepage. Your
class homepage should have a link to your school's
homepage when it is developed. If
your website contains more than one page, you need to
plan how visitors will advance to the next page or
return to the previous page. What
if you are using a graphic as a navigation button? For example:
6.
Establish Credibility
1. The name of the author of the web page.
2. E-mail address of the contact person for the
web page.
3. When was this web page last updated and links
checked? 4. The name of the host organization. The Job of A Webmaster What is a webmaster?: Introduction-A webmaster according to the international webmasters association (IWA) is an individual who develops, monitors, and manages web sites on the WWW. The webmaster may work independently or manage a team of webmaster specialists. What skills do you need to become a webmaster?:
How to become a web master:To become a webmaster you must take many training courses to become certified webmaster What do webmasters learn in these courses:
What webmasters do:
Who hires webmasters and what do they make:
Other areas of study for webmasters:
Associations and Organizations:
Sources:
Riverside Military Academy Gainesville, Georgia |
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Website suggestions, comments, or questions to HSalas@cadet.com © 2002 Riverside Military Academy sm. All Rights Reserved. |
B.I.T NEWS
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