Basics of Web Design: Part 2

Greetings everyone and I'm very sorry about the extended delay in our series. As you probably already know, technology doesn't always work the way we want it to. I originally had this post scheduled for this past Friday and it never came up, I was out all day Saturday, internet was out on Sunday, so I come to find Monday that it wasn't online which put me behind schedule! Ugh, I think I have a love-hate relationship with technology. This is a good lesson to learn though for our Web Design series. Any content you want to share through your site or social media pages, ALWAYS BACK UP! You never know what could happen, so it's always best to back up all info: documents, music, photos, video, and other misc. files that are important to you. Mobility is also another great lesson from this. While I have limited mobile access to The Creative Cabana on my phone, it would be nice to have a backup device such as a tablet in order to upload posts in a more efficient method in case of an emergency. Don't worry, we'll talk about mobile access to your sites later on in the series.

Today, I want to take sometime to educate you about domains. Domain is the foundation site where you want to house your website. If you check many popular websites you'll notice something like powered by "XYZ Media" or developed by "XYZ Net Look" (just for example). That's because many businesses and corporations pay for their space on the internet. Every website has to have a domain site in order to exist. Think of it like your home. Your house or apartment has to be on a property, in a city in order for it to be considered a residence. You don't live in the clouds or in the atmosphere, so this ensures that you have a place for your site to remain. When it comes to choosing a good domain site you have to consider how much flexibility you want in terms of showcasing your site. In other words, how do you want to present your site to viewers?

When I created my online portfolio back in 2012, I wanted my design to have more the "website look" with different pages you could go to, rather than stick everything on one page. Some people prefer to have all content on just one page and that's fine as long as you can keep that page clean looking. It's easy throw readers off quickly if you have too much information in one spot, which is why I set mine up with four different pages- Home Page, About Me, My Media (Samples of my Work), and Contact Info. Naturally you can set yours up based on your needs, this is just an idea. But back to the domains portion of the series. I have a few suggestions for good legitmate and FREE places where you can create your own website, and online presence.

1. Wix

Wix is the site I used to publish my online portfolio. I like Wix because they provide innovative tools to give your site the fresh and update look of HTML5- the latest internet coding structure for websites. Wix is extremely easy to use and they walk you through each of the steps when customizing your pages, offering tips and directions when designing your pages. When I first joined Wix, I was impressed with the user-friendly access to the programs, despite not being an technology guru. Because I don't have a computer science background, many aspects of web coding are very confusing to me. With Wix, I don't have to worry about it because the coding is done behind the scenes. I have the control to place text, images, and page transitions wherever I want without messing up my site's coding sequence. Wix also has some really cool looking templates for you to choose from as well. You can select any of their templates offered and then customize those designs to whatever you'd like. Efficiency, User-Friendly, and Innovative Designs are excellent options when choosing your domain. If you'd like to see an example of a Wix designed website, check out my online portfolio: http://danielleslone2012.wix.com/onlineportfolio

2. WordPress

WordPress is a very intriguing site, and is growing in popularity between common users, educators, and professionals.  I think many people associate WordPress with sites like Blogger where you can maintain an blog or online journal. That's true, but many people also use WordPress for creating virtual resumes, product reviews, or they use it for an actual company website. Sony Music for example uses WordPress for their official website which you can see here. When I was first developing The Creative Cabana my original intent was to host it on WordPress. At the time I was looking to expand my social media skills and wanted to try WordPress for the first time since I had already used Blogger for previous projects. However, when it came to organizing the pages how I wanted them WordPress couldn't fix the arrangement of how I wanted certain posts to appear in certain sections (for example this post is labeled Graphic Design, so I want it to be available on the Graphic Design page- couldn't do it.) This might have been a formatting bug at the time, so don't be discouraged by my experience. WordPress is great with efficiency and giving users a clean-cut professional design. One of my dear friends and previous Creative Mastermind, Jamie Neal, hosts her blog "A Single Girls Journey to a Life of No Regrets" on WordPress. One of things you'll notice on her page, which I love about WordPress, is you can see instant feed from apps like Twitter and Instagram. If you plan on sharing social media sites with your site, then this is a great way to attract attention to your social media pages from your official page (and vice versa). Integrating those options can help maximize traffic and give your site extra content to display. Remember, WordPress gives you a lot of room to organize and arrange content based on your desired look so take advantage of those features that might not otherwise be available on other sites.

3. Blogger

Ok this one needs no introduction! If you're reading this post then you know you are on Blogger. Blogger, formerly known as Blogspot, is probably the most well-known blogging site on the net. It's been around for several years and because it's owned by Google you see it EVERYWHERE! I think many people gravitate towards Blogger because they're most familiar with it and how it works. When you first create your site, they walk you through each step from the name to template to colors to page setup. Blogger is very thorough and at the same time very user friendly. It's also the easiest site to share without really trying... you can share it through Google+, Facebook, Twitter at the touch of a button practically. Blogger is perfect for people who want a site they can update regularly and control it with a "blog look". For example, if you are someone who is a freelance artist, you can use Blogger not only to share your works with viewers, but you also have the ability to write posts about materials used, art concepts, and organize each post by label as I have done for The Creative Cabana. I also admire Blogger for their ability to monitor traffic to your site. They give you the demographics of where your site reaches and how many views it receives over a period of time. This can be especially helpful for businesses who monitor traffic flow.

Please keep in mind these are only my recommendations, based on my previous experiences. There are literally dozens of excellent places that can give you the freedom to develop your own website and/or blog. Between now and the next episode post, do some research on the various places where you can host your proposed site. Read reviews, and check out the pages from different users and businesses to see which web host fits your needs the best. In the next post, we'll start talking about designing your site using text, multimedia content, photos, and incorporating social media applications. I'm working on giving my online portfolio a major update, so you can follow along with me as I work bring my site up to speed. For now, Happy Researching and Stay Tuned for more Web Design fun!

*I do not own Blogger, WordPress, or Wix. All sites mentioned in this post were for suggestion and educational purposes- not endorsement or for purpose of profit. The bitstrips image used from the Facebook application: Bitstrips, which I do not own and is the property of the respective owners and developers. Other images used in this blog post were gathered from Google Images search results. No Copyright Infringement Intended.