Wednesday's Lesson

In class on Wednesday we familiarized ourselves more with Dreamweaver 8. We began to set up our websites by learning how to access our files and how Dreamweaver prefers to keep files organized, such as keeping all images in a completely different file. I had always wondered how that worked when it came to a web site designer using images or some sort of graphic. I didn't know if that image was hosted elsewhere on sites like Photobucket.com and the designer would have to link it to their site or if they simply could upload their own file to the site.

In essence, I learned how and where to start. Instead of being thrust straight into designing, we learned how to begin by knowing what steps to take, which is something that I appreciate considering I usually do the opposite: jumping right in and exploring from there. After lecture, we began to work on the Lessons from the book. I only managed to finish Lesson 2 though, in the amount of time we had. I like how it gives complete, clear instructions with enough graphics to make sure the reader doesn't get lost, which can easily happen considering the sheer amount of things one can do in a single window.

A Usable Website

When it comes to web sites, I generally appreciate simplicity and personally, I don't think that it gets much better than Google.com. As a search engine, it was revolutionary and while it has continued to grow as a business, the original Google website has remained true to its original design and hasn't changed... at least, unless the user wishes it to. With an account, a person can customize their Google webpage and create an "iGoogle" account which can show different applications which a person can pick and choose from such as a time clock, horoscopes, or news feeds to only new a few. This website was created and thrives on serving people, so why not be customizable? I like that.

As a website, it is incredibly easy to use. The "classic" Google website design consists of a logo, (which is wont to change design to correspond with holidays or events) a white background, search buttons (one serious and one not so serious), and a tool bar at the top. It's simple, yet capable of many things that involve searching, it's fun and frivolous, and incredibly useful.

Often, I've found with website that grow increasingly popular, the designers tend to over do the layouts. They had more tools, more buttons, more pretty sparkly things and colors, that, for all intentions, are supposed to attract people, but to me, it turns me off. Perhaps it's because I used to have dial-up only a short time ago which meant that complex websites took a while to load and my disdain for intricate layouts never left. However, I enjoy the clean look of Google.com. It's utterly usable and the best homepage I've ever had.