Robbins, J.N. (2012). Learning Web
Design: A beginner’s guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and web graphics.
Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
Summary:
Part 1 of Learning Web Design: A
Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Web Graphic contains an
overwhelming amount of critical information. The reader is introduced to all
the major concepts, terminology, and programs in the realm of web design.
Chapter one gets you thinking about the level of involvement you see
yourself within the web-designing world. There is the hobbyist or the person
who plans on making a career out of it. Either way, one needs to figure out
what scene fits them best within this broad field, since, you can either
learn to do it all or become an expert in one of a few areas and hire others
for different roles. The various roles include: visual design, user interface
and experience design, web document and style sheet
production, scripting and programming, content strategy, and
multimedia. Becoming familiar with all aspects of web design, however, appears
to be a must in order to be well informed. Chapter two proves a
breakdown on how the web works from the server, to browsers, Uniform
Resource Locator (URLs), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), Cascading Style
Sheets (CSS), JavaScript and much more. Robins gives a brief overview of the
importance of HTML because it is part of the backbone of a website's text
elements. It makes up the headings, text, paragraphs, emphasized text, images,
videos, links, and more. HTML appears to be one of the most important languages
to learn, which I am both eager and nervous to get my hands on. I've always
been intrigued by HTML files and like to read through them. Though it does not
seem too complicated, trying to go back and find my error scares me most
if I am missing a few style rules that can change the whole formatting of
the webpage. The third chapter reminds us of all the devices that now use
internet and how to provide access to all (i.e., visually, mobility, auditory,
and or cognitive impairment). One of the most fascinating points Robins made,
which I had not considered, was the site performance and its correlation to
revenue. I had not paid attention, but I do become impatient if a website does
not load quick and do end up going to a different site. It is imperative to
keep this in mind when creating web pages for clients or even for your
classroom because you want to keep them satisfied and coming back in the
future.
Q1: What is the difference between frontend
and backend design of website creation? On which end do you see yourself?
Frontend design deals with the browser while
backend design deals with the programing on the server. With frontend
design, one is responsible for image production, graphic design, interface
design, JavaScript, HTML document and sheet styling development, and
information design according to user experience. Backend design deals more with
the programing aspect of the server such as database programing, form processing,
content management system, information design according to how information is
organized on the server, and the use of PHP, Ruby, JSP, ASP.NET, Java, and
more. Though both designs sound great, I feel that frontend design fits me best
because I've always enjoyed the graphic design and the image production parts
of web design.
Q2: Why is Responsive Web Design important?
Responsive web design is important because it
enables a website to be viewed properly depending on the device being retrieved
from by providing custom layouts for every device. Therefore, the site looks
and works properly on each device whether it be a smartphone, tablet,
television, laptop, computer, etc. In order for a website to do this, it uses
one HTML document and various style sheets that change the layout based on
various screen sizes. Though responsive web design is important for the user
experience it alone cannot work. In order to acquire the best user experience
progressive enhancement is needed to deliver a 'baseline experience' to all
browsers.
There is a lot of critical information in these chapters, I found myself writing too many things! Nonetheless, for someone that is not well versed in all of the terms, like me, it was quite necessary to include a lot of information. HTML was something that I was also interested in, but yet concerned about. I based one of my questions on it because I needed to know a little bit more about it. I found a site which helped me practice written HTML in its most basic form. I was able to type it up and see the result of the web page. The link is included on my page if you wanted to try it :) I know this is a simple practice page, but it helped me understand HTML more. Do you think were going to be creating an HTML document in detail? Front end design definitely sounds more exciting! I would like to learn more about back end design because it sounds quite confusing to me. The lingo used with the definition of terms is still new to me. Responsive Web Design was something that I felt more comfortable with. It was exciting to learn about the importance of this, as more often, people are using a variety of devices to access the internet. Your answer was well organized!
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