Report 2: Social Psychology of Web Architecture: Thoughts From A Web Designer

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS TO WEB DESIGN: Dr James' View

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BECOME A WEB DESIGNER: Lost, Nervous, & Clueless

ANNOTATED INDEX TO WEB DESIGN : Additional Information On Web Design

This report is filled with a lot of information that will be useful for Dr. James' future students. During the semester, I have learned that the designing of web pages requires knowledge and a lot of patience. I have chosen certain points from www.glover.com and Dr. James' page on Home Page Architecture which may be helpful to you future designers. I have also included a brief summary of my own frightening experiences and also some words of advice. Excuse me...make that many words of advice. I started off as a blank slate with no clue about designing, but at the same time I was excited to learn how to make a page. No matter how scared, confused, and lost I was, I am glad that I have been exposed to this experience. Computers are our future and I'm proud to say that I know somehting about them. I assume my experience of web designing will always be with me since my page will be on the Internet forever. I do hope to gain more knowledge so that I can improve my page as time goes by. Read on, enjoy, and please...take my advice. You can e-mail me later to thank me. Have fun!

If you are a beginner at web designing or even someone who has already made a page...I suggest dropping in at www.glover.com. The main purpose of this page as I see it, is to help web designers determine whether or not they have a "sucky home page" and if they do, how they can improve it.

Jeffrey Glover's page was quite appealing to me. The image of himself with his arms pointing in all different directions was a "cool" idea. At first I did wonder why he was standing in the middle of everything. His icons were very creative as well. The overall design of his page was clear and easy to understand. Everything is layed out for the reader so they know what the particular link is about.

Many people think that they have a great page but it doesn't hurt to get assistance from somewhere or someone else to get additional pointers. Jeffrey Glover offers numerous "direct, simple, & to the point" suggestions that can improve your design style. Below, is a list of suggestions that I got from Jeffrey's page that I felt were important.

Jeffrey Glover's "Top Ten Ways To Tell If You Have A Sucky Home Page" includes some basic, yet important suggestions to help with web design. Here is a brief list of the few suggestions that I agree with:

1. OBNOXIOUS BACKGROUND MUSIC: Sometimes, if there is sound on the page that is annoying , the person may just pick up and leave to go to another page that is less irritating. You need to be selective in the type of music that you choose when adding it to your background. Editing of the music is also necessary. Remember...everyone is different...they may not like the same things that you like.

2. YOU USE A BAD, BAD, BAD, BAD, SCAN: A picture that is not clear is unappealing to the eye. At times, the picture is what draws attention to the reader.

3. YOUR HOME PAGE CONSISTS OF A DESPERATE PLEA FOR A JOB: This may sound like an easy way to get a job but some employers may think that it is unprofessional to advertise your resume. This could very well hurt your chances of getting a job.

4. YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN HOT LIST: You may think that your page is "pretty hot"...think again. Be modest instead of being a show off.

Glover's savvy list also gives a few pointers:

1. FLEXIBLE WINDOW WIDTHS: I agree with Glover about his suggestion about designing your web page with the lowest common denominator. You can never tell what appears on another person's screen. Therefore, doing it in this manner, your page will look basically the same and everyone's screen.

2. USE THUMBNAIL GRAPHICS: Personally, I am very impatient and don't like to wait for pictures to load. The idea of putting a note below saying, "SEE IMAGE FULL SIZE" is helpful for those who do want to see the big picture.

3. INCLUDE CONTACT INFO: It's always nice to get feedback about your page from others. It's just another way to get help about web design. So remember...INCLUDE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS!!!

4. BE UNIQUE: What else can be said? Stand out in the crowd. Do whatever it takes to be different!

The next link is called "Sucky to Savvy". This is where Glover gives suggestions on how to make your web page more pleasant. Here are a few things that I understood.

1. BLINK: I always thought that a blinking text made the particular word or phrase stand out to the reader. After hearing about how annoying it is, I now realize that it can be quite distracting for some people. As you continue to read the rest of the text, your eyes may tend to revert back to the blinking word or phrase. Bold letters and larger text may be more appropriate.

2. LOUD BACKGROUND IMAGES: As Glover stated, it is obvious why this is sucky. It's important to be able to read the text. After all, the text is probably the most important part. When you choose your backgrounds, make sure you also choose the appropriate text color that's easy to read.

3. GRATUITOUS USE OF FRAMES: I think that it's fabulous when people use frames on their page because it adds a little spice to it. However, it is sucky when you can't see part of a certain frame. Glover says...Be sure to leave plenty of room for "shifting" which may occur on some of your visitor's computers. Again...it may look different on someone else's computer.

When I arrived at Dr. James' page about the Social Psychological Principles of Home Page Architecture, I looked at the table of contents and thought, "Am I suppose to read all of this"? As I continued on, I began reading the first part about the Birth of Cyberspace. Dr. James wrote...

The other day someone asked me why I need to spend so much time online. I had a hard time explaining it. I tried to explain. You see, I have two homes, my regular house and my Home Page. I had a difficult time why I call a bunch of computer files on my drive by the name of "my house" or "my home".

I laughed as I read this section because my group friends had asked me the same question. Everytime they would call my house, my phone would be busy. I had to explain to them that my line would be busy if I was online because the modem was connected to my telephone line. Then, if they asked me to go out, I would always say "NO" because I was online trying to fix my Home Page and reports. The next question would be, "What exactly is your 'Home Page'"? These people are computer illiterate just as I was in the beginning. I then explained what the Page was all about and how I had to know the HTML language. Finally, they realized how much work I need to put into this class.

The section on Home Pages are Loved is just another part that made me laugh. Personally, I like my Home Page because I put a lot of effort into it. However, I am not one of those people who just love their page to death.

I was anxious to get online. We waited while the modem kept redialing the busy number. After 15 minutes he began ribbing me. So, is the highway to your virtual home always so busy? Are you sure you got the right address? Eventually I got in--what a relief--and proudly presented home my Home Page. I was ecstatic.

When I finally added a background color and an icon to my Home Page, I was really excited. I couldn't believe that I actually did it myself so I wanted to show it to my friends. Then, the same thing happened to me. Somehow, the line was busy so it took a long time for my page to appear. They weren't very patient because they assumed that it would appear instantly. But when it did appear, one of my friend's reactions was, "Wow...did you do that"? Even though my page doesn't have a lot of graphics like some other peoples, my friend's reaction really made me feel proud of my work.

The next section that I thought would be quite helpful was Informational Content of Home Pages. Dr. James' main point here is that our pages should be clear, (unconfusing), informative, useful as well as beautiful.

Whether long or short, we want our Home Pages to be, above all, clear. Clarity and orderliness greatly help the fight against confusion.

Since your Home Pages are actually web sites, you need to have a clear image of how your files are interrelated, and transmit this image to visitors.

I think it is essential to make your page as clear as possible so that other people have an easy time finding what they are looking for. I recently was looking up a topic for another class and the one page that I decided to look at drove me "NUTS". It took me almost 5 minutes just to locate the definition of the word. If accessibility for something so simple is difficult, people tend to move on to another page.

Lost, nervous, and clueless. These are a few words that describe my starting point in web design. During my lifetime, I've had only two major experiences with computers. The first would be at my working place where I would do some light data entry. My second experience would be typing out my papers on Microsoft Word. As a new web designer, I started at zero: absolutely zero knowledge about web pages.

At first I was scared to take this class because I had heard from others that it was "really hard". Some people said that they were constantly on the computer during their spare time. Being that I was not interested in computers, I was worried. Finally, I realized that I had no other choice but to take this class or else I wouldn't be able to graduate.

When I attended the first class meeting and received the first assignment, I thought to myself, "I'm not going to survive in this class...should I drop out"? Graduating this semester was very important to me and that's what kept me going. I couldn't believe how lost I felt but thanks to my classmates, I managed to keep up. I was also very frustrated because as soon as I learned how to edit my files in the CSS account, they changed the system. As I look back on the semester, I think that getting the information and actually writing the reports was the easiest part of the class.

At this point in time, I am still somewhat of a beginner as a web designer. I'm not as illiterate as when I first started but I'm not as good as those other computer wizards. I feel that I can do the basics in creating the page but I'll have to leave the graphics and other fancy stuff to other people. Because I had so many other assignments due, I cheated and used Netscape Navigator Gold to write my last report. Instead of using the HTML tags and writing out my report on Word, I got into Netscape and started typing exactly what I wanted. If I needed to make a link, I clicked on the "LINK" button and I filled in the correct address. I don't feel as though using these additional tools hold you back from learning as long you do know the basic HTML language. There are other tools out there that are better than the Gold...you need to take a look for yourself to find out which one meets your needs.

I'm not sure what's ahead for me being that my future job will not be dealing much with computers...web designing that is. However, because of this class, I can add this experience to my resume. I just recently went to an interview and they were impressed that I made a page even though it was very plain. Computer experience is always helpful. I do plan to try and upkeep my page. I still need to learn a lot more so I can make my page look the way I want it to.

What do I recommend for G6 & beyond? First of all, if you need help...go out and get it. You may feel stupid and lost because you don't know what's going on but let me tell you...you will fall behind. I've noticed that the other students are more than willing to help so don't be shy to ask for their assistance. Dr. James suggested that we spend a certain amount of time per week online...LISTEN TO HIM. There is a purpose to the exercises. The more time you spend practicing the exercises, the easier it will be for you. Another suggestion is to do your work on time or finish your assignments early. Procrastinating is the wrong way to go. If you wait until the last minute, everything piles up and you may not have time to edit your report. This class requires a lot of time so put as much effort as you can into it.

The main concern that I have for the instructor is...remember that most of the students do not have an extensive background in computer terminology. I think that the basic terms should be reviewed during class time with a complete definition and example of each term. Also, the instructor must be patient. Some people have more knowledge about a subject than others and don't assume the next person knows as much as you do.

With everyone's suggestions, I feel that the online generational community classroom will develop into something that's very successful.

One of the main problems that I had dealt with the HTML language. Each time I would make one little mistake and none of my links would work. Or, I would forget to put a tag at the end of a sentence and that wouldn't come out. Therefore, I looked up web designing and found The CRASH COURSE in HTML. I found this article to be helpful because it listed the tags that are most commonly used. It also gave a brief description of each. At the end of the article, they provide sample sentences that you can practice your editing skills on. Here is one of the basic descriptions of an HTML tag:

<HEAD>

In the HEAD will go your TITLE. The TITLE appears on top of the browser and is what some search engines use to identify content. The TITLE line in this HTML reads like this:

<TITLE>The CRASH COURSE in HTML</TITLE>

Note the /TITLE at the end. In HTML, every command has an end command. Therefore /TITLE must close the TITLE. Just as HEAD must now be closed with...

</HEAD>

Some things to ponder when choosing your page designer and designing your page is the second article that I found to be quite interesting. Here is an idea that I think is important to know about web pages.

The number of people using the Web is growing at a mind-boggling pace, in practice this means that it will get slower and slower as more people join in. It is vitally important that your page loads quickly. You have wasted your money if your potential customer, who has gone to the trouble of locating you, gets bored waiting for all the graphics to arrive. They will, and they do, click the STOP button if a page takes too long to arrive.

As I read this, this sounded very similar to what I listed in the "Principles that I Understood" section. I believe that people will leave your page if it takes too long to load. It seems that people are usually in a rush and they will go elsewhere to get the information that they need. There is also additional information about what a web page is, the cost of making one, page design, and registering with search engines. Drop by if you have time.