Website Evaluation

Introduction

The task I was asked to complete was to create a portfolio website where I could put all my completed work. My intentions where to make a professional looking website that is easy to navigate and contains all the relevant information. My initial ideas were just to create a professional looking website and I knew I wanted a dark themed website. An online portfolio will help me in the future because I will be able to show possible future employers or uni’s my work in an easy and professional way which will give a good impression. Before starting this unit my skills in web design were very lacking, I did computer science in Y8 where we did some work on web design but that was 4 years ago and my memory is not good enough for it to be useful anymore. So web design is new to me and I have had to learn it whilst doing it in this unit.

Research/planning

The first task I completed was analysing the requirements and parameters, for this I started to plan what would go on my website like the different units and what kind of work would go on it. Also I analysed why wordpress was a good choice to host this work. This helped to influence my site because I knew what it needed to contain so I could start planning around that.

The second task was my research portfolio, for this I looked at two different websites and commented and compared them to see examples of the best way to layout a website. I looked at the content, ease of use, design, layout and the audience the website was aimed at. Doing this research helped to influence my site because I could see the correct way to layout a website so it is easy to use and interesting. Also I looked at the different colour schemes used and decided that I prefer a dark theme, also I saw how important it was to have a clear and readable font. One thing I saw on Megan’s website was the navigation bar that stayed at the top of the page when you scrolled, I liked this feature and decided to add it to my own.

The third task was planning my website. This is where I came up with ideas for the title of my site, wrote my biography, sketched my menu bar, looked at and decided on a theme and thought about who the audience will be. This helped influence my site because it’s where I thought in detail about what was going on my site and how to do it. Planning my website before creating it made it a lot easier  to create and quicker as well because I knew exactly where I would put everything and the theme I was going to use. This way I didn’t have to decide these things whilst creating it which would have taken longer.

Creating your product

I found using wordpress quite easy, although at times it was confusing to get to work and there were lots of elements to it which made it complicated, by following the help sheet and working things out as I went I was able to work out how to use it effectively.  

The design of my website is good because it is simple to navigate and looks professional. The content is laid out in a way that means it is easy to find what you are looking for and the content as a whole is pretty good quality.  The website looks aesthetically good and is easy to use and navigate so overall is good. The content is readable because the font is clear and a good size, also it is white on black so is easy to see. The spelling is also all accurate and it all makes sense. The site works well, it’s a good speed and loads pages well.

The issues I faced while making the site were just a lack of knowledge on how to do things, this was overcome by using the help sheet to see what I was meant to be doing and by asking questions to my peers and tutors about things I didn’t understand. 

I met my original intentions of creating an online portfolio. I have successfully made a portfolio where I will be able to add my work as I do it and to be able to show my work to uni’s or future employers. 

My home page is well designed because it looks professional and shows clearly what the website is about. It is also a good place to start because from there it is very easy to access what you are looking for.

The way you navigate my website is the navigation bar, this is located at the top of every page and is clearly labeled to take you to exactly what you are looking for efficiently.

My bio page is effective because it is clearly labeled and easy to find, this is good because anyone coming to my site will find it easy to find out a bit about me straight away. The content of the bio is good because it tells you a bit about me and  is informative without being overly serious or boring.

On the pages which are links to videos, I have embedded the videos meaning that the thumbnail shows on the website, this is good because it makes the page more interesting, and makes the audience intrigued in what the video which makes them more likely to click on and watch it.

Feedback

The feedback I got from my peer Brad was that he liked the black and white colour scheme and it looks very clean. He also said he likes the background as it relates to my course and makes it clear what course I am doing.