Journal #1: Learning Web Design

Robbins, J. (2012). Learning web design: A beginner’s guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and web graphics (4^th ed., pp. 3-46). Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.

In Robbin’s Learning Web Design, A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Web Graphics, the author gives a quick synopsis of the different careers that make up web design.  As he describes in his book, a web designer has to wear a lot of hats.  However, there are certain careers that specialize in a specific component of web design.  I enjoy reading the different careers, but the one that stands out for me the most would be the graphic designer.  I like to embellish and add to what is already created.  I also like to look for what has been done, and change it up to make it my own.   I would love to learn Photoshop and Illustrator to create my own designs.   The rest of the reading talks about the basics of a web page from text to presentation and how the web works.  It is very interesting because I take the web for granted.  I use it not realizing where it came from and how it works.  I’ve seen HTML, URLs, http,…etc, but I never knew what those meant and what they are useful for. 

So far, I do enjoy the textbook because it is very simple and basic. The author is very good at getting to the point and telling the reader what is necessary how things work.  The only hard part right now is fully understanding all the terms and grasping on the concepts.  It is difficult because I have to physically work out the codes for me to remember them. 

Question 1: What makes a good website?

I believe that a good website depends on the audience.  A website also needs to be attractive.  If the audience does not find it attractive, they will definitely not stay on the page for more than a few seconds.  I personally would not stay on a page that does not have any color or pictures. Is it too much text?  Is it easy to use and navigate?  Bottom line is that the creator must understand the audience that he/she is targeting.  Lastly, with mobile phones being so popular, it is important for the creator to also consider making their website look good on a mobile device.  If it is hard to navigate on a phone, the user will probably leave the page very quickly.  

Question 2: Why is it important to learn about the theory of the internet?

As mentioned before, I took the internet for granted.  Yes, we can all use the internet very easily without knowing the background of a website.  However, those who understand how it works and how it receives its information is phenomenal.  I now have a greater appreciation of the internet and have a bigger interests in learning how to code and create websites.