Module 4: Culture and design of the internet

Upon the readings from Rosenzweig this unit and many different web pages, I've noted that there are many different do's and don'ts when creating your own blog or website. Most of what I've read and learned, I would have never even thought of when creating my own space on an internet platform. It seems there isn't enough material, literature wise, in regards to academic or basic web design even though web design has been in the works for over a decade and is ever-growing. You will find some books, however, they're geared more towards commercial design. 

If you've browsed the internet like me, you've seen that each page is created towards the person who's created it, or so you thought. I've learned that most successful pages do well based on a few rules that have been made to keep the reader entertained and returning & making your page for you, isn't on the agenda. The site, 4 key principles of web design, has some really great basic starter points when wanting to dive into the culture of creating your own entity in the web world. It seems that the most important takeaways from both Rosenzweig's readings and the collective internet files is mostly similar: Create a basic & simple page for your viewer, not yourself. Consider the different media and information your outsourcing as they can be deleted, altered, or compromised at any time. Make sure the links that are attached to your page are decent rather than optimal to keep your viewer browsing and interested- after all, you want repeat readers. Keep your page clean, neat, and basic-appealing to the eye-you want to be sure your page not only attracts those with similarities but also those who you wouldn't consider your typical viewer. Make sure the focus and intent doesn't inhibit the reader to distort historical understanding or alter any artistic views. Be sure to keep those that are colorblind in mind! Wow! Those were some great tips that I would have never considered especially the colorblind one. I'm a mom and tend to think I plan ahead and think of everyone and everything but I see, I'm lacking on the internet 101!

With these tips in mind, I went back and completely changed the theme/style of my page (which is still a work in process, FYI! 😉). I changed all my fonts to align better with the 101 basics I learned, however,  I'm still not sure those are totally accurate but I'm learning!  I changed some color schemes on hyperlinks as they were pretty dull colored so there wouldn't be any issues reading them no matter the eye situation. I played around with the layout a bit  and didn't implement many changes, but I think as I continue to utilize the blog more, I will have a much easier time molding it into what it should be. I'm also still finding it a bit bulky as far as the wording aligns so I will make changes and adjust it as I go but I really wanted to get a feel for how a third blog would look before I did so. If you're just starting out and joining me on this adventure, don't be surprised to see some great, educated, changes and an amazing finished product (hopefully) by the last module!