Making a Website
Being told at the beginning of the semester that everyone in the class would be creating their own website was pretty intimidating. Having no idea how creating a website even worked, there was an expectation that the process would be extremely overwhelming and stressful. However, the process of creating the website was actually pretty straight forward. The website would be created to specifically "sell yourself" to potential employers. The site should act as a showcase of your qualifications for getting a future job. The website gave the opportunity to show off work and pieces we have written or created. To connect our sites to social media, we were also meant to link social media we had previously created for the class. This included Blogger and Twitter.
When everyone in the class was told to pick ten professional pieces of work to add to the site, I was concerned that I would not be able to find enough things for the portfolio. Looking back on pieces written so far in college, I realized I had more than enough material to work with. Being a journalism major was very helpful in this regard. The website also needed a self-portrait that you would not mind potential employers seeing. This step would be pretty easy to find in older photos or to just take a new one entirely.
The class was then taught how to make our ten files web ready. The process seemed long at first but, after converting a couple of files, it moved along and was pretty easy to follow. It helped that we had already worked with Adobe Photoshop on other projects for the class. After converting our files, the class was then introduced to Dreamweaver. Unlike Photoshop, we had not used this program before. What we had done in the past, when creating WikiHow pages, was coding. Since we had worked with coding before, the class did not have to be overwhelmed by the new program and its layout.
Once the portfolio and social media pages were linked, it was time to start thinking about the actual look of the website. Since the site is meant to attract potential employers, it was best to keep the look of the website pretty simple. Relying on the header to catch someone's eye, the website should not be too flashy or hard to follow. Links other sites and contact information should be easy to locate. When entering the website, viewers should be greeted with a short bio about the subject, along with the self-portrait. The footer for each page of the website should consist of icon links to the social media pages.
Creating a website for the final project was a good way to tie the semester together. Things we learned and programs we worked with all seemed to play a role in putting the website together. This project gave us the chance to be creative, while also keeping it professional. It also reminded us how social media can play a part in your professional portfolio.
When everyone in the class was told to pick ten professional pieces of work to add to the site, I was concerned that I would not be able to find enough things for the portfolio. Looking back on pieces written so far in college, I realized I had more than enough material to work with. Being a journalism major was very helpful in this regard. The website also needed a self-portrait that you would not mind potential employers seeing. This step would be pretty easy to find in older photos or to just take a new one entirely.
The class was then taught how to make our ten files web ready. The process seemed long at first but, after converting a couple of files, it moved along and was pretty easy to follow. It helped that we had already worked with Adobe Photoshop on other projects for the class. After converting our files, the class was then introduced to Dreamweaver. Unlike Photoshop, we had not used this program before. What we had done in the past, when creating WikiHow pages, was coding. Since we had worked with coding before, the class did not have to be overwhelmed by the new program and its layout.
Once the portfolio and social media pages were linked, it was time to start thinking about the actual look of the website. Since the site is meant to attract potential employers, it was best to keep the look of the website pretty simple. Relying on the header to catch someone's eye, the website should not be too flashy or hard to follow. Links other sites and contact information should be easy to locate. When entering the website, viewers should be greeted with a short bio about the subject, along with the self-portrait. The footer for each page of the website should consist of icon links to the social media pages.
Creating a website for the final project was a good way to tie the semester together. Things we learned and programs we worked with all seemed to play a role in putting the website together. This project gave us the chance to be creative, while also keeping it professional. It also reminded us how social media can play a part in your professional portfolio.
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