Luke Woods
Eng 328
I used the advice of
the Spider Pro 100 Dos and Don’ts and Sucky to Savvy websites to revise my
personal/professional website. There
are a few things that I did “wrong” or “poorly” when I started constructing my
site, but then I remembered what I learned or went back and referenced these
pages to make proper alterations.
My main objective was
to make a simple site that served my audience (teachers, classmates and
probable business acquaintances). I
tried to be professional by sharing my resume and essays for ENG 328, yet fun
by including playful, entertaining pictures and links to give the visitor a
sense of my personality.
While I was working on that page I also created a home page and a page
for my English 328 essays. I just left
those two blank and resisted temptation to post a “This page is under
construction” message. According to
Sucky to Savvy: “It’s pretty obvious that all pages are always under
construction.”
To start out, I made a page about me. Spider Pro suggests, “Your visitors want to
get your info in a snap,” so I made sure my sentences were nice and short and I
left out or removed meaningless words.
I aimed for minimalism when designing to ensure my visitors would
understand what I was trying to say and were not immediately attacked by
boredom or confusion when they go to my site.
I figured too many frills or high-tech features would only serve as a
distraction. I also supplied a link to
my home page on each auxiliary page so it is easy to navigate around all parts
of my site.
One big problem I had was deciding what
colors and fonts, both size and style, are visually tolerable, if not pleasing
to the page viewer. Both Spider Pro and
Sucky to Savvy mention these as vital ingredients for a good web site. I tinkered with the fonts for a while and
think I found some good combinations.
Just in case anyone disagrees, though, or has any other comments or
suggestions to make about my site, I followed Sucky to Savvy’s tip to provide
contact info.
Both the Spider Pro and Sucky to Savvy web sites
were my guides as I created my site. I
used them as references for style and clarity, just as one would use Strunk and
White’s Elements of Style when writing a paper. The tips I got from Spider Pro and Sucky to
Savvy transformed my site from a fragmented mess to a respectable destination
the net. Feel free to check it out: http://www.geocities.com/lucaswoods81/index.html