Good and bad websites compared

Whether or not a website is good or not depends on a number of different things, this ranges from if the font used is readable and high quality to mobile compatibility and the colours used.

So what makes a good website? Well, first and for-most, your audience and intended audience must be top priority when creating and mapping down your idea’s. This is easy to overlook because you may like the colour green and yellow for instance, but these colours aren’t perhaps the most suiting and fitting to your audience, especially if your website is to do with a mundane or dark subject.

You should ask yourself, what would the audience want, is what you have in mind appealing to the audience?

Another common mistake often made by people creating a website is going over the top with images and animations in the form of .GIFs, .SWFs and .WEBMs. This isn’t only done because building your website off of images only hides your site from Google and all other search engines but also because these kind of sites definitely wont work well with viewing on a mobile device.

Images can really make a website and also help get the information across that you’re trying to tell the reader so they’re not entirely bad as a whole, but using too many is never good and images or animations should only be used when relevant and fit for purpose.

The last issue in which a lot of people creating websites do is burying their most important/key information. This also occurs whenever lots of images are used, information can be hidden with the user having to scroll around the page/s trying to find what you’re actually talking about. Not only is this confusing but it also makes your website difficult to use and navigate.

To prevent this, your most important information should be near the top of the webpage and clear and readable. Put yourself in the shoes of a first time visitor, is the information easy to find and streamlined?

Five good websites –

Good websites are websites which serve good purpose, they either talk about correct information which is laid out clearly and informatively or are things which people would be using on a daily basis because the subject is topical or trending in society.

They should also be usable by the average user on the internet, things like menu bars and drop down menus should easily navigate you across the site and all links should work. With this comes whether or not your website is pleasing in appearance and looks nice in the realms of being fit to purpose. These are just a few things which make a good site.

1. Twitch.tv

Twitch.tv is a very simple site in the way its designed. It features a purple and white colour scheme which to start with, compliments and contrasts with each other nicely as well as features the main reason people visit the site on the homepage as you scroll down. The site also features a search function at the top of the site, allowing the user to type in what they want and easily. Next to the search bar there is also a login and signup button, allowing the viewer become a member and create their own account.

Adobe Muse

Adobe Muse is Adobes way of letting designers and people with no experience of code be able to create web sites with ease. In my opinion, I like to think of this as a much friendlier and easier version of Dreamweaver but lacks the possibilities you could make with actually having experience in writing in HTML for example. In this unit, we will be expected to use this application to create our own sites later on.

Another analogy of this would be it’s like a bike but with training wheels, its easier and a lot more user friendly until you can move onto bigger things and writing code up in Dreamweaver to construct and create websites.

Despite what I’ve said above, Muse is still a completely free-form tool, you’re able to create visually appealing pages and websites as well as express your idea’s in an easily made way that anyone can do with little to no experience.

This isn’t the only thing though because Muse also allows you to have instant access to your installed fonts, different colours, all your vector graphics, images and stock photos. All of this allows you to create the site you want to create whilst still keeping everything simple and easy to understand that anyone can do it.

In the future Adobe has also promised and is close to releasing a new version of Adobe Muse which will allow the user of the program to create a website that has a responsive web design. This doesn’t mean that the website will respond when you ask it to or click on a button or something but means your website will be usable on a range of different browsers and devices.

These devices include everything from your computer, mac, tablet and also mobile. It also means that the site will be able to be displayed on different web browsers such as Opera, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer to name a few. Its worth also mentioning that what operating system you’ll be using wont matter. You’ll be able to view the website on anything from Windows, IOS, Android and different versions of Linux.

Examples of a site made using Adobe Muse - 

http://www.gen.media/

http://germanytoiran.bedirhan.com/

http://witkowski.org.pl/

Warriors of the Internet planning

This post serves to just display and show off all the notes I wrote whilst watching the short film called "Warriors of the Internet".

The notes -

Show youtube clip of ‘Warriors of the net’.
(13 mins long)

Learners to write in their own words the journey of a file through the internet, explaining the protocols and devices in the process.
Tcp packet
Icmp ping packet
Udp packet
The router
Ping of death
The router switch

People and machinery working together
A new era that brings people together – the dawn of the net

How does it work?
Flow of info – down into network – IP – limited in size
Divide info ^

Label with info
- Sender address
- Receiver address
Address for proxy server – launched onto LAN – connects all devices to exchange info
uncontrolled area

LAN highway – different information – goes against traffic
Router – systematic and not always up to speed but is exact for the most part
Packets leave router – corporate intranet towards router switch
Switch moves ip packets

Packets arrive, network interface takes them
Goes to proxy
Proxy is a middle man to lessen load + security
Packets are different sizes
Proxy opens the packet and looks for the url
Acceptable? Sent onto internet

Some addresses don’t need checking via the proxy and are denied
On the road again – the firewall serves to prevent nasty stuff and protects sensitive information from being sent out

Now the packet goes onto bandwidth from the router, the packets that don’t make it get replaced.
Packet of data planning

Now in the internet
Routers and switches establish links between networks
Space and places to go – little control and regulation

Dangers on the internet
- Ping of death

Packets come from different places but eventually all get there.
Another firewall – bastion of security or enemy + determines intentions
Only lets packets in that match its criteria
All over ports are closed for business

Port 25 is used for mail packets
Port 80 is used for internet packets

Firewalls block ping of death packets that disguise as normal packets

The journey almost over

Packets then get taken to the webserver
Webservers can be mainframes or even a webcam
Packets are received, opened and unpacked 1 by 1
Webserver application after unpacked
Packet then recycled

Filled with your requested info again
Addressed and sent back to you, back along everything again including internet and then back to your interface.

This supplies your web browser with the information you requested.

Warriors of the Internet essay

A packet of data has to go through the internet and several different things and conditions to end up displaying the relevant information on your screen.

The dawn of the net was the first time that people and machinery were able to work together, where people could communicate and be brought together regardless of their geographical boundaries. This has been labelled a new era because of this.

So how does it all work?

It all starts at a link and clicking it starts the whole process. When you click a link, a flow of information is sent down a network IP. The information can’t be sent all as one because it’d be too big and that’s why after you click the link, the information is divided into packets because of the limited size they’re able to be.

The IP packets are labelled with information, information such as the sender and receivers addresses. In the case of a packet going through the internet, it is also assigned an address for the proxy server. Once this is done, the packet gets launched onto LAN, LAN means Local Area Network and it connects all the devices together under the same connection to exchange information in an uncontrolled area.

A LAN highway deals with also sorts of different information and sends the packets along to the router, they do encounter some traffic though. Now that the packet as made it to the router, the packets beings to the leave the router. Routers are systematic but not always up to speed as you’d expect but they are for the majority of the time, exact and wont fault.

The packets have left the router and now go towards the corporate intranet and head to the router switch. The router switch is more efficient than the router and routes the IP packets along the right path, where they start to arrive at the network interface.

Once at the network interface, the packets go through another proxy in terms of a website that a company owns. For a lot of companies, the proxy acts as a middle man, load is lessened via the use of a proxy and they also serve to give a level of security to the company or person.

These packets are all different sizes still and the proxy proceeds to open each one, looking for the URL, the url is the links address of which you click at the beginning. If the packet is acceptable and features the url and information which was requested, it now gets sent onto the internet.

Not all addresses need checking via a proxy though, some are denied and received as malicious or harmful content depending on your network filter and others are automatically accepted if labelled as secure.

Now the packets are sent onto the firewall. A firewall is used to prevent nasty stuff from being received as well as information that is sensitive being sent out. Programs have been made and can be downloaded which do this exact thing but usually, your computers operating system will come equipped with one.

The packets finally reach their destination, the internet, the internet is made up of routers and switches all establishing a connection between networks. This is home to a lot of information and places to go, it also harnesses a lot of space to work with where anyone can create a site. But because of this, and the fact that anyone can create a site and that anyone can connect to the internet, it is often not controlled very well and doesn’t receive regulation.

Dangers are present on the internet though, the ping of death is a ping disguised as a normal request one but with the intention to mess and screw up unsuspecting hosts. This is why another firewall is used, it’s the bastion of security but also the enemy in the case of someone wanting to do harm online. It all depends on your intentions, really.

Firewall number two only lets packets past that match the criteria given and every other port is closed and cannot send or receive packets. Two main ports are used, number 25 and 80. These ports do the following:

• Port 25 – Used for mail packets
• Port 80 – Used for internet packets

The firewall also blocks the ping of death packets that are disguised as normal packets, this in turn provides safety and security for you as you surf online.

Our packets journey is nearly over, once a packet reaches it this far, its next step of operation is to get taken to the webserver. Webservers can run on many different things, such as a mainframe or even webcam for example. The packets that have luckily made it this far are finally now received, once they have been received another process begins. Packets are opened and unpacked one by one which then are put onto the webserver application once unpacked.

The life of the packet isn’t over though, the packet now gets recycled and become filled with the information you requested once again. The packets are addressed to be sent back to you now and go though everything they did beforehand including all the firewalls and the internet.

All of the packets have been sent back to your interface and is supplied by the web browser you have open which is then represented and displays the information you originally requested.

The difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet

What is the difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet?

The phrase ‘World Wide Web’ and the word ‘Internet’ are used often hand in hand, when people mean the internet, they often say the World Wide Web instead. This mistake is extremely common and everyone has probably made it once or twice before.

Though to the average person they are considered the same, there are distinct differences which makes each one it’s own. So, what are the actual differences between the Internet and the World Wide Web?

Definition of the Internet –

The Internet is a global computer network which provides a variety of information and communication facilities. These consist of interconnected networks of which use standardized communication protocols.

Basically put, the internet is a massive network of all other networks and also called the infrastructure of networking. It connects all our computers globally.

Definition of the World Wide Web –

The World Wide Web is an information system ON the Internet which allows documents to be connected to other documents via hypertext links. This enables the user to search for information by moving from one document to another.

In easier terms, the WWW or World Wide Web is a system of Internet servers which support specially formatted documents in HTML (HyperText Markup Language).

Their differences –

From these definitions we can easily tell which is which and why. For example, the internet is the network of networks which connect all of the computers together as long as both are connected to the internet. Whereas the World Wide Web is an information system, which allows documents on the Internet to be connected to others.

The infrastructure (Internet) of which documents are connected to others (World Wide Web) is written in and formatted in HTML. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, the markup tells your web browser how to display all the words and images of the web page whilst the internet is what all this sits on.

To recap, the internet connects computers globally together depending whether or not they have a connect and the World Wide Web connects documents together which are formatted In HTML which then displays all the images and words on the web page to you.

Online Journalism Today

Task 1 – The first British Newspaper Online

In 1994 The Daily Telegraph launched Britain’s first newspaper website known as Telegraph.co.uk which has later gone on to be known as the Electronic Telegraph, in those years, journalism and newspapers being written online has blown up more than expected. The web has changed the way we look at and consume information, no longer does the average reader of a newspaper buy or get delivered a copy because of the shear accessibility and size the internet has become since 1994. An example of this is that in 1994 there were only around 10,000 websites, now there are more than 100 billion.

The Daily Telegraph decided to take their news to the digital world because of the massive opportunity it provided and by 1998 the site became a rolling news site and started to experiment with web-only content, images and videos. Information being online allowed for people to view it quicker and faster than if they were to go out and find it. This is what changed and shaped the world of journalism and newspaper publishing and since, many other newspapers all over the world have taken to the internet and produce content for both their websites and physical copies.

Task 2 – The pros and cons of using online reporting
Nothing is fit or created without its pros and cons, and despite people’s best efforts to create and try make things as perfect and great as possible, some things are unavoidable. In the world of online reporting these cons can be just as problematic as the risks and issues a journalist faces when writing for a print-based product. In addition, online newspapers give different benefits to what a print-based product can.

Pros:

1. The news online is more accessible

Because the news is published online, rather than printed out, this makes the news a lot more accessible to people. By July 1st 2014, over 2.9 billion people (40.4% Approx.) of the worlds population had access to the internet and use it regularly and the steady decrease in sales for print-based publications are justified by the Dailymail.co.uk website receiving over 11.34 million visitors daily in August of 2014.

( Stats cited from - http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_Online )

2. Online news is able to be updated as the story develops

This is a big difference between news being printed and news being published online. With news being printed, once its out there its not directly editable without shipping out the developed story later on in the day or the next day. News develops faster than that and because its being reported online, direct edits and fixes can be mad because of how easy it is to.

3. News can be presented in more ways than one

News online doesn’t just have to be words or images like how a print-based product would present it as. News can also be in the form of audio and visual elements which aid the reader and give a bigger idea to the subject at hand. Sites are also able to direct you to different sites and articles which back up the information used and can provide a more in-depth and raw factual look into what the reader is looking at.

4. Online newspapers allow for more interactivity with its readers

Online articles often have web 2.0 tool, this means they allow for users to make comments on the article and discuss with other users about the topic being reported on. Interactivity is also presented in the form on polls as well though, polls are useful because they help the company gage and understanding idea of what each viewer thinks and what the majorities take is to a certain article or their site and the stories written.

Cons:

1. Journalists are now trained differently to how they used to be

Journalists nowadays are trained and taught differently, the core lectures and techniques are still taught but everything is usually done digitally now. This is a con because existing and older journalists have to adapt to the surge in popularity and accessibility of the internet. They also have to adapt to the use of twitter and crowdsourcing online, which is ever so prevalent in todays media and reporting.

2. Print form newspapers have been out for over 100 years

The argument and con here is that newspapers in the printed form have been out way before the invention of the world wide web and so its considered a tradition by many. Going from consuming the news from papers to an online form is seen as abandoning the old form of news reporting. Personally, I think this is dependant on what you think as an individual, I don’t see a problem with reading news online instead.

3. Local papers and statewide papers will suffer

Because of the rise in online papers, smaller printing companies have already had to lay off reporters, this is because less people now read printed newspapers and the news can be found globally now by bigger and better companies. This isn’t so much a bad thing about online reporting but one of the negative effects it has.

4. There are no standards in online reporting

Its true that there is common writing practice in which journalists under go, they are also taught to write up a story professionally and what is a do and don’t when writing it up. But the issues lies with that anyone can write up a blog or spread false information as well as try and pass it off as if its correct and real. This is why you should be cautious about what you read online and only trust big names and companies out there in the field of journalism and story reporting. They aren’t hard to find and it’s a lot nicer than being lied to and deceived. This risk is even larger when trying to crowdsource information via social media.

Site Maps

A site map is a representation of a list of pages a web site will have accessible to users or viewers. They are often illustrated like a spider’s web which branches off into lots of different area’s but all link to each other in some way. Others can be more basic and feature the pages listed under the home page of the site but still show the connection between them all.

This is an example of a site map which is a lot more detailed and intricate:

As you can see, the site map features a home page of which is the main attraction and then has branches coming off of it in different directions which then have further pages and places coming off of it. Other pages also link to others if you look closer, in this example you can see that the “Independent exploration” page also links to the “WP.Browse” page.

Now I will present an example of a site map which is much simpler in terms of design:

The second site map shown features what a website would look like but in a much simpler way. Everything shown is clearly displayed and you’re able to determine what is what and how certain things are linked to each other. Along the top a menu bar can be clearly distinguished, each with smaller sub categories with their own pages and pages even inside of those pages.