Saturday, August 16, 2008

"What is Style?"

In English 328 Writing Style and Technology, we have read many of people thoughts about what style is to them. These authors have given me a new way to look at style. I believe style is how you put a paper or other kind of document together. It is the type of language you use in your writings and it involves the proper use of words and punctuation. Your "style" also depends on who your audience and readers are. Most importantly, I think that style is what distinguishes you from other writers. For example, McCloud's style was comics.

There are many definitions to "style," but to have a good style of writing you have to make sure that your readers have an understanding of what you write.

Monday, August 11, 2008

"SpiderPro" Do's and Don'ts

I found that "SpiderPro" was the best refernce to me during the revisions of my web page. The Do's and Dont's were very direct and helpful, they stuck to the basic webpage, as I found that Web Style Guide seemed to be for the more experienced people with web pages. The rules of "SpiderPro"that were most useful to me in the revisions of my web page, were found in the presentation on text. In particular, "Do seperate adjacent textual links." I found this rule to be very helpful because I seperated my links with bullets. My readers can click on a bullet each bullet to view a different link. The "Don't hide your links" rule brought to my attention the fact that at times, some of my links do not show up. I realize that the color I chose may have been too dark, so this is something that I will try to work on.

I also found that the rules for design of "SpiderPro" were very helpful to me in designing my web page. "Don't use Dark Backgrounds," this rule came in handy because my use of a dark background prvented my links from showing up on the screen, even though they were there. The rule "Don't cram your pages" was also helpful because as I tried to post an image on my web page, it came up too large, and it took over my whole page. Reading this rule, endouraged me to resize my picture, or find one that was small enough to fit on my web page.

"SpiderPro" helped me in creating a better web page. In creating web pages, I did not realize that there were rules that you had to follow in order to create a neat and readable web page.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

"SpiderPro" and "Web Style Guide"

In creating web pages, there are many guidelines and rules to follow. I am not a computer wizard, and I need to step by step guidelines what and what not to do. I definitely do not understand computer language, or some of the technical terms used in some guidelines. When reading the guidelines for "Web Style Guide" and "SpiderPro," I found that they both were significant in different ways.

"SpiderPro" seemed to be easiest to understand and follow. This site gives you specific details on what you need to know about creating a successful website. This site gives you direct do's and dont's of instructions of creating a basic and easy to read web page. "Web Style Guide" looked as though it was directed more towards those who are more advanced with computers and web pages. I chose to get information on the subjects of design and how to organize the text of my web page, in a successful way that will not confuse my readers or viewers.

When looking up design techniques, I found that "SpiderPro" is directed towards anyone of all ages requiring the basic use of a web page and "Web Style Guide" is geared towards those who already know the basics and are looking to create more of a professional web page. For example, "SpiderPro" says, "Your style should stand out as a whole, use the same look and feel for all pages on your site." and "Web Style Guide,"says that "All Presentations of Information are governed by parameters determined by the objectives, the practical logistics of the chosen medium and audience." Both of the sites give direction on how to design to good web page, but "SpiderPro" is so much clearer and more direct, while "Web Style Guide" seems to focus more on the audience, and subject of your design. The words used to describe how to create a good design in "Web Style Guide" seems to be more business oriented. Although "Web Style Guide" uses more professional words this site also shows specific diagrams of how the web page should look, while I think that "SpiderPro" gives such clear directions that they do not need examples. On design themes, "Web Style Guide" also says "A successful site requires real, sustained engagement, and you get that only by offering both sophisticated visual stimuli and a site that is structured to meet the needs of its audience quickly and effectively." This statement shows that this site is for a more professional audience, one that could be used in a presentation at a business meeting. In regards to a successful site, "SpiderPro" states "Don't cram your pages" and "Don't push your table out of the screen." They are basically saying that you should keep your page neat and in a structured order.

When reading about the content and basic information structure of your website, I found that again "Spider Pro" gives more basic information. For example, "SpiderPro" says "It's important to know your audience"and "Write and design with your visitors in mind." This statement is very clear and specifically shows you that if you are creating a web site for professional use, make sure that you use the correct language and images. "Web Style Guide" says "Yet without a solid and logical organizational foundation, your Web site will not function even if your basic content is accurate, attractive, and well written." With the use of many more words, "Web Style guide" is saying that you should organize your content and language around your audience. On this subject it seems as though "SpidePro" gives you directions on the vocabulary usage and grammar usage in your website. For example, "SpiderPro" says "Do write about the subject," and "Don' t use meaningless words" while "Web Style Guide' goes beyond the vocabulary and grammar usage, assuming that you should know the basics and gives you instructions on how to organize your content. For example, "Web Style Guide" says "Build a site that closely follows your information structure" and "Divide your content into logical units." I think that the directions that "SpiderPro" gives you are implied in the "Web Style Guide" instructions.

If I had more knowledge about web sites and their usage I would use "Web Style Guide", but since I am not that advanced in creating web pages and sites, I think that this site will not be as useful to me at this time. When I get into my career or get more experience with web pages, I think that " Web Style Guide" will be of more usage to me.

In comparing both of these sites, I found that "SiderPro" will be more useful to me in creating my website. It has more basic information that I can understand. The word usage in "Web Style Guide" is more advanced for me and I think that using this site as a guide will cause confusion along the way.