Job Shadow @ LifeChurch.tv
It is not PHP or the highway! That’s what I Ben told me today at LifeChurch. He said I should try learning Ruby or Python and I may even like them more than writing PHP. He said they are a little simpler to write because it’s more like the English language without all the $’s and ===’s and ;’s. I also found out about a little program called SASS. This program allows you to write a hex color code once and then call the color by what you named it and you never have to remember the hex code again (for this style sheet anyway). Then, SASS replaces all of your variables with the correct information, leaving you with a well-written style sheet. There are similar programs for other languages like CoffeeScript for JavaScript, Eclipse for Java, Haml for HTML, and others I can’t remember. It would be a neat thing to try and see if it makes things easier or if it just makes things more difficult. It’s definitely something I want to try.
Another thing I want to take away from this experience is to start the mobile design first, then the tablet, then move on to the website. They told me doing this helped them eliminate over one hundred pages off of a website, by trying to decide what is important enough to be on the mobile site first! Also, always include a link to the full site (of course). The biggest thing is to make sure you can do everything on a mobile phone or application that you can do on the full site but in a simpler way, and linking it to the full site is the best way to make sure users won’t stop using your site on mobile or on the application.
November/December: Compassion
Compassion is a wonderful quality in individuals, groups, or companies. I believe compassion is just caring. So many people today say they don’t care about this or that and I think it’s because they lack compassion. Compassion is giving someone your last twenty dollar bill because they need it more than you. It’s praying for someone who you don’t get along with because you care about them whether you like them or not.
In the web industry it is good to have compassion toward fellow co-workes. It’s also nice when your boss shows you compassion by letting you stay home with your sick child. Compassion in a work environment creates a more relaxed and
comfortable atmosphere to work in. We need to remember that showing compassion is a great way to let someone know that you care. If a boss chooses not to show compassion to employees, they probably won’t stay your employees for very long. On the other hand, by showing compassion, people will be begging to work for the company that has such a kind reputation.
In the same way compassion is benefitial in the workplace, it can be benefitial in most cases. Family has the largest need for compassion. It’s the easiest way to display love and affection. Compassion is a great trait to have in any circumstance.
T&S Web Design Internship, Week 5: 10/31/2011 – 11/04/2011
This week at T&S Web Design, I had the opportunity to work with search engine optimization, also known as SEO. First, I was asked to do some keyword research for a client requesting SEO for their website. After I found a good amount of keywords that the client might like to use on their site, we set up a meeting with the client where they can decide if they like any of the chosen keywords or have some others in mind for us to use. I went to a SEO meeting with Tim where we brainstormed with the client about what words people would most likely search for their company. They chose some of the words we researched and added a few of their own.
The rest of the week, I have been adding SEO to a website. The site is a very old WordPress site, so I’m having to make a lot of adjustments to the site prior to SEO work. After implementing current coding practices and updating plugins, I started rewriting the site’s content to include the keywords, phrases, and locations the client has chosen to add on his site. Each keyword, phrase and location has to appear many times throughout the site, so it can take a while to write so that the content continues to make sense.
T&S Web Design Internship, Week 4: 10/24/2011 – 10/28/2011
My fourth week at T&S has been great. I’m beginning to acquire a whole lot more responsibilities. I’m starting to turn out websites quicker and quicker. I also, reluctantly spent 30 minutes on the phone with a client, helping them use their WordPress site and answered some questions they had about their site. It was a lot easier than I expected. That was good experience since I’m starting to do WordPress training sessions next week. I’ve sat in on a few training sessions, and we usually just answer any questions the client has about using their site. It’s not too hard, but you definitely have to go over the site beforehand, if you haven’t worked with the site before.
I got to launch a website from the demo site to the live site. There was a whole lot to it, but I feel comfortable that I could do it on my own next time. I also did some prep for a SEO (search engine optimization) meeting, finding appropriate keywords for a site. The six hours I work there a day flies by since I’ve been so busy. There’s always something to do and I am very glad. I enjoy my job and can’t wait to see what’s in store for next week!
I’m supposed to pick a fruit to put on my business card and I think I found it. Hopefully no one else has used this one yet…
Dragon Fruit
October: Diversity
Diversity can be referring to different races, cultures, religious beliefs, personalities, and much more. Not one person is exactly alike in every way and that is what makes everyone so unique. If we were all the same, I believe it would be very boring to only be able to interact with people who are basically you. If you think about it, a lot of times, the people you have a harder time getting along with are the ones that have personalities just like you. So if everyone had the same personality, nobody could complement the other.
Personally, I’m glad we’re all very different. Different types of people can always bring all different types of ideas and strengths to the table. That’s why it’s so good to have diversity in the workplace. Everyone is good at something, but no one is good at everything. Because of this, having all different types of people with different strengths and weaknesses allows a company to have a well rounded group of individuals that are able to combine their knowledge and work well together. If a company only hired a certain type of people and didn’t allow diversity into their company they would be missing out on making it a great place to work with all types of people and personalities.
T&S Web Design Internship, Week 3: 10/17/2011 – 10/21/2011
Everyone has a coding style which they learn on their own or pick up from watching other people code. I have noticed, especially with CSS, my style of coding is starting to change. This is a good thing, because I used to give random elements a class that had little to no meaning and then style them how I needed. For instance, if I wanted to style a paragraph with blue text instead of black, I would write:
HTML:
<p class=”b”>Paragraph text…</p>CSS:
.b {
color: blue;
}
This works just fine for styling a website, BUT if I or anyone else every needed to go back into my code and change anything it would be very hard to figure out what was going on in my code. Because of coding for T&S for three weeks, I’ve started acquiring some now habits. In their CSS, they don’t just call one class like I did above. Instead, they call the hierarchy of classes and id’s down to the specific one you are styling. They also organize their CSS in the order of the HTML. This is great, because it’s very easy to figure out what is going on in their code and how to easily find and solve issues with the site. This writing style allows anyone with HTML/CSS knowledge to be able to go in and work on a site. I am very glad I’m starting to change my style because it will definitely be beneficial in my future coding endeavors.
T&S Web Design Internship, Week 2: 10/10/2011 – 10/14/2011
My second week at T&S Web Design was great! I finished creating a site in WordPress using a png image in Fireworks. created some slices in the png and put them in the css. I also made basic changes to the CSS to create the site’s design. The site’s layout that couldn’t be changed in the css, I was able to change in the php pages or in the back-end of WordPress. For instance, I had to create a three column layout for the home page of the site I was working on and instead of hand coding the three columns with the correct content (which I did at first! OOPS!!!), I had to make three widget areas within the php and put the correct information in the widget areas. The reasoning behind this is so the client can change the content whenever they feel like it, without having to call up T&S and have them change it for them. It’s very cool when you think about it. It’s all about usability and giving the client the power! It was very difficult for me at first, because I couldn’t understand when I should change the css, when I should change the php, or when I should make changes in WordPress. But I’m starting to understand the work structure and flow of T&S.
I’m still very impressed at how organized T&S is. I also got to do a few maintenance requests and I got to see first hand how they organize these with their projects. They assign projects (maintenance and projects) to individual people and you keep track of how far through it you are, then check it off when you are finished. It’s simple, but very organized. I really like it. It’s also a morale boost when you get to check off a whole bunch of projects (like a to-do list) and you feel so accomplished when you are finished! It’s great!!!!
T&S Web Design Internship, Week 1: 10/3/2011 – 10/7/2011
I would like to start off by saying I really enjoy my new job! The environment is very relaxed and comfortable. I am one of T&S Web Design‘s new programmers. I work with Tim Priebe and his wife Leann – owners of T&S, Emily and Holly – designers, and Jonathan -the other programmer. Everyone who works here is very nice and helpful for us noobie programmers. Jonathan started last week, so we are both new to the company and still trying to figure out how things run at T&S.
Monday and Tuesday, I got the new employee orientation spiel and familiarized myself with my email, time sheet, project organization, and T&S wikis. I am very impressed at how organized everything is. Projects are first designed by the designers where they go through three stages (D1, D2, and D3). Then they get sent to the programmers who start creating the site also with three stages (W1, W2, and W3).
The rest of the week, I started learning how to slice the Adobe Fireworks image created by the designers to be used to code the WordPress site by the programmers. I am working on slicing and coding a real project, but it is just for practice before I get to do anything for a live site. Along with slicing, I spent a while taking content out of a website being redesigned and putting the content into the new site. That has definitely helped me get more familiar with WordPress and how it works (outside of the basic blog).
One thing that will take some time getting used to is working from 12:00pm – 6:00pm after going to school from 8:00am – 10:55am. It’s getting a little easier, but I miss spending the entire evenings with my husband and three little boys. Other than that, I had a great first week and I can’t wait to find out what’s in store for me next week.
September: Goal Setting
Some current goals I have set for myself are to finish school by December, get a job (which I already did), and spend more quality time with my family (which I am working on daily). Goal setting is a good practice for everyone, because it keeps you on track and always improving. Instead of flat-lining, you are always getting better when you set goals for yourself, because even if you don’t reach a goal or two, you make more realistic goals, and try harder to meet them. It is very good when you set a deadline for your goals so you can keep up with your progress on a regular basis. This works for tedious things like cleaning the house, or mastering a skill like playing an instrument. I have another goal, but it doesn’t have a timeline and for that reason, I have not pursued this goal for a while. I keep telling myself I need to start playing piano again, since I played it for over 12 years, I do not want to lose that God given talent. So I think I should give myself a time limit so that it gets done. Everyone should really set goals for themselves, because not only do you get more done, but you feel awesome when you meet one of your goals! It is a deep sigh of relief and a pat on the back. Give it a try!
ReDesign
BEFORE
The website I chose to redesign is the Barber Salon. It has a lot of things going on that could be much better. The pages are pretty bare and several could be combined and would make more sense and make the page look fuller. It needs to look more professional instead of amateurish. Also, there is a log-in and a search bar but neither are functioning and there is no place to register. I plan to give this website a better appearance, color scheme, and layout. I would like to shorten the navigation and give more meaningful links. The log-in needs to be functioning and there needs to be a place to register. Before I implement any of this, I want to research some good keywords and make their site optimized better for search engines.
AFTER
After I finished the redesign, I did a usability study with one of my peers: Janell. She went through my site, registered, logged in, submitted a contact form, and tried out some links. She thought it was very good overall. I had forgotten to ad a path to a few links. She also reminded me that it’s good to have links to other websites open in new windows, so they don’t leave your website. [It's pretty funny, because I told her to do that a couple weeks ago on her portfolio!] She wasn’t able to log into the website with her username, because the school servers don’t allow us to send emails, but she logged in as username: “username” with the password: “password,” just for testing purposes. Finally, she noticed that there was no confirmation or error when she submitted the contact form. That was an issue locally which I fixed, and had to undo it remotely. We both agree that I completed all of my goals. The sight looks significantly better and is functioning better as a whole. The navigation was consolidated and created more content per page. I added some good keywords throughout the site and elaborated on some of their current text. I also spiced up their logo to make it match the style and color scheme of the website. The new barber salon site looks completely different and is fully functioning!
SALES PITCH
In my attempt at selling my idea to the company (my instructor), I kept getting off track of why they should use my redesign by explaining the “behind the scenes” aspects which 99% of clients could care less about. Oops! And I kind of started off by dissing their current site! Oops! But then I quickly made up for it. It’s tough trying to tell someone about a website you created that you have put so much time and energy into. It is your creation and no one else gets it. It doesn’t even matter how hard you try to help them get it, if they aren’t familiar with web development or web design, they simply won’t understand what you are trying to tell them. That is going to take some getting used to. When talking to clients, I always want to explain all the cool stuff I can do, but they just want a good website. Instead of using terms and information that is not their expertise, I need to explain the purpose of what I create and why they need it. Hopefully that will get easier with time.
To see my whole thought and work process check out the barber shop redesign process.
It was a great experience!