Codes and Scripts at your Fingertips
Creating beautiful websites is no longer the monopoly of techies. Now, with web designing codes made available through the Internet, anyone can dabble into the exciting world of web development and web design.
During the early years of the Internet, only a handful of people were capable of developing a blank webpage into a site that not only attracted a new breed of surfers, but conveyed the company’s thrust at one glance. These people, called developers had a world of their own. They were wrapped in an air of modern day algorithmic mysticism that seemed impenetrable to mere mortals. Could these two groups meet? How could they? No one dared question their logic; no one dared go against their designs. Why not? HTML codes and CSS scripts were not part of the ordinary man’s vocabulary - at least, not until recently.
With the Internet becoming more and more readily available to everyone, it is but natural for a man with an inquisitive mind, to explore the nuances of this technological craze. They probably started playing around with fonts, discovering ways to italicize, underline even bold face texts using simple codes, in their email correspondences. Following this trend were the ubiquitous web logs or blogs. These blogs were initially personal journals that people maintained to document the goings on in their lives. Being personal journals, people wanted to design it in such a way that it easily reflected their beings, and since these were for their personal consumption, blog owners took it upon themselves to learn the intricacies of basic web design and development.
The entry of blogs in the online world sparked a renewed interest in the internet, most specifically in web design. Books and magazines that featured web design codes and scripts were being gobbled up by the consumer. These strange characters no longer frightened them. People now absorbed and understood this new language just like a dry sponge absorbs water. To answer the growing needs of a new industry, these codes became readily available on the Internet.
From blogs, the logical progression would be on to actual web-sites. Once equipped with the basic knowledge on web design, the task of actually working on a web site no longer seemed so daunting. People who grew adept with internet codes through their blogs gradually ventured out into designing more complex internet websites. They had the fundamental skills. If they needed something more, a more elaborate design for pop-up ads, drop down menus, a rotating banner, and other website promotional tools, they could easily get the required code through the internet and easily insert this in the entire html (or css) script.
Today, more and more websites focus on providing html and css codes to a still growing number of web design enthusiasts. Some provide the codes for a small fee, yet others readily give these out free of charge. Not only do they provide codes and scripts, these sites also give readers instructions on how and where to insert these into the web template. In addition to these, some sites even have on-line forums where newbies and techies can share their web-design problems and valuable tips to other aspiring web-designers.
Today, web design is no longer the exclusive domain of techies - athough the more complicated codes are still left to the experts. It’s really amazing that the technology that alienated the web design gods from the web design mortals is the same one that brought these two together.
Seven Secrets to College Success
Congratulations. You have made the decision to pursue higher education and to meet your goal of obtaining a college degree. You are embarking on a journey that can take you places you may have only dreamed of. Being in college can be fun but it can also be challenging. In this article I have put together ten steps that can help you to be successful at your collegiate goals.
1.Be punctual: Being late for class is a sign of disrespect. It tells the instructor you don’t want to be in his class or that you don’t take the class seriously. You also miss important information when you are late. Do you like it when people are late for something you’ve planned? Of course not. The instructor has spent time preparing for the class and you should give the instructor the time you have scheduled for his class. Besides, you have spent money for the class so you should show up on time to get what you paid for. Being punctual also helps when it comes time for grading. Grading is subjective and you want to do everything you can to leave a positive impression in your instructor’s mind so he can remember you this way doing grading. Being late for class doesn’t make a positive impression. So if you are habitually late, why should he sweat over your grade? Take my word for it, show up on time.
2.Do the homework: It is a waste of your time and the instructor’s time if you just sit in class but never do the assignments. Not doing class assignments is a guaranteed way to fail. Instructors use assignments to determine your knowledge and your grade. Assignments also help you to learn more about your field of study. Instructors can also tell if you half-heartedly completed an assignment. And don’t wait until the last minute to do your assignment. If you start early you will have a better product than if you waited until the due date to start on it.
3.Ask questions: Some people think asking questions is dumb. In reality it’s just the opposite. Instructors like students who ask questions. It shows you are interested in the class and that you really want to learn more about the subject the instructor is an expert in. The question you ask is probably the same question several other students in the class want answered so you’ll be doing them a favor.
4.Be confident: As an instructor, I like students who are confident in their abilities and act on them. Many times students are afraid to speak up in class or write a paper about an interesting subject because they are afraid what the instructor or their fellow students may think. As a result research papers or projects are sometimes dull and boring because they cover “safe” topics. It’s okay to be afraid. It’s not okay to let fear keep you from doing something you really want do. So go ahead and write that paper you’ve been longing to write or start on that project that you truly believe in. Be confident and be able to back up your findings or conclusions with evidence.
5.Volunteer: College instructors like students who volunteer. Volunteerism shows you want to really want to get involved in your major or your school. You don’t have to volunteer for something big. It could be something as simple as agreeing to be a group discussion leader or leading a class project. It could be volunteering to be on a student committee or to be on the board of a student chapter of an organization. Find ways to volunteer. This will not only help your grades but it can also enhance your studies.
6.Be prepared for tests: Depending on your instructor, you may not know when she may call a pop quiz. Successful students are prepared and always ready. You can be prepared by reading the class material before the class, participating in class discussions, and by doing the assignments and exercises in your textbook.
7.Get to know people: Successful people network. You have to do the same too, even on a college campus. When you get to know people on campus they share with you information that they have. This information can help you in a class, help you to save money or a purchase, assist you in choosing a class, or even choosing a major. Networking is a very important tool in the world of business so you might as well practice the skill while you are in college.
Remember that you can be a success in college. Yes it’s hard but you can do it!
The Problem of Maintaining Websites
When I was a young child I used to hear my parents tell me that my eyes were bigger than my stomach. When I was hungry it was easy for me to put a lot on my plate, but as I began to eat I would find that I really didn’t want as much as I thought I did. Today we see a lot of webmasters that have eyes that are bigger than their stomachs.
The problem that we all face is that when we start a new project we are excited about it and have all kinds of bright ideas about what we can put into our websites. For the first several days or even weeks we have a tendency to spend all of our time thinking about what we can do to make our website great. We tend to forget that in time we will find other things that will take up our time and all kinds of things that add to the maintenance requirements are added to the website. When the joy of developing the site wears off we are left with the chore of either updating things that tend to become obsolete or with a website that has the appearance of one that has been created then abandoned.
Proper planning is the key to preventing these problems. As a webmaster one should distance one’s self from the maintenance aspects of the website. A website can be developed in a relatively short period of time while the maintenance will last for the life of the website. Rather than assuming that one will be able to update the website as the information goes out of date a webmaster should consider what would happen if the website is left untouched for several weeks or months.
If the website is being developed using static pages there should be no information that goes out of date. Never mention things that are going to happen. Never refer to things has having happened last month, or last year. It is better to say something like, “In November 2005 my dog died” rather than “last November my dog died.” An exception can be made if the article is dated, but it should still be avoided because readers seldom pay attention to dates that are not in the body of an article.
Using dynamic pages allows some freedom, but it must be used properly. Most of the problem with maintaining a website is in deleting the old information rather than creating the new. When something happens or is going to happen we want to tell people about it, but after it is over we really don’t want to think about it. The last thing a webmaster wants to do is to go through each file and verify that it appears to be fresh rather than something that someone forgot to delete. Dynamic pages allow the webmaster to do lots of nice things, but one of the best things they do is provide the capability of removing obsolete information without the need of the webmaster going through each of the pages on the site.
Another thing that causes websites to be a chore to maintain is too much stuff. Webmasters have a tendency to add things to a site just because it can be done. A well designed site will only have those things that are needed to get the message across. A purpose should be defined for the website and nothing should be included that does not meet that purpose.
The websites that are the easiest to maintain are the ones that are the most fun to maintain. When the webmaster can focus on the purpose of the website rather than on removing old information the website will be better maintained and more fun.
