Reflection on Current Status of the website

By Dumziii Mofolo on 23 June 2024

This reflection section is a piece of writing that delves into the overall status of the site and design decisions made thus far:

From a design perspective and the incorporation of the JavaScript code within my website, I have noticed a large disconnect between the layout of my wireframes design(tabular format navigation menu), specifically with the way navigation menu is currently dynamically laid out in an unordered list format. In my wireframes design and style guide, I created my wireframes with the incoporation of CSS tabular data layout as opposed to the unordered list format that I currently have within my site. Part of the reason why there is a disconnect between what the wireframes are showing and the actual navigation menu layout is because my javascript code has been made to adapt to the use of an unordered list as opposed to the use of tables because in my head I was going to use CSS to properly structure my navigation menu layout using the appropriate styling code for that. I did try to adapt my menu js code to using tabular data without the css and in as much as I did not struggle in changing the code for my desired objective, at the end of the day , this assignment required more intergration of the Javascript code than it required for the CSS code. As such, I didn't want to create an un-true expectation of CSS code within my site when we haven't got to incorporating CSS within our site yet, well atleast for the Website 2 assignment. I plan on fixing this disconnect between the layout designs and navigation menu layouts through the usage of my CSS code , in the next assignment. This should create a consistent and connected design decisons between what the wireframes designs are showing and the actual structure of my site overall.(Written 09 May 2024)

Coming back with changes before 27 May 2024 :

As its stands, I'd like to believe I've mananed to use CSS to create a connection between the layout of my wireframes and the design as well as the way in which my site looks like currently. The latter should addrss the issue I had spoken about in the above reflection section. I've tried to put great emphasis on ensuring that I have a consistent navigation and directory scheme structure in each page so that users going through my site do not find themselves having to use the left and right arrow in the top left corner of the browser they are viewing my sight on. I've tried to maintain readability by using the Times New Roman font ,which is very clear to see and is easy to read through or follow. This enhances the typography when it comes to legibility and I also made an effort to ensure that the written language looks appealing as well in a sense that i used similar colors to create contrast between what is the background-color of the page being read and the text-color it is written in. This ensured that there is an ambient feeling created or evoked by the "warm" similar colors chosen. Furthermore, I tried to cater this site to responsive design by using a few media queries in my css code especially for the main three devices this site could potentially be viewed on. At this point I cannot really tell if I've used them correctly or whether the type of responsivenss I have is appropriate or is intuitive (i.e. if it feels right. I've pondered about this for a while) for this sight. In some areas where I noticed quite a lot of scaling issues, I tried to either collapse the image pixels so they fit into the screen type the site is being viewed on or I've tried to reduce the width and height of my images so they scale particular to the device they are accessed or viewed on. To be honest , I think the responsiveness I have within this sight currently is only there towards an extent. I think there's areas of improvement and ways I'm still trying to find to improve it beyond the extent it is.

Changes and overall reflection as of 23 June 2024 :

I've learnt a lot about web development and how I can use it to voice out my opinions and curate my work in a suitable way for future employers. One of the most significant lessons I've learned is the importance of accessibility in web design. I've tried to incorporate accessibility features into my site, such as using aria labels and descriptive alt text, to ensure that my site is usable by everyone. I've also learned the importance of consistency in design and layout, and have made efforts to ensure that my wireframes, design, and actual site layout are all aligned. Additionally, I've gained a better understanding of responsive design and have made attempts to implement it in my site, although I recognize that there is still room for improvement. Overall, I'm proud of the progress I've made and am excited to continue learning and improving my skills in web development. By prioritizing accessibility and ethical design practices, I aim to create a positive impact in the digital world. By using my understanding of the three languages gained in this course , I have created not only an aesthetically pleasing website, I've also ensured that it is meaningful not only from showcasing academic skill set but also from how well informed the commentary I've made is to the people who might interact with my site and actually learn something new from it. I've made an effort to use the contrast between the colors to be in a way that enhances readabilty, is appealing to the eye and does not compromise any form of accesibility. Through my commentary, I have offered users a piece of my thoughts or rather a chance to experience my thoughts as an affected individual of the subject matters i talk about. I've also allowed users to also see the insight I have developed in my blogs in an aesthetically pleasing way, one that makes the user feel part of the journey, and feel heard through their abilty to react and add their own comments and thoughts.