Running head: Website Design 1

Website Design

Robert Tippett

Student ID: 000299500

Western Governors University

Student Mentor: Nina Smith

Assessment Code: TDT1 Task 1

May 13, 2017

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Introduction

Website design sure has changed since I was a teen. When I was a teen you had to open a

notepad document or some other document creator. Then begin entering lines of HTML code, a

tedious, labor intensive process that often ended up not looking like what we were attempting to

design. Today anyone with basic computer skills can create a website in under an hour by

following the steps below. The site I created can be found here: http://rtippett.weebly.com/.

Steps to Designing Website Using Weebly

1. Turn on a computer, it can be a PC or Mac or even a Chromebook, although the later may

make designing a website more time consuming.

a. Additionally you can create a website using your smartphone but for the purposes

of this guide a computer is necessary.

2. Once your chosen OS has loaded on your chosen device open your desired web browser.

For the purpose of this guide the Chrome web browser was used. Below are a list of

alternatives.

a. Internet Explorer (IE) outdated browser but found on most PC based computers.

b. Edge Microsofts replacement for IE. Decent browser available on Windows 10

PCs.

c. Firefox a competent browser with many features.

d. Chrome most popular web browser (Vaughan-Nichols, 2017).

e. Safari standard web browser on iOS, Mac Computers.

3. In the address bar navigate to www.weebly.com.

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4. For new users click the Sign UP bottom in the upper right hand corner of the screen. If

you already have an account please login. For the purposes of this guide it is assumed a

new user is being created.

5. Create an account. There is multiple ways to do this choose the way you feel most

comfortable using.

6. Once an account is created a new user will be met with choosing whether the site will be

used for personal or business purposes. This guide was done using a personal website.

7. Next a user will have the option to choose from multiple themes Weebly has created.

This is a good place to start for someone who is not familiar with website design.

a. Choose a theme (it doesnt matter which one as all elements are editable)

i. When choosing a theme you should pick one that fits your needs as well as

has the visual appearance that is appealing to you.

8. After selecting your theme Weebly will create the template and ask you to create unique

website ID. At this point a user can use their server to host their site or if you already

have a domain you can use your own domain to host your website.

9. Next the website template will open.

10. On the left side of the screen the user will find tools for designing the website. However

the easiest way to create your personal site is to start by replacing the images and content

generated on the site. This will allow users to keep the visual appearance and layout

intact while they create their site.

11. The images on the template are all stock images and can be kept however it is important

to infuse your own personality onto your website. Follow the steps below to replace a

background image.
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a. Click on the background image you wish to edit or replace.

b. Select Edit Background

c. From here a user can choose to Replace the current image or Edit the current

image.

i. Any image you choose must be images you own or are free to use.

ii. Copyrighted images can only be used if permission is received from the

owner.

d. If replacing an image you can choose a file from the internet or from your

computer.

e. Editing the image a user can move, shade or change the size of the image. For

more specific image editing the image will need to be edited in an image editor

program like Adobe Photoshop.

f. Once the changes have been made click save at the top of the screen in the upper

right corner. This will bring you back to the overview of the page.

g. All images can be edited in this way.

h. Special note the free service limits your upload size to 5MB.

12. Editing and adding text is as easy selecting the text you wish to edit and typing your own

text. You can change the color, size, underline and create usable links all from the text

editing box that appears above the text you want to edit.

a. While editing text keep a consistent text theme throughout all pages.

b. If you need special text it may be necessary to create the text in another

application.
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c. Adding links to other pages to your text is easy to do as well just click the button

that looks like two chains in the text editing bar.

d. Once done click the save button in the upper right corner of the screen.

13. At this point you may want to consider adding other elements. Simply drag the element

you wish to use from the elements on the left side of the web page to the desired location

on the page.

14. Once you have added all elements and made the changes you want it is time to edit the

sub-pages created when the template was created.

15. Click on the sub-page you want to edit by using the navigation buttons created by

Weebly. Then repeat the steps above to edit each sub-page.

16. Once your webpages look how you want them to click the publish button in the upper

right corner. This will publish your site and make it accessible for the world to see.

Conclusion

Creating a website is easier than it has ever been. I was able to create a website within

minutes of creating my account. Currently my webpage submitted for this task

(http://rtippett.weebly.com/) is in its infancy stage. I have already added some of my own

graphics from pictures I took. I also was able to change the headings of my sub-pages and add

new text. I added color to text heading and created a saying through out to tie my website

together. The directions I created above was how I was able to create my website.
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Reference

Vaughan-Nichols, S. J. (2017, January 12). Chrome is the most popular web browser of all.

Retrieved May 13, 2017, from http://www.zdnet.com/article/chrome-is-the-most-popular-

web-browser-of-all/.