A front-end designer or developer can create a site without

any back-end development. A great example of user

experience is Apple.

Using basic one-color graphics and leaning on a desktop

metaphor with files, folders, and a trashcan, Apple pioneered

the idea of windows for different applications and tasks that

could be layered on top of one another.

Some traits relating to Frontend developers include:

• Knowing the functionality of how the user interacts

• Coding everyhing that’s visually presented when a user

vists a web page

• Gey to know tabout the content e.g. text, images,

buttons and navigation menus

• Coding the design with HTML, CSS, Javascript and other

languages like jQuery

Researching into has given me a few ideas when coming to

design my initial layout of the website focusing on how the

user would experience the site. I have also included other

examples of user interface sites to explain this idea.

References:

http://www.conceptdraw.com. (2017). iPhone User Interface | Android User Interface‏ | User Interface Design Examples | User Interface. [online] Available at: http://www.conceptdraw.com/examples/user-interface [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].

DEBAK, A. (2017). Front-end / Interaction Designer - Careers at Devana. [online] Devana Blog. Available at: http://devana.rs/blog/front-end-interaction-designer/ [Accessed 19 Feb. 2017].

Front-End

The back-end, or the “server-side”, is basically how the site

works, updates and changes. This refers to everything the

user can’t see in the browser, like databases and servers.

Usually, people who work on the back-end are called

programmers or developers. Back-end developers are mostly

worried about things like security, structure and content

management. They usually know and can use languages

like HTML and CSS. The code they write communicates with

the server and then tells the browser what to use from the

database.

Back-end developers, or at least back-end development,

is required to create a dynamic site. A dynamic site is a

site that’s constantly changing and updated in real-time.

Most sites are dynamic sites, as opposed to static sites,

for example, blogs are dynamic sites since their content is

constantly changing and updating.

References:

Pluralsight.com. (2015). What’s the Difference Between the Front-End and Back-End?. [online] Available at: https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/whats-difference-front-end-back-end [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

Holliday, L. (2014). Web Design Vs. Web Development: What’s the Difference? | SkilledUp. [online] SkilledUp. Available at: http://www.skilledup.com/articles/web-design-vs-web-development-whats-difference [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

Pinterest. (2017). Front End Design. [online] Available at: https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/front-end-design/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

Back-End

Responsive Web design is the approach that sug-gests that design and development should respond to the user’s behaviour and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation.

References:

Ps-aruba.com. (2017). Design | Power Systems. [online] Available at: https://ps-aruba.com/services/design/ [Accessed 16 Feb. 2017].

Responsive

Non-database content management systems known as flat

file CMS means data is structured around a matrix of folders

or files without any import from a conventional database.

Users on non-database systems have limited options, for

example, there can add features such as basic search,

images, PayPal buttons or Google Maps to their site (best

suited for smaller projects).

A CMS without database is suitable for:

• Small and medium sized homepage

• Operating Blogs

• Introducing a range of services (businesses, freelancers)

A CMS without a database is not suitable for:

• Online Stores / Services

• News sites

• Websites with lots of multimedia content

After researching into non database- driven CMS systems

it has told me although I have to create a prototype of my

proposal site for the organisation Free F’all Climbing I would

advice them to go with a database driven CMS as there want

to add a news section on their site (will need to be updated).

I like the idea of using the software Impress Pages (bottom

image) to create this site.

References:

Installatron.com. (2017). ImpressPages. [online] Available at: http://installatron.com/impresspages [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

1&1 Digitalguide. (2016). CMS without database – a useful alternative?. [online] Available at: https://www.1and1.co.uk/digitalguide/hosting/cms/cms-without-database-a-useful-alternative/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

HKDC. (2017). 10 Productivity Tools to Do More with Slack. [online] Available at: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/slack-productivity-tools/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

Non Database - Driven CMS System

Database-driven content management systems use a

database for collecting and storing information.

This type of system allows users to manage and edit their

content (by themselves), without the knowledge of HTML

or CSS. Database-driven CMS systems can be used for both

large and small projects, due to their user-friendly interface

design and the amount of features and plugins there have.

Here is a list of the advantages and disadvantages of

Database Content Management System sites:

Advantages:

• Faster development

• Good built in SEO

• The ability to leverage excellent third party plugins

• User-friendly: Gives people with little or no technical

skills the ability to create, update or modify content

Disadvantages:

• Training required

• If incorrectly used by the client it can break site

• Can require extra maintenance, backups, upgrades,

security patches.

Researching into database- driven CMS systems has given

me a clearer understanding into what is, the advantages and

disadvantages of this system. On this page, I have included

an example of a responsive WordPress website as this

highlights what you can create on this system.

References:

Haver, J. (2015). The Non-Techie Guide to Responsive Wordpress Websites - Lightning Rank - Private Blog Network. [online] Lightning Rank - Private Blog Network. Available at: http://www.lightningrank.com/the-non-techie-guide-to-responsive-wordpress-websites/ [Accessed 18 Feb. 2017].

Database - Driven CMS System

JavaScript is a programming language commonly used in

web development. It was originally developed by Netscape

as a means to add dynamic and interactive elements to

websites. ... Like server-side scripting languages, such as PHP

and ASP, JavaScript code can be inserted anywhere within

the HTML of a webpage.

jQuery is a cross-platform JavaScript library designed to

simplify the client-side scripting of HTML.

I will be using the lightbox jQuery script (see image of the lightbox opposite ) to create a dynamic responsive gallery.

References:

Techterms.com. (2017). JavaScript Definition. [online] Available at: https://techterms.com/definition/javascript [Accessed 20 Feb. 2017].

Designyourway.net. (2017). 19 Efficient jQuery Lightbox Plugins. [online] Available at: http://www.designyourway.net/blog/resources/30-efficient-jquery-lightbox-plugins/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].

Javascript / jQuery

In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on,

addon, or extension) is a software component that adds a

specific feature to an existing computer program. When a

program supports plug-ins, it enables customization. Here

are a few examples:

Google +

Google Analytics

Google Maps

Mail Chimp

PayPal

Google Analytics - a free service which provides in-depth

reports where you can track information about the way

visitors to your site interact with it, to e-commerce track sales

activity and performance.

Google Maps - easy to embed anywhere on your website

Mail Chimp - can be directly integrated with your website so

your customers can subscribe to your list quickly and easily

(A sign up form). With this you can send up to 12,000 email

campaigns to 2,000 subscribers per month for free and

view reports to measure the success of there campaigns.

You can also connect Mail Chimp to your Facebook and

Twitter to automatically post your campaigns on these social

networking sites.

References:

Developers Guide. (2017). 3rd-party Analytics Integration. [online] Available at: https://developers.gigya.com/display/GD/3rd-party+Analytics+Integration [Accessed 20 Feb. 2017].

Third Party Add ons

Here are a few broad examples of some of the disabilities

audiences may have:

• Visual Impairment

• Hearing Impairment

• Reading Disorder

• Learning Disorder

• Motor skill problems

• Seizures/Migraines

Different types of disabilities have assistive technologies or

adaptive strategies to navigate the web. They include:

• Keyboard (instead of a mouse)

• Keyboard and mouse alternatives

• Screen readers

• Screen magnifiers

• Voice recognition programs

• Tools to help with low vision, learning disabilities,

contrast, etc.

Because disabilities can cover a wide gamut, providing

accessible content for the largest common denominator is

crucial. The fundamental categories of accessible guidelines

that govern the digital world as dictated by WCAG 2.0, are

summarized by them in the table below. Once you grasp

what limitations your audience may have and the tools they

use to mitigate, these main concepts will make sense. You

can start to see the scaffolding that accessibility concepts are

built on and why. I will use soe of these in my website.

Information and user interface must be presented to users in

a way they can perceive:

Provide text alternatives for non-text content

Provide captions and other alternatives for multimedia

Create content that can be presented in different ways,

including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning

Make it easier for users to see and hear content

References:

Neglia Design. (2017). An introduction to online accessibility standards | Neglia Design. [online] Available at: https://negliadesign.com/online-accessibility/an-introduction-to-online-accessibility-standards/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].

Disability Access