My Thoughts- Bottom Up
Kelsey Green

The article entitled, "Design Your Web Site from the Bottom Up" by Peter Pappas explains how one should think about the construction of a website he or she wishes to create by starting from the bottom and working your way up. Begin by brainstorm all the items that you wish to have on your web site; think about what it is you want for your site and what your audience will be looking for. Second begin to group the items into categories, and be sure to not include to many categories; 2-4 is usually best. After you create your categories, go through each one and decide if the information found in that category will stay the same, or if it will need frequent updating. Ask yourself, "Do these categories make sense?" Revise the categories to ensure you have decided upon the best choices to suit your site. Develop a flow chart that will become the "road map" for your website. Begin with your main categories, then branch of and decide what information you want to have in each category and then if there will be a third level with additional information. It is important that the information in the categories stays balanced and does not overload the viewer. After you create a road map, next design a navigational plan that will link your categories, as well as provide short cuts to jump around the site without having to use the back button. Ideally, you want a navigation bar on the top and bottom of each page. Also, always identify the site and the designer at the bottom of each page. Next you will want to think of each page and the page layout. Each page should have a navigational bar that links all the pages at the top and bottom of each page, the site and designers name at the bottom of the page, and each page should be title with bold letters. Each page should be clutter free and easy to find what you are looking for. Keeping it simple is the way to go! Finally, after all the planning, the creation of the website can begin!

This article is extremely helpful seeing that I will be creating a class website! Working backwards is a great strategy, because it really allows you to think about what you want to have on the site as well as what your audience (in my case parents and students) will want to have on the site. I never thought about having a navigational bar on each page, and it is something that I will definitely include on my page. This was such a useful article, and I am excited to build my very own class site!