m brill problem-solving log

Tahoe Community Sailing will be the website for the Tahoe Community Sailing not for profit organization. Currently they only have a Facebook group page, so this will help get their name further out into the digital world. The website will be used to relay event information, accept donations via PayPal and send mass emails to anyone who has provided their email address by donating or joining their mailing list.

The target audience for this page will be those who contribute to the organization or otherwise participate in organization events as well as those who have an interest in sailing. The primary beneficiaries of the organization are kids and teens, but the website will most likely be targeted more towards their parents, as the kids will need permission before they can participate in any events.

Network Solutions (NS) will take care of the hosting and database services for the website. I chose NS because they are reliable and fairly inexpensive, while still providing all the capability the website could ever need. They also perform daily incremental database backups, which will minimize any data loss in case of an accidental, erroneous database entry or server failure. The website will be run through the Drupal CMS, to allow the Tahoe Community Sailing organization to update the content without requiring additional assistance.

Tahoe Community Sailing-

1. Drupal nav bar displaying on front page:
   • found $is_front variable. set if statement to remove nav bar on front page
2. Water loop choppy:
   • layered duplicate video with fade to ease transition
3. flash header links not functioning:
   • fixed with navigateToURL(request, '_self') expression

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Emerald City Lan-

1. side columns are uneven length:
   • found class in css file and set explicit min-height and height
2. security flaw in seat reservation allows users to reserve seat without first registering:
   • added if statement to verify guest exists in registration database prior to inserting seat reservation
3. brother wanted automatic confirmation as opposed to existing manual verification:
   • found PayPal Instant Payment Notification (IPN). setup script to receive IPN and update database to reflect that the guests payment had been successfully received

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Aerobatic Company & Flight School, Inc.-

1. students able to schedule flights with off duty instructors:
   • added a "time on" database and script that allows instructors to set times they are available. modified schedule new/edit flight scripts to first verify the instructor is available before displaying available instructors to student to reduce confusion. added secondary verification to prevent students from altering form values manually and bypassing first verification.
2. students unable to contact new instructor:
   • added link to success prompt, directing students to page with instructor contact information
3. quick confirmation buttons broken in flight list:
   • when i rewrote the main schedule i changed from day/time to flight id to target specific flights but did not change to this system in the flight list. updated code to reflect changes

CLEMENT blog post

My web site is actually a blog with one main page where I post my picture of the day so that people can follow me. It s nothing more than a picture and video post page.
*My issues (photoshop)
I can't resize picture

*My wishes
I wish I could superimpose picture without hiding one.
I want to create slide show as well .

annie Mac: problems

Issue:
-Getting my logo image to fit correctly so that it is not cut-off anywhere.
-I am worried about whether I am using the correct host for what I want the website to offer.
-It is in a blog host…but it is not a personal blog, is that okay? I want people to be able to share photos and videos on my website with forum ability.
-I have to provide all the content to start, as I am aware, and quite possibly will continue to provide unless girls really start kicking things off and getting edits in.
-image wise: I want the website to be very simple and I’m afraid Word press is going to just slam with weird fees whenever I want

brett varga_ problems

bringyalunch.com

LUNCH
        

Problems Log ( BRINGYALUNCH.CO)

4/17/2012

My website is a personal portfolio for me in a nutshell. I want people, mainly around the ages of (17- 40) to visit my website. I want to display my art in simple easy to navigate pages. I also want to establish, Bringyalunch.com, as an artist hub. Any artist that wants to put up work and contact info can do it on my site with my permission. I also want to make it possible for people to purchase certain works or clothes from my website.

Problems:

1. I’m still design the website, but I want to be able to drag over the headers and have them change to images when the mouse is over then. When the images are clicked I want them to animate. I have some experience doing this in flash, but I want to try it out in html.

(got the images to change with the swap image behavior)

2. I want to create a paypal account, so visitors to my site have the opportunity to purchase my art and any other artist’s art via credit card.

3. I want to have the main image on the homepage change every time you go back to the home page.

(Change the image for the homepage to a wider image, help get the container align more to the left of the website)

4. I have no idea how to create a slideshow that shows one image at a time. When you click on each images it should go to the next image or click left or right to navigate though each slideshow.((((got the images for "fine art" and "digital" to show slideshow which is archived at Flickr.com)

5. I'I'm having a hard time figuring out the layout for my email page, I'm not sure how I want the information showcased on the page......((I want to change the email page into "about me/ contact"... on the page it will set the artistic statement in a word bubble attach to a picture of me.. also will be a link to my email)))

* ( I change the “email” footer to show “about me/ contact”)

6. Need to get the artists' desired art and description/bio to be showcased on "friends" page

7.Need to finish bubble designs for " Friends" and "About Me/ Contact" to showcase indiv. bios

8. I need to figure out how to embed youtube videos

daily video YAY!

Alex Granelli Troubleshooting

My design has become a self promotional website that is a test for future promoting ideas. The wix website builder is a useful tool in creating a modern looking webpage. The main problem that I have encountered thus far is having separate background images on each page of your website. I'd like to use separate images in order to show a multitude of examples that promote the concept or idea.

1. Problem: Having separate background images through wix

Solutions: You can create a website based entirely of "Master" pages. Create a new website in Wix for every page of your website. Instead of using the menu bar, you can use "Text Buttons" arranged in a menu style to link between pages easily.

2. Problem: Multiple master pages lead to increased load time between pages.
Here is an example, http://www.wix.com/bodlax/alexgranellihome
The link "Gallery" runs much smoother between pages

Assignment: your problem-solving log

Due next class, Thursday the 29th -- I want you to post, to the blog, the first draft of a document that lists out the problems you have encountered and solved in the course of your website project. I'm not looking for a full academic paper, with full sentences, and so on -- but I do want you to make a list of the technical and design issues that have presented themselves to you, and the solutions you found for them. Start your document with an opening paragraph explaining what your site is, who the intended audience is, and then list out the various problems you have encountered and solved. Label the post with the tag "problems."

For instance, last year, I know when Ethan Rollo was first using Wix, there was a white halo around some of the graphics he uploaded to his site -- and I believe fixing it was a matter of saving his images in the PNG 24 format. And another issue was the long load-time for his shopping gallery -- fixing that meant finding out what the maximum display size was for the gallery pics, and scaling his images down to that size before uploading them, drastically reducing their file sizes. So a "Problem-Solving" list could simply go:

Problem: uploaded graphics have white halo.
Solution: Used PNG 24 format with transparency for images with a transparent background.

Problem: Long load-time for shopping gallery.
Solution: Found out pixel dimensions of the gallery windows, and downsized gallery pictures to that size before uploading.

If there are helpful links for any of your solutions, include them as well. For instance, I know Nick Cahill – again, from last year – looked at a few options for javascript slideshows -- a list item with a link could go:

Problem: Wanted a slideshow with thumbnails, not flash-driven, so it would show on iPads.
Solution: galleria slideshow: http://galleria.aino.se/; found out it can be modified by changing options in the code (see this page: http://galleria.aino.se/docs/1.2/options/); if there is more than one option used, use a comma between options to separate them.

Not all problems have to be strictly technical problems. For instance, they could relate to decisions you make in terms of using imagery on your website, or the way you name your navigation bars, or the way you manage comments on a forum in your site – problems that relate to design, or to capturing the audience you intend to capture.

I'm interested in having you go through this process for a number of reasons -- one, to develop some documentation on your own problem-solving process, and two, to build up a sort of database of helpful hints that can be posted to the blog -- and which you (and other students) can refer to if you encounter any similar web design problems. This will be a single post that you update as you go along -- clicking on the "edit post" option (the little pencil that appears under your post) to add to your list.

Obviously, you first post is only going to have the beginning stages of this process. This first post should include:

1. What your site is – this should be more than a one-sentence description; it should be a full paragraph, if not two or three. Imagine that you have to write up a description of your prospective website to secure funding, or to explain the details to a design firm you are hiring to design it. What are the features of the site, and how will it stand out from other sites that have similar content?

2. Who the intended audience is. What is their demographic, and what do you intend to do to attract and retain their attention?

3. By now, you should have chosen a hosting option for your site, whether you are making it from scratch, or using a hosting/template service. Explain which option for hosting you chose, and why. Are their features that will make it easier for you to update content? ARe their features that will allow you to capture your audience in some important way? This is a very early "problem" in building a site: what platform (or platforms) are you going to use to create it?