website – Musician’s Haven

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What: I want to create an internationally respected musician’s hub that provides reliable information and reviews on instruments and other gear for beginners to professional performers.

Who: My audience would be musicians or aspiring musicians looking to purchase gear. It’s terribly easy to waste money on items that you either don’t need and waste time putting off things you do need. I’m hoping to have a few dedicated “contributors” which would serve as a middle ground between Reddit and Wikipedia where site visitors could get reliable information.

Why: I’ve spent a lot of money over the past 9 years since I started playing music. If I knew what to buy and what not to buy, I’d be alot better off. Similar to used cars, I think having a “go here, do this, don’t do that,” resource for newbies would result in fewer people purchasing lemons.

Code customization:

  • I will include a search bar with PHP
  • I will include a gallery at the top of the home page, and a different gallery on each page
  • I will create a “shopping cart” for bookmarking items with JavaScript
  • I’ll use CSS to style the pages
  • I will have an embedded 16:9 format video playing at the bottom of each page demoing some instruments (depending on what page it is)
  • ill create a search bar using PHP
  • I’ll embed a Twitter feed

—- More specs below—

Above the fold front page automatic slider (4-5 images) of different types of gear (acoustic guitar, bass, microphone set-up, etc.)

Below the fold two column review section (featuring an image of one instrument and a user’s highly rated review of the instrument)

Top right “shopping cart” that would essentially be the “bookmarked instruments” personalized and accessible from your login)

  • Home
  • Acoustics(guitars, bass)
  • Electrics(guitars, bass)
  • Other instruments(ukulele, cello, viola, violin, etc. etc.)
  • Vintage gear(includes every aforementioned category but only features higher quality and very expensive gear. Some will be repeat posts in this page)
  • Price guide

The review section would include the MSRP and the average selling price online (Ebay, for instance) to give the user an idea of how much they should reasonably pay for said instrument

Each page would have an above the fold slider with 8-9 images of instruments that in a traditional cms would be easily refreshed with newer content throughout the month.

As for more details on features, I’d have changing text overlaying the images on the sliders, along with neat button navigation that starts from the beginning. I don’t believe we went over this in class, but I want to know how to create an easily accessible pop-up comment/Leave a message feature. (screenshot attached). It would give users the ability to leave a comment about something they want more information on, whether it’s an instrument we’ve featured or one that we haven’t.

Updated Final-pitch

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ACROSS AFRICA “Telling The African Story From The African Perspective”

What: For my final project as mentioned earlier, I am going to develop a unique but interactive news website that will focus mainly on stories about Africa’s culture, politics, arts, business and other pertinent stories from my beautiful continent.

Why: This will provide an alternative to the usually different stories we hear from Africa’s wildlife and how a rare lion or elephant was found. While those are important and significant stories from Africa, often the culture and lifestyles of its people is either ignored or rushed through.

Who: I am excited to see how far this will go in reaching out mainly to  Africans in the diaspora and anyone interested in African stories.  I am looking forward to build a website like this or better.

Code Customization

1 Code Customization 1 (TO-DO)

  • What – Main News tab
  • Why – will add versatility to the content on the website and leave the viewing control in the hands of the viewer.
  • How – Use Pseudocode/HTML, CSS
  • Timeline -Research code, feedback review, modification and finalize.

2 Code Customization 2 (TO DO)

  • What – News Ticker
  • Why – To be able to display multiple headlines at the same time allowing audience get a sneak peak into other news items while reading other stories.
  • How – HTML/CSS
  • Timeline -Research code, feedback review, modification and finalize.

3 Code Customization 1 (TO-DO)

  • What – Subscription form
  • Why – To help gain insight into people who visit the website and get user feedback for potential improvements.
  • How – Use a Pseudcode
  • Timeline -Research code, feedback review, modification and finalize.

4 Backup- Breaking News/Happening now

5 Backup -Trending News on Social Media

6 Backup-Video News

 

Personalized Web Expression

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As we all are surely aware, a short, memorable domain name can make the difference between creating a successful Web presence and getting lost in cyberspace. We are all a brand in some way. We present ourselves to the world, and for me (as a PR major), having one’s own domain name makes that individual look professional. Especially, if you want to create content that attracts attention of a specific audience, you should ask yourself the following question: if you’re not willing to pay the money to register an appropriate domain name, why would your readers think you’re putting enough effort into creating valuable content? More than anything else, a domain name can increase awareness of your brand. If the URL you have chosen corresponds to your company name, it reinforces your brand, making it easier for customers to remember it and find their way back.

After this week, I consider NameCheap as an all-in-one website solution, which allows you to buy your domain, host your site, and purchase any necessary add-ons, all found in one place. It is pretty easy to navigate through and use this hosting service, however, I had a minor problem with one of the steps. Thus, I had to chat with their support team and was able to figure out the issue, which helped me to submit the assignment on time.

During last week’s class we have learned how to set up a self-hosted WordPress on our laptops and hosting services like MAMP. As of right now, the final project is quite confusing and a bit overwhelming. However, what we did and the material we went through in class on last Tuesday was very helpful, since I wouldn’t have been able to do it by myself.

Faher Elfayez Media

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I am starting a new job where I will be working as a consultant. I will be working a set number of days per year, which leaves me with a free day or two a week. I want to create a business site where I promote my work, portfolio, resume, ideas about digital communications, etc. I would use the website to promote my business and book clients.  The audience for this site would be small businesses who are looking for someone to boost their social media and digital platforms. I would like to target the food and restaurant industry but could expand to more industries.

My website is going to have my resume and portfolio on the main page. The top of the website will have drop-downs that will take the site visitor to services, fun facts, advice, and contact information. Every page will include icons to my social media handles.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

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We’re halfway through the semester, and it’s time to start thinking critically about our final projects. This week’s readings (plus the extra time to think thanks to a well-timed spring break) reminded me that the time for thinking abstractly about these new concepts is coming to an end—it will soon be time to put the lessons we’ve learned into action.

I know that I want my final project to be a micro-site for student life and community-building here at SCS. In our final project pitches, we were encouraged to spend more time on the “what,” rather than the “how.” But reading about WordPress child themes has started turning the “how” gears—just a little bit.

Here are my takeaways:

  • The WordPress theme we create can’t just be about changing the site’s appearance; “Good themes improve engagement with your website’s content in addition to being beautiful.” But themes also shouldn’t bear the weight of adding functionality, because when a user changes their theme, they lose access to that functionality. So, then, are good themes just based on good design thinking? What does that look like, and how can you test it?
  • The functionality should instead be borne by plugins, which ensures that a site’s functionality can remain consistent, even if its theme changes. But with so many useful and well designed plugins already in existence, how can we hope to build a new one that would be better/or different from one that’s already been published?
  • I’m most excited about the idea of incorporating metadata and meta boxes into my child theme, because I think it will help alleviate the consistency issues that can arise when a site has multiple users. For example, if the student life page is opened up for student contributions, creating a certain number of required, customized fields will ensure that the content looks and feels exactly the way it should. Since meta boxes can be changed depending on the user, it may also provide increased functionality for “admin” users of the site.
  • Debugging: “Configuring debugging is an essential part of WordPress theme development,” the reading says. This will be critical for us to deploy in order to maintain functionality of our sites. I also anticipate this becoming a source of frustration…

I’m excited and anxious to see how this final project shakes out, and how much I’ll have to compromise between my wish list and what I can realistically create. Remember, self: simple is better.

At 57, He’s Learning to Code. Will it Become His New Career?

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Mike Vaughn will be the first person to tell you he isn’t a “real” web developer. But at 57 years old, he’s learning a skill often associated with teams of 20-somethings: how to code.

Vaughn has been around computers for the last 37 years, before the proliferation of personal computers and back when processing was done by one mainframe computer connected to a number of terminals. Back then, his job involved using a low-level assembly language to develop software that ran system mainframes.

Now, he works as the director of professional services for a software company, installing software, teaching clients how to use it, and troubleshooting when things go wrong. He oversees a team of developers who work to develop product updates and improvements. When his job duties expanded to include development, Vaughn saw an opportunity to learn more about the code that makes the software work.

“I really got enthralled with it,” Vaughn said during a recent phone conversation. “I got excited again about the idea of programming. Even though I’ve done so many things with computers—management, consulting, technical work—I’d never really programmed. And it just became so apparent to me that this is really cool.”

In 2016, Vaughn started using FreeCodeCamp.org, a free online learning platform dedicated to teaching people about web development. But self-directed learning can be a challenge, especially when the topic is akin to learning a new series of languages.

“It’s not a natural thing,” Vaughn said. “It’s a very esoteric thing in terms of the language and translating what you’re trying to achieve into that language. You have these errors and you just don’t know why it’s not working, you’re googling everything you need to google.”

JavaScript, especially, has been a sticking point for Vaughn.

“In terms of my progression in web development, it’s been really start-stop,” Vaughn said. “And that’s just because, you know, I get into learning HTML and CSS, and then I get into JavaScript and then I just fall off. And then I pick it back up and fall off.”

But he’s completed small projects—a matching game that functions using a combination HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, for example—and has learned the lessons in persistence and problem-solving that all developers learn in time. Luckily, Vaughn said, the resources available to today’s developers far surpass those that were available early in his career.

“I came from a world in 1982 where you had a library of manuals that you used to look up error codes,” Vaughn said. “There was an internet, but there was no world wide web like we have today. Today, the resources are tremendous. You can just google the error you’re getting.”

Vaughn also recommends learning to use Chrome developer tools early. The console view allows users to inspect the elements of a webpage, which can help them to see how their code is behaving in a test environment.

“And if you still don’t get it,” Vaughn said, “you can always google that. The chances are when you google that exact error, you’re going to be take  to a site called Stack Overflow. Chances are, somebody has already answered that question.”

At work, Vaughn manages a team of software developers—most of them younger than him. Occasionally, he interrupts their work to learn how they’re doing it. He said while they’re all more facile than he is at using their smartphones (Vaughn sticks to phone calls and the occasional picture), there isn’t much of a difference in the ways they approach problems.

“Whether it’s a digital native or a boomer like myself, there’s a mentality of ‘Let’s figure it out, because we can figure it out,’ ” Vaughn said. “We have the tools to come up with a solution or an answer. I think that’s probably a common thread for anybody that is still vibrant in technology—regardless of age.”

Working with his team has also allowed Vaughn to explore whether, as he enters retirement age, he really wants to build a second career as a web or software developer. As of now, he’s focused on building a portfolio that can lead to freelance opportunities.

That means there’s still time for him to become a “real” developer.

“Freelance is a viable way to make an income,” he said. “So if I sold a freelance project where I developed even a simple website for a client, then at that point, I’m a web developer.”

For my final project site

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For my final project I will do a personal site; more specifically, a blog-type of site that will have content focus on wine. It will be an informative, yet general and approachable blog that will serve as a place to learn nuances to specific varietals and their profiles.

The main audience for this site will be geared towards younger adults, but not exclusively. This will be made for people who are interested in wine, but don’t know too much and want to learn more.

I want to do this kind of site because I think the voice and style is something that best fits my interests and will be something I could see myself using. This audience is near my wheelhouse and I chose wine because I’ve studied wine before and plan on taking it up once again to hopefully get my Sommelier 1 this summer.

When did we get here?

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As I started to dive into the reading materials for week 7, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far we have come in the course. It feels like just yesterday we were learning HTML and CSS, but here we are at week 7 about to put all the pieces together through WordPress!

When I took a glance at the syllabus, I remember seeing WordPress and thinking about how this class was going to be a piece of cake. Man was I wrong! WordPress.org feels a lot more complicated than the WordPress.com that most of us know and love. It looks like this time I will be in charge of fully customizing my site and making it my own. Since I had a lot of trouble setting up the local host and linking the website, I am pretty scared to see how my final project turns out in the end.

I was incredibly overwhelmed while I was reading the WordPress assigned readings because it felt like a lot of information to fully comprehend. Although I know I will have to revisit the WordPress readings, I feel like they were introduced by our instructor for a reason. From reading these excerpts, I think it is incredible how helpful WordPress.org is in creating documentation entry excerpts that assist users in better understanding customization options.

There are a few things I have taken away from this week’s reading and it all starts with there bring three major components to WordPress: core, themes and plug-ins. From these three components, I should not touch the core function because when it updates as a new version, it overwrites core files. Then, I noticed that “plug-ins” came up multiple times in the different WordPress readings. It seems that  plug-ins will give me the customization that I want for our site since everything goes through it. Overall, it sounds like there are a lot of options for designing my site and I have no idea where to start. 🙁

Final Project Pitch [Updated]

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What: The SCS Student Life Website will serve as a one-stop-shop for SCS students to learn about professional development events, social activities, or student groups available to them during their time at Georgetown.

Who: All SCS graduate and undergraduate students; non-degree and non-credit students taking courses at SCS. Monitored and moderated by SCS administrative staff.

Why: There is currently no resource designed solely for the student community at SCS. This website will serve as a community-building tool where students can find and communicate with one another, network with alumni, get information on upcoming programs and events, and even launch and manage their own student group pages.

Customizations:

1. Child theme with significant design changes using CSS

2. Simple plug-in to create custom “event” posts

3. Simple plug-in to create custom “job opportunity” posts

4. Contact form

5. Embedded events calendar

6. Custom admin dashboard using WordPress API

Customization Details and Timeline:

  1. Child theme with significant design changes using CSS (TO-DO)
  • What: Using University-approved fonts & colors, edit the style of the child theme so that it is visually appealing and easy to read
  • Why: Brand management will be important for any University-sponsored, student facing site. Making sure the fonts and colors are used appropriately will not only create brand cohesion but ease of use.
  • How: Create a child theme within the htdocs folder and add a .css file featuring at least 10 modifications
  • Timeline: Draft by Sunday, April 7; Final by Sunday, April 14

 

  1. Simple plug-in to create custom “event” posts (TO-DO)
  • What: Posts about events should stand out from blog posts, jobs posts, etc. Create a visually unique “event” post type that features fields such as time, date, place, image, and rsvp link.
  • Why: Events drive student engagement and provide community and professional development opportunities. As events are hosted by many entities within SCS as well as the broader University network, events are often not published in a standard way. This plug-in will standardize all event posts.
  • How: Using the example “reading list” plug-in, develop an “events” plug-in that provides the features listed above.
  • Timeline: Draft by Sunday, April 7; Final by Sunday, April 14

 

  1. Simple plug-in to create custom “job opportunity” posts (TO-DO)
  • What: Posts about job opportunities should stand out from blog posts, jobs posts, etc. Create a visually unique “job opportunity” post type that features fields such as title, employer, application deadline, and link. Possible to include code that automatically removes these posts on a certain date?
  • Why: SCS is a professional school, and programs can provide elite/exclusive job opportunities to students. This is a hallmark of the school, and should be easily accessible to all students.
  • How: Using the example “reading list” plug-in, develop a “job opportunities” plug-in that provides the features listed above.
  • Timeline: Draft by Sunday, April 7; Final by Sunday, April 14

 

  1. Embedded events calendar (TO-DO) [Optional]
  • What: An embedded events calendar that displays event dates, academic deadlines, etc. Styled to match the rest of the site. Possible to add option to add to google calendar? Possible to have this automatically created from the event plug-in?
  • Why: An events calendar will help students visualize important event dates as well as academic due dates.
  • How: Using a pre-existing events plug-in, customize the style
  • Timeline: Draft by Sunday, April 7; Final by Sunday, April 14

 

Time for research: Week of April 1

Writing: April 4-7

Drafts due: April 7

Debugging: April 6-13

Final Live: April 14

Deadlines for local testing: April 14

Deadline for live testing: April 16

Oh, PHP

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After a lot of stress that culminated during the past week, this one has been quite refreshing. Even moving away from Codecademy for just a couple of days enabled me to discover different online resources, such as the learn-php.org, where I could study the Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP).

There are many programming languages out there, but the PHP language turned out to be a good skill to acquire. Especially due to the fact that it is widely used by the majority of the web. As I found out, it is useful in creating web pages written in HTML and particularly convenient in the process of creating dynamic content. It is also quite swift and easy to adjust, which makes it a pretty cool resource.

While writing this post I silently count down the days to spring break. Even though I will still have to go to work, having at least one long weekend is a very exciting concept to look forward to. In order to make this time more productive, I will try to get ahead on some of my classes in school. On the academic level, making most of spring break would include reviewing the materials I have covered thus far. I will also go through the lessons from Web Development in order to make sure that I did not miss out on any significant knowledge during the busy school term. I feel like this would provide me with a solid foundation for the final project site that is due in April. Even though it might seem like it is far away from now, I believe that if I were to stop using and studying the languages I have learned so far, it might eventually be hard for me to complete the project to the level I would be satisfied with. On that note, I think that revision is an essential part of this class as well as a skill, which could help me in the future.