The three different ways we have learned to build web sites have their own challenges and advantages. The only experience with web development I have had before this class was with hand coding. I really like hand coding because you have control over every aspect of what you are designing. Hand coding is a little harder because you have to know the code for every little thing you want to put on your site. I know there are many sites you can go to find them but with a WYSIWYG application that isnt’ necessary. Another challenge with hand coding is making sure you do ever code exactly right and making sure each command is closed properly. Personally, I’m the type of person that can design best if I can see exactly what I’m doing. So the WYSIWYG applications like dream weaver work a little better for me when I am designing from scratch. Dreamweaver is software which means I have to take the time to learn how to run it properly and how to use all of the different buttons to make the site look the way I want it to, so that could be somewhat of a challenge as well. I really like how Dreamweaver allows you to do the design aspect and flip right over to the coding so you can change it that way as well. I feel that a combination of hand coding for absolute control of your design and Dreamweaver so you can see exactly what you are doing is the perfect combination of the two different ways to create a site from scratch. Now, on the other hand I think updating a site that has already been made and is running well hand coding is the best way to update it. That is the way I have always updated sites for jobs I have had in the past and it always seems to work really well. Blog sites are really easy to use and seem to have a lot of benefits. Before I really started to like designing on my own I would have always used a site like this to manage my information because it is much less time consuming. Now that I understand how to do hand coding and Dreamweaver I realize this type of site has so many limitations. The main way to choice how your site looks is by choosing one of the few templates they provide. I have seen how to go in and change the CSS but again that could be very time consuming and why mess with a site that is running properly when you could erase a < and the whole thing wouldn’t work properly. After I get used to hand coding a little better I may go in and try to change something simple like a color but until then I’m happy with how this site looks for now. I am really learning a lot in this class. I hope to have my own site someday, maybe this summer, and keep using the information I have learned in the future.
