Most of us spend our whole days online, and as such there are a lot of different tools for building websites. Some of these tools are simpler or more complex than others, and I think it's useful to understand what's out there, and try a variety of tools. Even the simple platforms that might not seem "professional" might prove useful when your friend needs to build a website in time for dinner.

We're going to get into the nitty gritty of how web content works, and just what the heck HTTP means, but first let's see what you can build with absolutely zero experience in the field of web design—you might be surprised.

There are a lot of "code-free" editors that try to make the process of web development as easy as making a Powerpoint presentation. Many of these tools are free, and some even run in your web browser. These visual editors hide the code involved in structuring a website and aim to let users design by simply dragging and dropping elements around the screen. If you think about it, programs like Adobe Photoshop or even your operating system also run on code, and have evolved sophisticated graphical user interfaces (GUI) to make things as intuitive as possible.

These platforms are often where untrained individuals turn when they need to create a website, and while I don't particularly recommend using them for professional work, it's good to know what's out there—and you never know when you'll need to bang out a site in a couple hours or recommend a tool to someone less experienced.

Most of these platforms will let you host a site using a subdomain of the service (such as: "http://my-site-name.tumblr.com"\), and many have premium options for unique URL's and advanced customization. The other big player in this field is Squarespace, which only offers paid plans, but is also built around a visual editor for building sites.

Objectives:

  • Experiment with the free website creation tools.
  • Post a variety of content such as images, videos, and text.
  • Write engaging text that summarizes complex information.

Make a Self Portrait website that introduces you to the class. It would be nice to include a photo of yourself, but it's not required. Do include some text and images that provide a glimpse into what makes you the person you are. The site doesn't have to fit any particular theme; it's not a resume or portfolio—interpret the idea of a "self-portrait" however you like (weirdness encouraged).

You might include:

  • Where you live
  • Your job
  • Why you're taking this class
  • Your own work in web, art, or media
  • Work by your favorite artists, filmmakers, or designers.
  • What you had for dinner.
  • Hobbies, pets, fandoms, etc.
  • Videos...?

You can use any of the following platforms:

  • Carrd: This is a new-ish platform for making single-page websites, so it's somewhat limited but seems very modern and customizable.
  • Weebly: A more powerful editor for creating code-free websites, which actually does let you edit some of the code for more specific customizations.
  • Wix: Very similar to Wix, in the past I've found it to be somewhat less flexible for updating and customizing sites, but I havne't used it in a while so if you like the look of the themes herem then give it a try!
  • Tilda: A relative newcomer to the field, I haven't used this platform myself, but it seems to have a lot of options, and supports up to 50 pages for a free website.
  • Tumblr: Ostensibly a blogging and social media platform, it is possible to build portfolio or personal sites with Tumblr, but it will be built around the preset Tumblr post types: image, video, quote, text, etc.

  • Google Sites: This one's been around for ages, but it just went though a major update to make the sites look more contemporary.

  • Any similar platforms you know of—but don't use Wordpress since we're using it for our blogs.

Whichever platform you choose, you'll have to create an account to use it; use whatever email you like, we won't we using these website beyond this exercise. When you're finished make sure that you publish the site so it's visible on the web. You should get a short URL (e.g. "http://my-awesome-site.tumblr.com"\) that is different than the URL you'll see while you're editing the site.

I realize I'm kind of throwing you to the wolves here since we haven't discussed design principles, online technology or file formats yet, but the idea here is to simply see what you can do right now. Don't worry about making the site perfect or comprehensive, just see what's possible with one of these platforms and include a variety of content.

Submit the public URL for your site here:

[INSERT SUBMISSION LINK HERE]

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