Compare/Contrast of Frontpage vs Webnodes 2.0

In summary, one of the most important concepts I learned from this class is that there is a lot of planning and work that goes into creating a website. Before this class I would surf the web and take for granted the websites I visited. Now, I respect the work that goes into making a website what it is in the end. I also find myself critiquing the CRAP principles of the different websites that I visit. Until you try something hands on you never really have the full appreciation for the work and thought that goes into it. I also feel that I learned more by trying my hand at the different applications of creating the website in two different places. Depending on what type of website an individual is trying to create would depend on which application is best suited for it. I found that since my website was a family website dedicated to my family members of our vacation memories that the application I liked best was the webnodes 2.0. If I was creating a professional website or one for a personal business I would probably use Frontpage or a similar application as it would give more freedom for personal creativity. For my particular project and purposes the 2.0 application was my favorite. This was because of the ease of getting it up and running. I will definitely use webnodes again. Bottom line is you could be a complete novice, which I basically am, and be able to feel as if you accomplished and created a professional looking website all on your own. Of course after completing this course I know that all the behind the scenes coding that is set up for you is very detailed and complex.

Although FrontPage allowed for more hands on detailed creativity I felt that the 2.0 application in webnodes was the one for me. In the end I felt as if that website was more organized because of the ease of the tools. It was easier for me to upload images in 2.0 webnodes. When I compare the finished product of both applications I felt that the webnodes website looked more like I had envisioned the end result to be from my storyboarding. There were some details that I decided to eliminate from my original storyboard. I learned that just because something looks good on paper doesnt always look good when you put it to the web. For instance, I started out putting lots of mexican colors on the text labels in my pictures. After posting in FrontPage I realized it looked too busy. I went back to Photoshop and changed the text to black on my pictures and kept the background colors in the mexican theme. One other item I changed from my storyboard was to add some content. I decided to add the history of Cancun on my index page to make the site more interesting. I also added some personal information about our vacation experience to make the website more interesting and inviting. Before doing this it looked a little bare. Adding the additional content made the site come to life so to speak. I preferred the templates in webnodes 2.0 a little better than in FrontPage probably just because I found a template in webnodes that better suited what I pictured the end results of the site to look like.

My webnodes website is located at cancunfamilyvacation.webnode.com. It could also be that I liked the webnodes application a little better because this was the second application I used. I felt as if I had more practice and learned what I didnt like the first time around so I could make some changes to adjust. It was also a lot of fun realizing that my webnodes project was live and out on the internet for all to see. I realize that I could publish the FrontPage application too but I thought my webnodes project turned out more visually pleasing. I liked the fact that the webnodes had pages created for me like a blog, a guestbook, and a comments page. It also had offered a photogallery area which I may choose to add more pictures to. The best part about webnodes is that it is free and was for the most part self explanatory. The other lesson I learned from this class is that the upfront planning is actually more time consuming than the set up of the actual site. It is critical to have the storyboard planned well in order to have a great finished product. I also felt that because the website was created about something I felt really scentimental and passionate about that for me it came to life and fit together beyond my expectations.
In conclusion I must add that although I liked webnodes better for my particular project, I can see how if I became more adept to building websites that I would reach out for more options and challenges. I believe that for a more experienced individual FrontPage could offer you a more challenging and detailed platform in which to build upon. At any rate I am very pleased with what I learned in the past seven weeks and will definitely use the basic principles and recall what I learned as I continue to expand upon my computer literacy.