Webpage Design

I personally have experience with designing a webpage and really enjoyed it. I am familiar with some HTML formatting and the codes. It is quite confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it it's really a lot of fun. I took a lot of computer classes in high school where I learned this format, at URI I also took a couple courses that required the knowledge of this format. I know their are currently more updated programs that make designing a webpage faster and easier than using HTML (such as wordpress), but I think if you have the background of knowing HTML the other programs are probably a cinch to learn.

Other experiences I've had in website redesign was an online class I took here at URI called WRT 302, Writing Culture Experience, I had no idea what was in store for since it was titled "culture," but it ended up being a design course for understanding websites. We looked at different webpages and their design layout and analyzed their use of colors, wording, and templates. It was very interesting since I have always enjoyed the aspect of design.

The website that I looked at was Blogger.com. The home page has many options for the user, which makes it a tad confusing for the visitor. This website style makes it harder to complete multiple things at once (unless you open each link in a new window). There are a lot of hidden features that someone who is new to the website would never see. It's not really a user-friendly website/ intuitive to the user. Although, there are many ways to personalize your blog, which is great for the user, I find that it takes a longer time to get to the point of familiarity. I've never used other blogging sites before so I don't know if a lot of them are set up the way Blogger is, but I do know one of the students in our class did her critical literacy on Flickr and she even said that Blogger was a confusing site. Maybe Blogger should consider designing a new layout? The downside to that is for its current users (aka me) might find this even more confusing since I am now familiar with its current layout. On the other hand, I know when I visit a website and it's clustered and confusing viewing the first page, I don't go back. They might be able to gain a wider audience by considering this in the near future, or by making minor changes along the way...