chapter 10 fine-tuning, completing, and publishing your project

Chapter 10

Fine-tuning, Completing, and Publishing Your Project

• Links that don’t work correctly and don’t lead to their intended destination are called broken links.

Final Structural Checks

• These messages could mean a few things:– The server couldn’t find the requested page.– The user incorrectly typed the URL.

Final Structural Checks

• These messages could mean a few things:– The project designer or site administrator moved,

renamed, or deleted a file without correcting the links to that page.

Final Structural Checks

Final Structural Checks

Link Checker options in Dreamweaver

Click Check Links buttons

to access options

Files column

Choices for scope of link

check

Broken Links column

• When a page is so long that users have to repeatedly scroll to find content, it’s helpful to provide named anchors with internal links.

• A named anchor is a specific location on a web page that has a descriptive name.

Final Structural Checks

Final Structural Checks

Named anchors used on the USA.gov website

First named anchor

Links to named anchors

• Provide a user-friendly experience:– Use intuitive text for links.– Don’t use the text “click here”.– Add a set of plain text navigational links at the

bottom of each page.

Final Structural Checks

• Provide a user-friendly experience by:– Include a link to the home page on every page in

the site.– Use image maps.– Use site maps.– Use site search.

Final Structural Checks

Final Structural Checks

USA.gov site index, hotspot, and search text box

Links to content by category

Pointer indicates presence of link

Link to site index

Search text box

• When preparing PDFs for use on a website, students should strive to make their documents as small as possible by using the settings in Adobe Acrobat to optimize the file size.

Final Structural Checks

• Acrobat is used to create accessible PDFs. Some of the tools that make a document more accessible include:– using tags for document structure.– converting an untagged PDF to a tagged PDF.

Final Structural Checks

• Acrobat is used to create accessible PDFs. Some of the tools that make a document more accessible include:– editing the reading order and document structure.– tools for creating accessible forms.

Final Structural Checks

Final Structural Checks

Accessibility options for IRS tax documents

• The following tests will help ensure that the project meets current standards of quality, accessibility, and usability and is free of errors:– Valid HTML markup.– Valid CSS markup.– Run site reports.

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Final-Testing and Fine-TuningDreamweaver Results panel W3C Validation tab

Error icons

Warning icons

Status of errors and warnings for current document

• The following tests will help ensure that the project meets current standards of quality, accessibility, and usability and is free of errors:– Test pages using multiple browsers and browser

versions.– Test using multiple devices.

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Choices for scope of reports

Dreamweaver Reports dialog box

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Preview/Debug In Browser button

Choices for previewing pages

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Site-wide media query file

Choices for previewing pages

Three styles sheets that format the

desktop, tablet, and mobile versions

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Code linking

desktop style sheet

Code in site-wide media query file linking to three supporting style sheet files

Code linking tablet style sheet Code linking mobile style sheet

• The following tests will help ensure that the project meets current standards of quality, accessibility, and usability and is free of errors:– Gather feedback.

Final-Testing and Fine-Tuning

Final-Testing and Fine-TuningUSA.gov website survey

Links to accept or decline the survey

• After you’ve completed your project and tested it thoroughly, you’re ready to take a test run.

Getting it Out There

• For a website, you can use a web server, which is a computer with software that enables it to host websites and is connected to the Internet with an IP (Internet Protocol) address.

Getting it Out There

• Some developers use a private testing server to test a site before publishing it to the live server, where it will be available to anyone.

Getting it Out There

• You can specify your remote server settings when you first create a site, or you can do it after you’ve completed the site and are confident that it’s ready for public viewing.

Getting it Out There

Getting it Out There

Remote server settings

Specifying remote server settings in the Site Setup dialog boxTest button

• After you have set up your site, you can upload, or copy your files from the local folder to the remote host.

• This is easy to do using Dreamweaver’s built-in FTP client.

Getting it Out There

• Two other file transfer options are downloading files and synchronizing files.– To download means to copy files from the remote

server to the local site folder.

Getting it Out There

• Two other file transfer options are downloading files and synchronizing files.– To synchronize means to compare the dates of all

files in both the local and remote sites, then transfer only those files that have been changed.

Getting it Out There

Getting it Out There

Dreamweaver Synchronize Files dialog box

• The following are ways you can get your site listed by the top search engines and increase the traffic on your site:– Register site with several search engines.– Include meta tags (page titles, keywords, and

descriptions) for pages.– Add alternate text to every image or media file.– Add a site map.

Getting it Out There

– Include the most important information at the top of each page.

– Use social networking sites to increase visibility– Consider using an SEO Services company.

Getting it Out There

Getting it Out ThereGoogle Submit Your Content page

Google website used with permission from Google, Inc-www.google.com

Link to submit URL

• Once you begin welcoming users to your site, you’ll want to know:– How many users are visiting each page.– How long they’re lingering.– Where they’re located around the world.

Getting it Out There

• The tools for gathering and measuring this information are called Web analytics tools.

Getting it Out There

Getting it Out ThereGoogle Analytics

Google website used with permission from Google, Inc-www.google.com

• Other than publishing an interactive media project online as a website, there are several other ways to present projects to an audience or client.

• Electronic portfolios are one option.

Getting it Out There

• Electronic portfolios:– are a representative collection of an individual’s

work that showcases his or her range of talent, accomplishments, or services.

– provide a vehicle for self-expression and self-reflection.

Getting it Out There

• Electronic portfolios:– are vital tools for job applications.– are excellent ways to present samples of

professional work to prospective clients.

Getting it Out There

• Well-designed electronic portfolios should include the following:– Their name and contact information– Well-chosen projects that represent their best

work

Getting it Out There

• Well-designed electronic portfolios should include the following:– Commentary with each project that describes

specific features or goals– A consistent look across the pages

Getting it Out There

• Well-designed electronic portfolios should include the following:– A table of contents or site map to outline the

content– A consistent, easy-to-use navigation system to

move between the pages

Getting it Out There

• Well-designed electronic portfolios should include the following:– Reduced file sizes for images and other digital-

media content– A reflection of their personality, accomplishments,

interests, and abilities

Getting it Out There

• You want to secure their pages via HTTPS to protect their customers’ personal information from being accessed by unauthorized people.

• HTTPS stands for HyperText Transfer Protocol with Secure Sockets Layer.

Getting it Out There

• To set up secure pages, you should contact your web host to verify that the web server supports SSL encryption.

Getting it Out There

• Next, you should obtain a unique IP address.• A unique IP address is not randomly assigned

when users access your site; rather, it is a fixed address that never changes.

Getting it Out There

• Lastly, you should obtain an SSL certificate, which can be purchased from a company such as VeriSign.

Getting it Out There

Getting it Out There

VeriSign SSL certificate information

Click to view certificate

information

Information about page security

• Malware is software that is downloaded, often without your knowledge, and whose purpose is to damage your computer files or steal your data.

Getting it Out There