Reflection - Second Quarter: All About MS FrontPage

a. Learning/Discoveries Gained

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_FrontPage

This quarter I had the opportunity to explore MS FrontPage, a truly powerful yet user-friendly tool for web design and development from Microsoft. With it, I was able to create and manage websites easily, even though I wasn't exactly advanced in programming.

https://www.casbay.com/guide/kb/what-is-the-ms-frontpage-version

Among the most important things I learned was WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing. With this, online design was made intuitive in the sense that it showed me how my webpage would appear while I was editing it, allowing me to avoid a lot of tedious work when writing HTML code by hand. Here I learned how to format text, insert pictures, create tables, and insert attractive multimedia objects into web pages.

In addition, I went on to study hyper linking and navigation tools that provided an easy way to connect various pages so as to give users an uninterrupted browsing experience. The Themes and Templates function also allowed me to make websites that looked treats professionally by ensuring consistency in style across all pages.

The best discovery, however, was that of publishing a website online with the built-in FTP (File Transfer Protocol) in MS FrontPage. This really simplified the uploading of files to a web server, allowing others to access my site.

b. Challenges Encountered

The entire process was interesting, but it surely carried some challenges with it when dealing with MS FrontPage. My first hurdle was to actually organize the layout of the web pages, which in effect produced very cluttered designs. By this time, I could also differentiate between absolute hyperlinks versus relative hyperlinks, since those incorrect leads could cause errors during browsing.

Another challenge was customizing the HTML and CSS codes in a manual way. Even though MS FrontPage provides utilities to automate some of these design elements, I became aware that the very basic knowledge of HTML and CSS should have been learnt for more advanced customizing.

c. How I Addressed These Challenges

To tackle those challenges, I used the internet in watching tutorial videos and guides so that I could get a greater understanding of the workings of the software. I practiced as much as I could, experimenting with different layouts and themes until I became comfortable with the design tools.

I reviewed how the absolute and relative hyperlink worked, which helped in coming up with the hyperlink solutions. I also chose to continue with the study of basic HTML and CSS, as this would enable me to personalize my websites much more. 

d. Then I Will Continue to...

Moving forward, I will continue to develop my web design skills by learning more advanced tools and coding options. Learning the up-to-date web development languages, namely HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, will make for more interactive and responsive websites.

I shall also embark on personal projects and portfolios to build my skills and track my development. By venturing into platforms like WordPress or Wix, I will discover contemporary website-building tools.

MS FrontPage may have been a good starting point, but I know that beyond that, proficiency in new and up-to-date technologies is important in keeping with the fast-changing world of web development. I am excited to continue this journey and apply what I’ve learned to create engaging and effective websites.