Lab Assignment 2. Resource Site

A web site is comprised of multiple web pages. These are linked to each other, and may be linked to other information and sites as well. A web site raises issues of organization and navigation that are more complicated than those of a single page. In this project you will go through these steps:

1. Compile a user profile either by interviewing a real person or creating a fictional profile. This will be written in prose and should be about 500 words. Think of it as a verbal snapshot or portrait of a person.
2. Establish specific information needs according to the user profile: activities, interests, preferences, concerns, etc. of the individual (Do they ski? Collect baseball cards? Travel to Chicago? Have a health issue? Musical tastes? Car care needs? Educational interests?). This will be a list of topics and interest areas.
3. Create a front page that has a navigation menu. This will be an ordered list in which order and selection are important.
4. Create a specific set of resource pages (at least 3 additional pages) for the most important or interesting areas of activity or interest. This will be a research project and involve decisions about relative importance and value of information and sources.
5. Make the web site. This will involve designing the pages, HTML code, writing the pages, and linking the resources.

The challenges in this project are:

• Distilling the user profile into an information profile
• Organizing the information profile into an itemized menu in a way that suits the user’s needs
• Creating a solid base of resources from web sources (finding, vetting, selecting)
• Designing a web site that presents this information in a user-friendly format that is suitable for the content

Get started by creating the user profile. This cannot be YOU, it must be someone else. Preferably, this is a real person whom you know, such as a family member for whom this could actually work and be helpful, but if you prefer creative writing, go for it.

The site should be a minimum of four individual pages. The index page for the site should be located in a subdirectory of your mdst110 directory, so that the index.html reads as follows:

http://www.people.virginia.edu/~yourid/mdst110/lab2/index.html

Give the other files any names you wish. All these files should be linked on the index.html page.

Project timeline: Your Resource Site is to be finished and submitted by the beginning of lab during the week of October 11.