'Do it yourself', is a website that shows people how to fix and improve things around their home with simple guides. Most of the instructions provided by the website are word based and do not feature images or video alongside. If I had to use this website to improve or fix something around my home, I think I would be a bit more skeptical on whether I should do the job; having the images, allows me to easily copy what is in the picture and would make me feel a bit more secure about doing it myself. I think this is what a lot of others think when visiting the site and this further backs up the reason why I should include animations and video on my site. However, this website is still rather successful so it must not be a problem to a lot of people. This is a good thing because this means that instructions on the website that has not got videos or animations can still have significant uses for people.
The website looks rather boring at first glance, quite bland and there is not really anything that stands out on the front page. The front page looks more like a sub page than anything else. I think there are a lot of things that could be improved here and if I was a first time visitor, I would most likely leave the site. A strong home page is very important to a good website because it's the page that the audience sees first and can be a deal breaker (like I said in the last sentence). Good navigation is also key and I think this works well on this site - the search bar works as intended so does the drop down. The site also shows what topics you have clicked on to get to your current page; it is quite easy to refer back by looking here.
I really like the look of this site, the home page especially. If I was visiting this site for the first time I would definitely stick around. I think this is because it looks very professional, is neatly laid out and their search bar is presented right in the centre of the cover image (plus, it is always at the top of the page when on any other page of the site). It is clearly a function of the site that they want you to use. They are not wrong here as it works incredibly well, showing the product you were looking for, followed with an image for reference. Whether you are looking for the reviews, the parts or how to repair your device, they are all sectioned off into different parts so it is easy to find the section you are looking for.
Logos
Designing a logo is not an easy job, it is something that has to have a lot of thought and planning put into it so that it works well. Knowing that my logo will be almost everywhere on the site, I will have to make sure that it stands out and is memorable.
I had a look at a lot of logos to see what they all have in common, to try and incorporate this into my design. I also looked at a few articles to see what they had to say about good logo design.
Looking at some logos from similar type companies, for example 'B&Q' or 'The Range' I found that they like to keep their logos very simple and straight forward. This makes sense, I think companies like these want to make the impression that they provide a simple service, with nothing hidden. They also include type in their logo and not a whole lot of pictures - this may be because again, they want to keep it simple. Furthermore, they also have a very big following and many people instantly know what you are referring to, when you use their names like 'FedEx' and 'Coca Cola'. I don't really think this will work for my company due to how specific and slightly complex my product and service, I am providing, is. I may have to make the name of my website something that relates to building things so people can kind of guess what my website might be about. I may also want to use an image in my logo to go alongside this.I looked at an article, "5 Must-Haves for a Successful Logo" (Entrepreneur Media Inc) from this site I found out that a logo has to be simple to show, "That newfound simplicity makes the logo easy to look at, which customers appreciate. “The easier it is to process things, the more we like those things,” Berger says. For that reason, most brands want to present a simple aesthetic, that's easy for consumers to digest." I agree with this one hundred percent, people like seeing simple logos, they are everywhere at the moment, they are easy to identify and they are the 'in thing' right now. I will definitely make sure my logo looks as simple as possible. Another great point made on the article is, 'Brand Consistency' basically meaning that your logo has to mean something and relate to what you are giving people. If the logo has nothing to do with what your company is about, people will get confused and may get the wrong message. Making it sound like your company is something that it is not, is also a strong way to turn people away and this is not what I want at all.
Software
I decided to ask my lecturer Software that I am going to use for my site, (Steve Spicer, 2017) what the best approach would be when it comes to the making of the site. He told me about the software, 'Muse' it looked very interesting and did not require me to learn any coding. I thought that this would be a great piece of software to use so I decided to look at a YouTube video to find out more about the software and see how easy it would be to make my site. I also wanted to find out how limiting the software is and see if I can do everything that I want to achieve for my site. Other Resources
"How To Get Started With Adobe Muse CC - 10 Things Beginners Want To Know How To Do" (Terry White, 2014) Even though this video is a few years old, I think that it will still have some great tips for me to find out. This video was very long but was packed full with information. Before looking at this video, I had no idea how easy it was to make your own site. One very important tip that I found out from this video, was how pages work, if I was just going into making my site blind I would have probably put my header or footer of the site in the wrong places, making the site look odd and out of place. Knowing that 'Muse' does not have a lot of limitations and "wants you to be creative" is great. For example, 'Muse' provides you with your own menu type system that works with the site, you do not have to construct your own. However, it is very bland, this is so that it pushes you to design your own menu and make your website your own.
Knowing that 'Muse' incorporates YouTube videos and Gifs onto your site is great, this makes me happy knowing that I will be able to put on the video content that I have had planned from the start for the site. Muse also allows me to make my own phone and tablet versions of my site, I would really like to have a crack at this because I believe that most of my audience will be using a tablet or phone at the times that they need the site most. If they do not have access to an easy to use phone or tablet version of the site, then they may decided to look in other places for the content they need. If I have enough time I will make other versions of the site for my audience.
Bibliography: Do it yourself (1995) Do it yourself, Available at: http://www.doityourself.com/ [Accessed: 25 March 2017]
Ifixit (2017) Ifixit, Available at: https://www.ifixit.com/ (Accessed: 25 March 2017).
Entrepreneur Media Inc, (2015) 5 Must-Haves for a Successful Logo, Available at:: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/241956 (Accessed: 25 March 2017)
Range Logo source: (2016) The Range Logos. [Digital] Flickr. Available at: http://www.insightdiy.co.uk/logos.htm?retailer=15&category=3 (Accessed: 25 March 2017).
Steve Spicer (2017) Software that I am going to use for my site [Lecture to Digital Publishing Level 3]. Bath College 24 March.
Terry White (2014) [YouTube Video], Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESUPCpOZ5Dc [Accessed: 26 March 2017]
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