The above gif is a perfect representation of how I was afraid this project would be - me being caught in a helpless snarl and not being able to produce a professional website. How wrong I was!
First, I liked having a list of available providers to use in order to construct my site. But word to the wise - saying that a website program is intuitive and easy and actually being intuitive and easy are two different things. I tried both Wix and Weebly and was reduced to tears by both. I went to Google Sites almost in desperation because I couldn't find anything else. And while there was a definite learning curve with Google Sites, especially when it came to editing the sidebar, changing headings and adding approprite banner titles, I found it to be much, much easier than any of the others that I toyed with. And I liked how easy it was to upload forms and pictures coordinate with other Google products, especially the calendar.
I know I have said before that I am proud of my website, and I am. It might not be as nice as some of the others in class, but I did it all by myself, which is something that I thought I would never be able to do. Does it still need improvement? Yes, but doesn't everything?
I think doing this project was a big confidence builder for me. Will I ever be able to program in HTML? No, and I have no desire to do so. But I can cut and past and do entries in template and add customizations to my site, and I am very happy wih the result. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'm going to do another website for my photography and another for our family for when Julia goes away to college this year. See? You have turned me into a monster.
Half the battle with technology, I find, is getting past the mindset that you are woefully behind the curve and will never be able to do things like this. Feel free to use me as your example of someone who was deathly afraid of this project for no reason at at. Was is frustrating at times? Heck, yeah. But so is learning any new skill - there is always a leaning curve. All that matters is how you approach it.
