Final Project (Project 3) Guidelines
Due: April 28
20% of final grade


As previously discussed, your Final Project (Project 3) will be a five to ten page website that is done for a client which may be real or fictional. You'll use the research assignments you've done to prepare for this, and the skills you've gained in this class, to create a highly usable and attractive website.

Unlike the two previous projects, this project's deadline cannot be extended. In order to turn in final grades in a timely manner, I will need everyone's final project to be finished by April 28.

Timeline for Project 1

Aside from mini-lectures I will give to the class regarding making optimizing your site for search engines, tips on finding a good web host, and how to register your domain name, all of the class time from this point forward will be dedicated to completing your final project.

Guidelines:

1. As with Project 2, CSS will be used to control text and background colors. You have the option of using CSS for other purposes, such as controlling line height, positioning, or margins if you wish. (Feel free to discuss with me any curiosities you may have about CSS. It is not a requirement of the class to use it extensively, but it is certainly an option available to you).
   
   
2. Turn in your most current site map or flowchart, storyboards, any sketches, written plan, and a directory structure diagram to me on April 28.
   
   
3. Upload (FTP/Fetch) your site by April 28, to your WCC student space.
   
   
4. Turn in a copy of the project (the same version that you have FTP'd) must go into the 'Turn in Work' folder.
   
5. All pages must be titled appropriately.
   
   
6. As with other projects, remember to use Alternate text whenever you have an image. If you have a spacer.gif, use alt="" within the <img> tags.
   
   
7. Use contrasting colors in your text and page elements.
   
   
8. Keep the overall color scheme non-abrasive visually, being careful not to visually overwhelm potential users.
   
   
9. Going from page to page from the main navigation of your site, there should be no target="_blank". The only time you would use target = "_blank" is in situations like pop-up windows, where a web page separate from the predominant user interface exists.
   
   
10. Make the navigation logical and consistent, and user-friendly.
    
    
11. File sizes must be as low as possible. Image files need to be optimized to a small size for the Web, but still look decent. Remember not to use plain background-color.gif's. Use spacer.gif's whenever possible.
    
    
12. No invalid file names (such as those that include spaces).
    
    
13. No redundant or unnecessary files or folders in your directory structure.
    
    
14. Lay out your page logically to accommodate a variety of screen sizes/resolutions. For today's users, 800 x 600 screen size is the minimum screen size you need to accomodate. As such, your main table's width should be no more than 800 px, but could certainly be less.
    
    NOTE: Another option is to make the width for your main table 100%, which will automatically adjust to your users' screen size, rather than be fixed as we've done in our class projects. Please let me know if you are interested in this option. I can help you with it.
    
    
15. Entire site must be functional, with no broken links or other usability issues.