Week 7: Bootstrap Workshop, Plus a Taste of Tables

Now that our first exam is behind us (hooray!), we can shift our focus back to the Website Modernization Project. If you haven’t selected a client for this project, please do so ASAP and add your selection to the “Potential Clients for Unit 2” file in our class’s shared Google Drive folder. Once you know what site you will be working with, you should carefully review the site and start thinking about how you might reorganize the structure, revise the content, and reimagine the visual design.

You should also be getting comfortable with Bootstrap. I know this stuff is complicated, but there are plenty of resources online to help you. I suggest reading (or re-reading) the “Getting started” and “CSS” sections on the Bootstrap site, then moving on to video tutorials if you’re feeling lost. I recommend watching a video series on YouTube called “Bootstrap 3.0 Grid System” and/or a Lynda.com series called “Up and Running with Bootstrap 3” (search for it once you log in with your Virginia Tech ID). I cannot stress this enough: you need to keep working with Bootstrap until it feels intuitive.

Here’s how we’ll spend our time in class next week:

• On Monday, we will quickly review the results of the first exam, then we will spend the rest of class working with Bootstrap. Before you come to class, please review Chapter 16 in Learning Web Design, focusing specifically on grid frameworks, fluid page design, and elastic layouts. Using the Bootstrap starter files, create a new homepage for your Unit #2 client site and bring those files with you to class.
• On Wednesday we will hop in our time machine and visit web design’s former best friend: the table. Today, table-based layouts are widely considered verboten, but you shouldn’t leave this class without understanding why good designers don’t use them anymore and, more importantly, how to use them effectively for displaying tabular data. Please read Chapter 8 in Learning Web Design and “Bring on the Tables,” by Roger Johansson, before you come to class. (Update: When you get to class, download the files for our in-class workshop.)

As you can see, both of our class sessions will be packed next week, so much of your work on the Website Modernization Project will need to take place outside of class. If you have fallen behind on this project, or if you’re feeling confused at any point along the way, please come see me during office hours (T 1–4, W 9–12) to get some help on your project. If you’d like to reserve a specific time to meet with me, just drop me a line.