Web and Graphic Design http://ikwebdesigner.com Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:11:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 This is why I use WordPress http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/this-is-why-i-use-wordpress/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/this-is-why-i-use-wordpress/#comments Sun, 16 Oct 2011 17:00:59 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=2923 This info graphic by Devious Media says it all:

The post This is why I use WordPress appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> This info graphic by Devious Media says it all:

devious_cms

The post This is why I use WordPress appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/this-is-why-i-use-wordpress/feed/ 0 Which browser do you use? http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/which-browser-do-you-use/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/which-browser-do-you-use/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 20:41:02 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1837 Designed by Minnix, featured on Smashing Magazine

The post Which browser do you use? appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> upgrade-your-browser

Designed by Minnix, featured on Smashing Magazine

The post Which browser do you use? appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/which-browser-do-you-use/feed/ 0 What Web Designers Do http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/what-web-designers-do/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/what-web-designers-do/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 23:28:05 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1796 Some people are surprised at the amount of work, skill, talent, and time that goes into building a professional website. The following information will show you exactly what web designers do for almost every project. Research and Writing We first learn your industry through research & talking with you We create the appropriate content for [...]

The post What Web Designers Do appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> Some people are surprised at the amount of work, skill, talent, and time that goes into building a professional website. The following information will show you exactly what web designers do for almost every project.

Research and Writing

  • We first learn your industry through research & talking with you
  • We create the appropriate content for your webpages (copy & images)
  • We search media galleries to find the best images that fit
  • We purchase and download this media for your website
  • We also copyedit any existing website copy and/or proofread it

Designing the Interface

  • We develop color schemes using our knowledge of color psychology
  • We determine the layout of your site
  • We develop an organized navigational system
  • We create and position sidebars, images, and graphic buttons
  • We finalize a concept for your approval

Slicing & Exporting

After you’ve approved the concept, we have to convert the design into pieces. We call this “slicing”. A large graphic can’t just go on the web, it must be broken into pieces and converted into the language browser understands (which is HTML and CSS). But slicing the images mean we must:

  • crop each and every graphical element
  • optimize each graphic for fast download
  • and save each individual image file to a graphics folder.

Each graphic piece makes up the entire website’s look and feel – they’re like puzzle pieces. Each piece must be measured in pixels, for future coding purposes. There can be many graphical elements to a website and it takes time to prepare them all for the web.

Writing the Code

Now it’s time to code the site. Coding involves 4 different code languages we must use. Every website you see was coded. Some websites were coded by a computer, others were hand-coded (written) by a human.

If you click “View” from your browser’s menu bar and select “source” or “page source” you will see all the code we as developers have to write – it’s very time consuming – and the code is different for each page.

The problem with computer-generated code is: it creates unnecessary and additional code that will slow down your website and make it hard to maintain and upgrade. Professional web designers chose to hand-code in order to create semantic and clean code that is easier to interpret by web browsers and easier to manage by humans.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
   <head>
     <title>Title of The Page</title>
     <meta charset="utf-8" />
     <link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="stylesheet.css" />
   </head>
 <body>
   <h1>The is a Content heading</h1>
   <p>This is a paragraph - where the main content would go…</p>
 </body>
</html>

HTML is the standard language used to display a webpage. The HTML tells the browser what and how to structure the information on the webpage like: paragraphs, links, headings, block quotes, menus, navigation list etc.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

#header {
    display:block;
    background-color:#eeeeee; float:left;
    width:950px; height:60px; color:white;
    font-size: 15px; color:#4e6fa1;
}

CSS is a styling language that tells the browser how to style the paragraphs, links, headings, block quotes, menus and navigation list. CSS provides the layout of the entire site like: colors, borders, sidebars, logo positioning, the width of the site, images and graphics. A site without CSS is a site without style.

Once we command the layout to display correctly in one browser, we then have to make sure it renders correctly in the other major browsers. These other browsers will interpret the commands differently, so we may have to change our commands.

Internet Explorer (IE) is the most frustrating browser to program because it interprets the language wrong and it frequently doesn’t obey the rules. Example:

If we tell a box to be a certain size, with a certain amount of space padding within it, all the other browsers will get it right, but IE will screw it up; and the box will look funny. So this leads to changing our commands to suite IE or resorting to hacks (which is a sin in some circles of the web community).

It becomes a time consuming process to get IE to display correctly. You don’t understand the headaches IE has given many web developers. Thankfully, IE (with its new releases) are starting to obey the rules and making our jobs less frustrating.

Flash and/or Javascript

<script type="text/javascript>
"function MM_goToURL() { //v3.0
var i, args=MM_goToURL.arguments; document.MM_returnValue = false;
for (i=0; i&lt;(args.length-1); i+=2)  eval(args[i]+".location='"+args[i+1]+"'");}
</script>

Flash and/or Javascript are the languages that allow us to add motion and animation like: drop-menus, smooth-scrolling, button hover effects, presentations and more.

And last but not least:

PHP (HyperText Preprocessor)

<?php if (have_posts()) : ?>
<?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
    <h1><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
    <?php the_content(); ?>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php else : ?>
    <h1>Not Found</h1>
    <p>Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here.</p>
<?php get_search_form(); ?>
<?php endif; ?>

PHP is the language that allows the website to be dynamic and interactive. You won’t see this code because it’s a back-end language that tells the website what to do before it’s sent to your browser. PHP is similar to ASP. PHP is the code language that runs WordPress and is responsible for commenting forms, email forms, photo galleries, polls and more. Without PHP, websites wouldn’t be as interactive as they could be; and would be very difficult to maintain and update.

Testing

After everything displays correctly in all the major browsers, we still have to do testing to see if the features work: like a contact form correctly sending the right data to the right place, or if WordPress plug-ins work correctly. Sometimes things go wrong and we have to spend time fixing them.

Server & Domain Name Set-up

The domain name is the address your website can be found. The server is the place your website’s files are located. To set these up, it involves logging into the service providers site (after the client has purchased these products) and changing codes and creating user-names and passwords so that the domain name and server work together.

Uploading the Site using FTP

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. This is when we transfer the final website to the client’s live server so that the website can display for the world to see. This may take a few hours depending on the amount of files and size of the files. Also, upload times are usually slower than download times and FTP can put a strain on our systems when active.

OK, so how much will it cost?

A web developer’s job is creative, technical and involves problem solving. Therefore a website design is not a product, but rather a service. Each service is unique for each customer.

If you understand what it is we do, you can understand that a customized, professional website won’t cost $500-900. Would you work 35+ hours for $500 and call yourself a professional company? At that rate, you’d go out of business.

Cheap website designs are usually made by amateurs with computer generated code, which don’t meet web standards, and sometimes, have been ripped-off from pre-designed template websites. You deserve a custom designed website that was built professionally from the ground up.

I hope this helps you understand what we do.

The post What Web Designers Do appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/what-web-designers-do/feed/ 0 Successful Charity Websites Pt.3 http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt3/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt3/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:00:07 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1587 Continued from part 2 In the last part, we discussed how to get support, but maintaining support is the main goal. In order to do this, you’ll need to give your supporters three important things: Interaction, praise, and updates. Updates Supporters need to know what’s going on with the charity, because after all, they are [...]

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.3 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]>

Continued from part 2

In the last part, we discussed how to get support, but maintaining support is the main goal. In order to do this, you’ll need to give your supporters three important things: Interaction, praise, and updates.

Updates

Supporters need to know what’s going on with the charity, because after all, they are apart of the cause. They need to feel as if they’re in the loop. You can give them updates weekly or monthly through a blog, or e-newsletter. Blogs are the perfect tool allowing users to subscribe and unsubscribe from different topics as they choose. Event calendars keeps supporters in the know as well.

Annually, there will be a report detailing the accomplishments for the year including photos, videos, charts and stories. I’ve seen beautiful annual reports as PDF documents but it’s often hard to view these online because they were made for print. Sometimes it’s best to have a webpage version to give online viewers an easier read, and if you’d like, switching to online reports could cut down on the cost of printing and mailing.

Interaction

With a blog, supporters can comment on the updates and stories you provide. In some cases, you may just want to use a feedback form. With a feedback form, it’s best to tell users who the form is going to or allow them to select the person it should go to. Supporters don’t want to just send information into a general inbox, they want to know it’s going to a specific person.

You can also create a forum to allow supporters to hold discussions, and polls can be created to gather quick data about what your supporters think about a certain topic. Supporters need to be able to voice their opinions and interact with each other and key people in the organization in order to keep supporting.

Praise

This is often done in the form of reward dinners, but you can take this to the website as well. You can feature donors and volunteers monthly or weekly detailing who they are, and what they did, along with pictures. Sometimes you can have a whole section dedicated to donors like “Donors of the Year” and “The Donor Hall of Fame.” If these donors include companies, their logo and website link should be displayed. Praise, interaction and updates go a long way and keeps supporters happy.

More stuff that makes up a successful charity website

The following lists other necessary info that should go into your site:

  • Photo Galleries
  • Videos (these are really helpful in getting your message across)
  • Programs and services information
  • Product Store
  • Press Kit
  • Staff / board list and bios
  • Social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

Also adding to this series, I can’t forget Usability and Web Standards which play huge roles in the success of any kind of website; along with creative and custom-tailored design.

I believe the most important thing (as stated before) is your charity’s vision and how well that vision is communicated to your online visitors. Your mission should be one of inspiration, and a well-designed website simply reinforces that message.

I hope this information made you take a look at your own charity website. Does it need some improvements?

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.3 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt3/feed/ 0 Successful Charity Websites Pt.2 http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt2/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt2/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:50:05 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1579 Continued from part 1 OK, so now that we have answered the biggest questions in supporters’ minds, we have to make a way for them to support. Donate, volunteer and support links should be easily found on the website. I’ve seen some sites lose these important links in complicated navigation, and I’ve seen them presented [...]

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.2 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]>

Continued from part 1

OK, so now that we have answered the biggest questions in supporters’ minds, we have to make a way for them to support.

Donate, volunteer and support links should be easily found on the website. I’ve seen some sites lose these important links in complicated navigation, and I’ve seen them presented boldly and clearly on many other sites. These links need to be large, so that people can find them. I suggest they be in three different places as well: on the sidebar, main navigation and the footer of the webpage.

Let’s talk about each link and its page:

Donate page

Often labeled “Ways To Donate”, this page should detail the many different ways a supporter can give whether it be monetary or goods. When monetary, it should show options like: “one time donation”, or “become a monthly sponsor.” It should also include the different ways to send the donation: postal mail/check, phone/credit card, and securely online by e-check, credit or debit card.

Different monetary amounts should be listed: 20, 50, 100, 500. It’s important to reiterate on this page where the money is going, the tax deduction benefits, and how the donor is changing the world.

The donation form should be slimmed down to require only the essential information. Very long forms are a deterrent for online givers. If you require more information, it’s best to follow up in a thank-you call and acquire it this way. Finally, you can maximize the form’s potential by including additional check box options like: “add me to the newsletter”, and a “I want to make a anonymous donation.”

Volunteer page

This page should detail the volunteer options. It should highlight any specifications that are required beforehand to help the volunteer know what they’re getting into. You can include a FAQs section to answer any more questions as well. Volunteers should be able to apply directly on the website. Once again, keep the form short, if there’s a need for more information, you can follow up with a thank-you call.

Finally, let the volunteer know how their help will strengthen the cause and make a difference in the world. You can include a testimony of how a volunteer’s life was enriched because of their support. This can be added to the same sign-up page, but sometimes, because of room, it can be placed on the thank-you page after the volunteer has pressed “send.”

Privacy Policy & Contact Options

Both the donor and volunteer pages should include a privacy policy link discussing what you will do with their personal information. It’s also important to give supporters the option to select how often the charity can contact them whether it be monthly, quarterly or annually.

Continue on to part 3

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.2 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt2/feed/ 0 Successful Charity Websites Pt.1 http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt1/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt1/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:47:40 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1573 So, what is a successful charity website? Answer: A successful charity website targets its donors, volunteers and sponsors and helps maintain and gather more of their support. How is this done? Well, we begin by answering the two most often asked questions by supporters and potential supporters: What are you trying to achieve and what [...]

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.1 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]>

So, what is a successful charity website?

Answer: A successful charity website targets its donors, volunteers and sponsors and helps maintain and gather more of their support. How is this done? Well, we begin by answering the two most often asked questions by supporters and potential supporters:

  1. What are you trying to achieve and what have you done so far?
  2. How will you spend my money & what have you done with donations so far?

OK. So let’s build off these questions and come up with some essential content for your website.

Question 1: What are you trying to achieve?

You can answer this by creating a summary of your mission statement. All you need is a brief (no longer than one small paragraph) statement that gives a quick glance at what you are trying to achieve. This will be posted on the homepage. This statement will link to a new page that will go into more detail.

The next page will feature your actual mission statement which should be motivational to your online readers. The statement should be clear and direct including: the purpose of your existence, the problem(s) that needs to be solved, statistics, news articles and stories about the problem and the strategic plan. Finally, your vision and goals should be stated. This usually leads to how the supporters can get involved.

Question 2: How will you spend my money?

Once again, on the homepage, you should have a brief overview of how the money is being spent with a link to more detailed information. In some charities, this is easily done by saying something like:

96 cents of every dollar is spent to feed children in southeast Michigan, or 25 dollars helps this amount of families, 50 helps this amount…

You can provide a pie chart showing how the donations are divided and used. After that, the homepage will link visitors to a more detailed spending page with information like: IRS form 990 and annual reports should.

You can also get into who supplies what to your programs and include the cost for their services. It’s up to you to decide how much you want to disclose, but the point is to be transparent.

Next, use brief testimonies about how your charity has changed a life. Stories will help a donor make a decision to support your cause. Accomplishments should be listed as well, as they detail the goals you’ve reached so far. Finally, press coverage, endorsements and awards from other organizations and the media will add even more validity and movement to your cause, which leads a supporter to confidently donate.

Go on to part 2: Getting the support you need

The post Successful Charity Websites Pt.1 appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/successful-charity-websites-pt1/feed/ 0 How to update your WordPress Website http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/how-to-use-your-wordpress-website/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/how-to-use-your-wordpress-website/#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 06:22:47 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=2710 Check out: www.wp101.com/videos/ This is a video series I did showing users how to update their WordPress powered websites. The following links are from my Vimeo site. Understanding the WP interface This video introduces you to WordPress interface and its features. WordPress Posts This video shows you how to create and edit a post in [...]

The post How to update your WordPress Website appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> Check out:

www.wp101.com/videos/

This is a video series I did showing users how to update their WordPress powered websites.
The following links are from my Vimeo site.

  1. Understanding the WP interface
    This video introduces you to WordPress interface and its features.
  2. WordPress Posts
    This video shows you how to create and edit a post in WordPress. It also explains the difference between a page and a post.
  3. WordPress Pages
    This video talks about WordPress pages and how to edit them and the differences between their features from a post.
  4. Formatting Content in WordPress
    This video will show you how to format your content in WordPress. This includes, making lists, links, headings and more.
  5. Adding Media to WordPress
    This video teaches you how to add images, video and Word or PDF documents to your WordPress website.
  6. Editing Images in WordPress
    This video will show you how to flip, re-size, and crop an image in WordPress; excluding the need for graphic design software.
  7. Adding a Photo Gallery
    This video will teach you how to add a simple photo gallery to your WordPress website (if you have this feature enabled)
  8. Managing Comments in WordPress
    This video will show you how to manage, edit and automate the approval of your comments in WordPress.
  9. Password Protection
    This video will show you how to password protect certain pages or posts in your WordPress website.
  10. Scheduling a Post for the Future
    This quick video will show you how to schedule a post for the future. NOTE: Go to Settings > General to make sure your timezone is correct.

The post How to update your WordPress Website appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/how-to-use-your-wordpress-website/feed/ 0 Keyboard Shortcuts http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/keyboard-shortcuts/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/keyboard-shortcuts/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:40:18 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1265 This is part 2 of a course I teach. Learn more about it. Since this part of the course was mostly hands-on, we’re only going the post the information that could be useful to somewhat-savvy computer users. Here, we will only cover keyboard shortcuts. Selecting icons from a menu bar in a computer folder, a [...]

The post Keyboard Shortcuts appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> This is part 2 of a course I teach. Learn more about it. Since this part of the course was mostly hands-on, we’re only going the post the information that could be useful to somewhat-savvy computer users. Here, we will only cover keyboard shortcuts.

keyboard-shortcuts

Selecting icons from a menu bar in a computer folder, a program like MS Word, Google Documents or your Internet browser can become time-consuming. To speed things up, you can use keyboard shortcuts instead.

Shortcuts are also helpful to remember because some menu icons may not be available for a particular program because a previous user may have hidden them. When you click a menu item from a program’s menu bar, the keyboard shortcut equivalent may display to the right of that command (but not always).

The following list are a combination of keys that achieve the same effect as if the command was selected from the menu. The majority of these shortcuts use the “Ctrl” key (which stands for: Control) and another letter.

To achieve these shortcuts, you must hold down the Ctrl key and press another key at the same time.

The following shortcuts will work on file folders, word processors, Internet text and text boxes:

Ctrl+A= Select All (everything in a window)

Ctrl+C= Copy

Ctrl+X= Cut

Ctrl+V= Paste

Ctrl+Z= Undo Mistakes

Ctrl+Y= Redo Mistakes

Delete= Delete highlighted word(s) or computer file(s)

The following will only work in word processors:

Ctrl+B= Bold Text

Ctrl+I= Italic Text

The following will work in word processors and Internet browsers:

Ctrl+O= Open a document/Internet file

Ctrl+N= New document/window

Ctrl+T= New browser Tab

Ctrl+S= Save the document/Internet page

Navigation

Using the following keys, you can move around in text or on a web page without the mouse. The up and down arrow keys will scroll a web page up and down as if you used the scroll bar. The right and left arrow keys do the same, but most web pages aren’t horizontally scrolled. Simply hold the arrow key down and it will continue to move in the selected direction.

The same keys, when used in a word processor or text-box, will move you up or down between lines, and left or right between letters or words. Simply hold the arrow key down and it will continue to move in the selected direction.

Page Up (pg up) and Page Down (pg dn) keys allow you to view the previous or next screen’s fill of content. For instance: if there are five paragraphs in my document or on a web page, and because of the screen’s height I can only see two, the Page-up/down buttons take me to the previous or next screen’s view. So if I click the Page Down button, it would move me to the next part of the screen so I can see that third paragraph and whatever else that fits in the screen.

These keys are convenient if you read pages from the very top of the screen to the bottom. Most people keep the content at eye level and scroll as they read. These keys are just another navigational method in place of the scroll bar.  Most people prefer the mouse and scroll bar for this kind of navigation.

The following work in word processors and Internet text boxes alike. Many people don’t know about these wonderful keys. These allow you to navigate a line of text faster than using the mouse:

Home= Jumps to the beginning of the current line.

End= Jumps to the end of the current line.

These same keys perform some serious jumps when used with web pages. Instead of using the scroll bar to go all the way to the top or bottom of a page, just use these keys:

Home= Jumps you to very top of the page

End= Jumps to the very bottom of the page

The following will work in any word processor and Internet text boxes:

Ctrl+F= Find text within a page

Ctrl+P= Print

The post Keyboard Shortcuts appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/keyboard-shortcuts/feed/ 0 Understanding PCs http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/understanding-computers/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/understanding-computers/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:36:38 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1126 Summary: This is part 1 of a course I teach. Learn more here. 1. Two kinds of computers There are two kinds of computers in the world: PC (Personal Computer) and Mac (Apple Macintosh). This course will focus on the use of a desktop PC. Mac vs PC commercials The difference between the two are: [...]

The post Understanding PCs appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> Summary: This is part 1 of a course I teach. Learn more here.

1. Two kinds of computers

There are two kinds of computers in the world: PC (Personal Computer) and Mac (Apple Macintosh). This course will focus on the use of a desktop PC.

mac-pc ads

Mac vs PC commercials

The difference between the two are: All Mac components are exclusively made by the Apple corporation. You cannot build your own Mac computer, but anyone can build their own desktop PC.

If you have problems with your PC, you can take it to any computer repair center. If you have a problem with a Mac, it must be serviced by an Apple center. There are many companies that make and sell PCs like: HP, Dell and Gateway.

  • HP logo
  • Dell logo
  • Gateway logo

2. The Operating System

All computers come with an Operating System (OS). The OS allows the user to operate the computer system by providing an interface to manage and perform different tasks. The most popular OS is Microsoft Windows. Linux Ubuntu is slowing rising to popularity as a free alternative.

2.1 Upgrading your Operating System

Every OS comes with a feature that automatically searches for minor updates. When connected to the Internet, your OS will search for these minor updates and ask you if you want to download and install them. These updates help keep your computer secure and fixes many bugs. It’s important that you allow these updates, or your computer will be at risk.

Aside from minor updates, there are major updates. These come in the form of a new OS. It’s important that your OS is current for two reasons:

  1. At some point, there will be no more support for your old OS.
  2. Newer programs won’t work with older operating systems.

Upgrading means: every few years you will have to buy the latest OS. But it isn’t wise to upgrade immediately upon release until the kinks and bugs have been fixed. New technology often has bugs that get fixed as users and the company discover them. Until the new OS is perfected, wait a while.

Another reason to wait is: your current programs may not be compatible with it yet – so if you were to upgrade, your old programs wouldn’t work until your program’s manufacturer releases a fix. Always check online to see if your current programs are compatible with the new OS.

Currently, as of February 16th, 2010, the Microsoft Windows has a new OS called Windows 7. Before this version, there was Windows Vista and Windows XP. If you’re still using Windows 98 or 95, you should really upgrade. As of April and July 13, 2010, Microsoft has stopped supporting Vista and XP operating systems.

  • windows 95-98
    Windows 95-98
  • Windows XP
    Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
    Windows Vista
  • Windows 7
    Windows 7

3. Parts

Hardware is the physical parts of a computer. Let’s take a look at the various computer parts and their purpose:

  • Monitor
    Monitor -
    for visual display
  • Mouse
    Mouse –
    for interactivity
  • Pen Display
    Pen Display -
    draw directly on the screen
  • Keyboard
    Keyboard –
    used to input data
  • Speakers
    Speakers -
    hear sound and music
  • Modem
    External Modem –
    For Internet connection
  • Printer
    Printer –
    used to print documents
  • Scanner
    Scanner –
    digitizes images and text
  • Flash Drive
    Flash drive -
    external data holder

3.1 The Computer Tower

Computer Tower/ CaseThe tower is the main part of the desktop PC.
Inside the tower (also called: case) includes:

  • Motherboard – distributes commands
  • Hard Drive – stores data and the OS
  • Floppy Drive – accepts data on floppy disks
  • DVD Drive – accepts data on CD/DVD’s disks
  • Modem Card – connects you to the Internet
  • Sound & Video Cards – Allows sound & display
  • Processor – Determines how fast to perform tasks
  • RAM – manages the amount of tasks you can perform at once.
  • USB slots – connects various devices to your computer like: cameras, phones, headset, Internet, mouse, keyboard, flash drives and more

3.2 Software

Software is the computer programs you use to perform certain tasks. Software comes either on CD/DVD disks or can be downloaded from the Internet.

The following is a list of common tasks a computer can perform and the name of the software in parentheses:

When you add new programs to your computer, this is called: installation. When you remove a program, this is called: uninstalling. New computers often come with software pre-installed.

4. The Internet

The Internet is a collection of continuously running computers that display a collection of linked data files called websites. The Internet is also referred to as “The Web” because it is a larger connection of linked computers – like a spider’s web.

Computers that are configured to show websites are called servers because they serve data for public display. A server usually has several websites stored on it. When a person purchases space on a computer server, this is called hosting. The company is charging the buyer to host their website on their server. Hosting is purchased and renewed monthly or yearly.

Anyone can turn their computer into a server, but they’d have to leave it on forever. If the computer is shut down, the website will not display to the public. This is why people choose to buy hosting services.

The browser is the software used to view websites. A browser comes pre-installed with most computers. All browsers are not the same; and some are faster and have better features. The following are the latest and most popular browsers:

If you see this paragraph, this means you need to update your browser. You are using Internet Explorer version 6 – which is outdated. You’re missing out on many new security and visual features. Choose a browser below and upgrade today.

The Internet Service Provider (ISP) is the company a user pays monthly to get access to the Internet. Popular ISP’s include:

  • AOL (America Online)
  • Netzero (FREE)
  • Verizon
  • Sprint
  • AT&T
  • Comcast

4.1 Domain Names

A domain name is the website’s address. For instance,
google.com

is a domain name
.com

is the domain’s extension. To access Google’s website, you would type
http://google.com

into your browser’s address bar.
http://

is the command that tells the computer to search the Internet for Google and not your local PC files.
http

stands for: HyperText Transfer Protocol.

You no longer have to type
http://

or
www

(word wide web) before the domain name, newer browsers automatically add it. However, you must always include an extension (.com), or the website will not appear. Domain names should be entered in lowercase letters.

The person who has a website must purchase a domain name from a domain register. Domain names are renewable annually, or every two to five years.

4.2 Downloading and Bandwidth

Every time you visit a website, you are accessing someone’s server. The time that transpires while waiting for the website to appear on your screen is called “downloading”. Your browser is automatically copying and loading down the data files (website) from the server to your local PC. If you were to send files from your PC to that website, it would be called “uploading“. Download and upload speeds vary due to the amount of data someone is downloading and their Internet connection type.

Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that is transferred monthly by website visitors. The more visitors, the more data transfer, the more strain on the server. Hosting services provide monthly bandwidth limits. If too many people visit a site that doesn’t have enough bandwidth – the website will crash. The site won’t be available until the bandwidth is increased to handle the amount of visitors. Website owners can increase their bandwidth limit at additional cost.

4.3 Internet Connection Types and Speeds

Internet Service can only work if a modem is connected to the computer. Some ISP’s provide a special modem. ISP’s use a variety of ways to connect to the Internet:

Connection Type Speed Cost
Dial-up
Uses a phone line, but interferes with phone calls. High-speed Dial-up is not DSL.
Slow
Cheap or free
DSL
Uses phone line, but doesn’t interfere with phone calls. Speed depends on distance from tower.
Moderate
Reasonable
Wireless
Uses radio waves – wireless. Speed depends on distance from tower.
Moderate
Reasonable
Broadband Cable
 Uses a cable line. Speed depends on the amount of users in the area.
Fast
Expensive
Satellite
Uses a dish from space but may have syncing problems when playing online games.
Fast
Expensive
Wi-Fi
Uses radio waves – wireless. Available in coffee shops, airports and other public places. Used with a laptop. Speed depends on carrier.
Varies
Free

The post Understanding PCs appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/understanding-computers/feed/ 0 The Computer Literacy Course http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/computer-literacy-course/ http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/computer-literacy-course/#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:14:29 +0000 Neal Chester http://ikwebdesigner.com/?p=1114 At a local soup kitchen (Capuchin), here in Detroit, I was asked to help teach a Computer Literacy Course. Some of our visitors have very little skill with computers. The course focuses on the use and the understanding of the desktop PC. The confidence and skills this course will bring will prove very valuable to our [...]

The post The Computer Literacy Course appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> desktop

At a local soup kitchen (Capuchin), here in Detroit, I was asked to help teach a Computer Literacy Course. Some of our visitors have very little skill with computers.

The course focuses on the use and the understanding of the desktop PC. The confidence and skills this course will bring will prove very valuable to our visitors. I will post links to each part as I complete them.

  • Part 1: Understanding Computers (a discussion)
    • Types of computers
    • The Operating System (OS)
    • Computer Parts (hardware)
    • Software
    • The Internet
    • Computer Security
  • Part 2: Using the Hardware & Software (show and tell)
    • How to use the mouse and keyboard
    • Understanding the Windows interface
    • Creating and formatting a paragraph in MS Word
    • Managing, organizing and saving files
    • Importing external media (CDs, floppies, flash-drives)
    • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Part 3: Using the Internet (show and tell w/ video)
    • The browser interface, bookmarks, searching
    • Internet Security (a discussion)
    • Using Google Email and services
  • Part 4: Computer troubleshooting and Maintenance

The post The Computer Literacy Course appeared first on Web and Graphic Design.

]]> http://ikwebdesigner.com/blog/computer-literacy-course/feed/ 0