Web Based Digital Media for College Writing Students: Difference between revisions

The design of a webpage's layout is very important when writing for the web. In digital writing, design pertains to the look of the website and arrangement of the text, graphics, and other objects that make up the site. A website's design must be consistent, usable, and navigable.

Photos assist in providing information to the audience visually. Photos play a huge part in attracting readers, and unprofessional or broken photos can result in loss of [[expertise|credibility]] for the site and site owner.  

FIle formats in photos differ, typically falling into categories such as:

* GIF

* JPEG

* PNG

* BMP

Contact information should be included on every page of a website because it suggests credibility and accountability. When including contact information in a website, navigation should always be considered. There must be a clear way of obtaining contact information from each page. Student's can include contact information by creating a separate page and including the page in the main menu, or at the bottom of each page. Contact information should incorporate:

*First and last name

*Email address

*Business telephone number (if applicable)

*Business address (if applicable)

If students are not willing to display their contact information, contact forms should be included. Students can also include links to their Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and/or Wordpress, which are other means of contact through social media websites.

Keeping the web page scannable and redundant will help with how well a user understands the points given. By using links and being consistent, the writer is adding to the overall use of the site.

Scanability is one of the of the key tools to online layout. "Web users scan content rather than reading word for word. Scanners need clues, signposts and highlights, so content should be shaped for scanning. "<ref> Carroll </ref>

* '''Headlines'''

**Subheads

* [[Help:Editing|Links]]  

* ''Font''  

** size  

**color  

* Image/Graphic

When upper-level college students are writing for the web having relevant sources and links are essential to the credibility of the page. Linking to outside sources that are knowledgeable in the area can improve the direction of the webpage, and show expertise. When not following these guidelines by linking to certain sources, and content not relevant to the topic the site will lose credibility.