Week35

This is the week that the project is officially finished as I have completed my presentation which marks the end of my journey. Week35 is the week that has had it's plans completed in one day because the presentation has been done and recorded, the assignment paperwork is finished and the website files are ready to be handed in also. This Monday has just consisted of adding the finishing touches to the project work so the unit can be finished meaning this is the last blog entry. Being honest the presentation was something put together last minute this one Monday so that I could finish the unit today. 

Week34

(N/A) nothing done!

Week33

This was the last week before the half term break so it was spent doing the final pending assignments for the rest of the course as well as the finishing touches for the project unit. During this week I was expected to bring my laptop into college so that I could set up the WampServer. WampServer was needed to help make my login system and an active shopping cart. It also helped me to set up other aspects such as parts like item quantity, removal of an item from he cart option, sizing and the amount of characters needed for the name of an item. These parts were not all visual as it is a shopping cart in progress. Because the shopping cart was left towards the end of the project it was a case of some things were working whereas others weren't, in the documentation I have provided screenshots to visually show what the login part and the cart looks like along with how it currently works. Baring in mind if this had been started in March or April there would have been a better result and I would have had extra time to work on my WampServer options to make the cart to a satisfactory working standard. The login system could have been better rather than being accessible from multiple pages but this part I can work on in future, 

Week32

This week is mainly for spending time on the other parts of the course such as the pending assignments, it was supposed to be to do with the making of a shopping cart and logging in page for the website. Assignments for computer games development and digital image development need to be finished ASAP, the deadlines for those those were meant to be yesterday (May 14th) but will need some extra time. The second assignment for NOS is still ongoing too. Aside this me and Halema both discussed with Wayne about how to work around the shopping cart and logging on pages, for this we were shown examples of each of them physically work and were also shown the type of code needed. For this we will have to use PHP and WampServer like we did in previous units, we don't have either of these on our classroom computers so we have been advised to bring in laptops so that we can download them to help us make actively working pages for our websites. if We get time this week we can make a start on it and if not we can spend days doing it all next week. Me and Halema should be on top of other work by then so that we can give this our full focus next week in the computer laboratory with Wayne.   

Week31

(N/A) nothing done!

Week30

Over this week there wasn't a lot of tasks which I had planned to do, this is because i was focusing on other assignments other units plus doing practical work on my game which takes time to design and manipulate objects. Last week i had a look through what tasks were done and what tasks were yet to do, I had to check this again as I have kind of lost where I'm at over recent weeks. Some of the research parts like about buying buttons and clothes/shoes sizing I have decided to leave until the shopping cart is sorted. Going back to the removals of the backgrounds and resizing images, I would say that overall took between four to five weeks as it was an on and off task balanced between other assignments, plus some backgrounds were busy or coloured rather than just plain white. All the pages are complete with the content, I mentioned about the carousel feature but that is only something I can do if there is time left at the end. Apart from the the things I have just talked about the main focus for Week31 is the shopping cart and being able to add/purchase the items with a correct payment method. After making sure my shopping cart is finished and working I am able to do any last minute website improvements. 

Week29

https://www.w3schools.com/bootstrap/bootstrap_carousel.asp

https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/paypal-payments-standard/integration-guide/html_example_cart/

https://www.branchcms.com/learn/docs/apps/store/app-pages/shopping-cart-code-sample

I finalised that all the white backgrounds from images were removed and the resizing is complete also on each of the pages. It is a relief to say that the appearance parts of my website are complete so that I can use the remaining last few weeks to fully concentrate on the technical aspects. The one part which was pending on the appearance side of things was the homepage, for the setup part on that page I was supposed to see if a moving feature can be made for the images of dresses, make sure that the videos show up and work and make a start on the shopping cart by trying out different code. For me coding isn't always my strong point so unfortunately it wasn't working out plus I was partly unsure which exact areas to type the code in my Notepad++ files. On the 26th April I set the task in my ghant chart that I need to access what has been done between the 19th-23rd, all of these parts should be done. part of the research has been done by looking at websites and the links above are what I looked at. I have looked at carousel features, payments options and the shopping cart.  Buy buttons and clothes/shoes sizing still need to be researched later. The logo on each website page now links to the homepage.

Week28

This week didn't consist of doing much for the project because I had to put in most of my time towards other units that needed my attention more. The other units and assignments have a closer due date than the the project plus I had to spend some time making a start to my game. Every now and then whenever I got time the removals of the white backgrounds or busy backgrounds were still in the process of being removed. however, the background removal is not completely finished so that will still be ongoing until the following week. The Home is one of the pages that still needs sorting out, for this I need to be able to add the videos to that page but any white backgrounds from images have been removed. Once all the backgrounds have been removed from images I must work on the image resizing part ASAP. After all of this has been finished I am going to definitely start on making a shopping cart system and figure out a way of adding the items into a cart, for this I will have to research code and ask my tutor for help. As for this week I can be honest and say that next week I need to do much more for the project including research. Any links or websites I use for this will be added to my Week29 part of this blog. 

Week27

Week27 has just consisted of some background removals, I wanted to go further in the project this week but was unable to due to fixing up other assignments or finishing other outstanding work. The removing of the white backgrounds is still ongoing as only two and a bit pages have been finished. I am aiming for this to be fully done during Week28 along with the resizing of the images and the aligning of the text (item descriptions). On Week28 I am also -planning to look at ways in which I can make a user login for my website and a shopping cart so there is a members page and a way of buying items.  

Week26

Over this week there hasn't really been much physical work put into the project apart from maybe the odd checks just to confirm what the website looks like and thoughts as to how I am going to do the remaining tasks left of this project. I did a few background removals on the practical side of work but not much, these backgrounds and resizing of the images must be complete before the end of April. Once this is done I need to look at the things to do on my schedule as I am behind on the project due to other assignments being my main focus. I need to look at ways of fixing up my homepage and adding videos.

Week25

(N/A) nothing done!

Week24

N/A (nothing done)!

Week23

Through Week32 not a lot has been done on the project apart from removing backgrounds from images in my website as they had white backgrounds, this was done using Adobe Photoshop. The white backgrounds looked unpleasant and didn't match my main website background so they had to go, if the website background was white then the image backgrounds wouldn't have been a problem. My next step after this is to resize my images to the perfect width and height. Once that has been completed I need to look at options of how to choose sizes for clothes and shoes plus make an active shopping cart for users.

Week22

N/A (nothing done)!

Week21

N/A (nothing done)!

Week20

N/A (nothing done)!

Week19

N/A (nothing done)!

Week18

N/A (nothing done)!

Week 17

In Week17 there wasn't a lot done apart from making sure that the social media pages are fully completed with all the relevant content and maybe checking the website pages to see if they have all the correct content. The one pending page in the website is the homepage as that still needs content added to it and possibly a good feature. Social media pages are linked to the website itself. I finished adding all the images to the pages which are selling things along with their item descriptions and prices. After this I have been on a break from the project as a whole because of focusing on other course units pending.

Week16

This week I finished adding all product images and edited images into the website, the only page still pending on being completed is the homepage. Adding content to the homepage shouldn't take too long, just a matter of overwriting the current content to new things to make the page seem full up. The homepage is possibly the least important page in the website as the focus is on the other pages as they display the items which can be bought, whereas the homepage is more of a show piece yet an essential for any website in general. My main aim is to produce a working shopping cart system and if there is time left at the end maybe I can come back towards making the homepage having one or more better features depending on the time limit left. The images on each of the pages need resizing as currently they have been put in there but aren't perfectly lined up, most images need the white backgrounds removing from them before doing this. All page descriptions, item descriptions and prices have been done plus all four basic social media pages have been made. The social media pages have been linked to the social media icons which are placed in the footer and may require a user to login to view the pages and see what is posted.

Week15

This week I didn't really complete any of the tasks fully which were written in my schedule (ghant chart), I really do need to aim for completing those tasks between the dates of the 15th January and the 26th January without failure. There is now becoming an urgency to complete these tasks because I need enough time to focus on the important parts of the website such as sorting out a shopping cart that works and other technical parts. How I'm planning this may seem a little rushed but I need enough time to trial and error certain website features because I'm not a master at coding so I can be prepared to fix and record any problems. The social media pages have not yet been completed but will definitely be finished and linked during Week16 as I can't prolong this part any longer. I have sorted out some of the folders to keep the correct images/content in per webpage and these will continue to update as the website progresses. On two of the pages (Bags & Purses plus Jewellery) I have started adding content with the products and prices listed so that they are complete, they are the pages which don't involve any photography. I have added content onto the Members page such as images, prices and the description of content. 

Week14

Last week was based on getting the website interface to look presentable and well associated with the chosen theme of the website, this involved editing and overwriting the code via the HTML and CSS pages. The fonts and text sizes have been confirmed along with the background, header and footer colours so I am now happy with the way the website looks. The logo which I designed goes really well with my colour scheme and the theme of my website overall. Any changes which I have made or edited on the website have been recorded in my paperwork using descriptions and screenshots to show what is new and has been updated. My next plan after this was to get started on the social media accounts for Glamourize and get them linked into the website, this would be a user clicking on the social media icons and being led to the correct pages. Also I downloaded a few images from Google Images to put into the website and my job is to add them into the relevant pages plus later on the white backgrounds will have to be removed from some of them. Item descriptions and prices will also need to be added in the correct price order, now I have a mini list list of tasks which I need to and must complete during Week15.

Week13

Last week was Week13 and I used the time in that week to get back on track with my project including keeping up the schedule and monitoring what activity still has to be done. There were a few tick boxes where I realised that I hadn't met my deadlines and that I was slacking in terms of getting my work done. I managed to make my logo and embed it into the website, as for the shopping cart I changed the white one to a black one for each of the pages. I have had a play around with the colour scheme to enhance the appearance of my website so that it looks refreshed and gains attention from potential site users. Aswell as that I changed some parts of the text deciding what parts I wanted uppercase and which parts I wanted in lowercase along with changing the font so that it matches the same font on the logo. Along with all this I took the screen prints of all the work I was doing and explained everything to give evidence of what I am doing for this project. I have included in my paperwork the PowerPoint presentation and written down what each of the slides represent plus the audience feedback with outcome on the questions that were asked. Week14 will involve adding images and completing the website.

Week12

In terms of this past week the project work hasn't really gone anywhere in other words, it was the week of Christmas and edging towards the new year. I used this week as the break week from doing any work as such although I should have cracked on with my project instead of chilling too much. I was supposed to finish the logo designing and get the shopping cart icon finished so that I could add these into my website but I still haven't completed either of these which I regret. The only thing I have done during that week is some minor parts of the documentation such as parts which I had missed out or not yet got around to doing. I also started filling out the section where I had to talk about my PowerPoint presentation such as the slides and how they were made to be helpful to my audience who seen this. That part I still haven't finished so I will continue that the following week along with the logo and shopping cart preparations to embed into my website. After this I plan to do some more coding on the website and make a start on taking and editing some photographs for at least one of the webpages. I will check the website to make sure I am happy with the colour scheme or have a play with it and change fonts.