First steps
I undertook my first attempt at constructing web pages simply with the aim of learning how to do it - and proving to myself that I could.I decided to describe a walk round Winchester Cathedral. I live near Winchester, I knew something of the town, and I already had a small collection of photographs of the cathedral and its surroundings.
I got my photographs scanned onto a Photo-CD by Kodak. I built the HTML using MS-Word and shareware editors, and hosted it on Compuserve. I told a few friends and relations about the pages and got a reasonably positive response, so I then set out to strengthen the content.
Phase two - emphasis on content
This meant that I needed to read up on the history and architecture of the Cathedral, and of Winchester.I also needed to take more photographs, and needed to raise the standard that I was trying to achieve.
I explored HTML syntax and Web design in more depth. I learnt to use Photopaint so that I could enhance the graphics, and EMACS so that I could play around with the HTML source.
Eventually I got to the point where I was pleased with the content, I found that several people were linking my pages to advertise their home or holiday accommodation. I was beginning to get positive feedback from users outside my own circle.
Phase three - promotion
I then set myself the challenge of attracting more access.
I registered with the major search engines and studied how to raise the profile of my pages. I started to analyse my log files to see how people found my site, what they were attracted to, and how they navigated around. I kept tweaking the content in response to the feedback I was getting.
Gradually the hit rate grew to a level that I can persuade myself is a steady cult following.
You can find the results of this evolution at http://home.clara.net/reedhome/winchester/main.htm
Phase four - the next generation
At that stage I decided I needed a new challenge and these pages on Oxford are the result.
A larger city increases the challenge of handling complexity. Oxford is close enough to where I live to pay regular visits, it has a rich history, and is well known as a travel destination.
It is also well served by guidebooks on paper, and guides on the web, so the challenge of producing a distinct contribution is all the greater.
Phase five - Construction
It took me a couple of months, and a couple of false starts, to work out the overall framework. Piece by piece I am collecting pictures and information.Some elements are in their third or fourth draft, others are only there as placeholders.
Gradually as time permits I develop individual components. This may not be the most efficient approach, but it does fit with some higher priorities than buidling web pages.
At some point I expect to carry out a major review and revision of work to date, and mentally move these pages out of "work in progress" to "version-1". Meanwhile, for what they are worth, here they are.
Phase six - Ongoing assessment
My ideal city guide would:
- Help me to use my time effectively - in line with my interests, my priorities, and my timescale.
- Show me something behind the surface image which every city constructs to protect itself from tourists.
- Teach me what makes the city unique - why things are how they are - and the impact the city and its people has had on a broader canvas.
- I am quite pleased with the look: simple layout, "frames" around the pictures, and plenty of white space, but load times are too slow, and lines are too long to read comfortably on a wide screen
- The content is quite rich, and I am starting to get positive feedback from users
- At its best, I feel I am hitting the right tone, but a lot of the text is still pretty turgid and impersonal
- The overall structure is a sound scaffolding onto which I can continue adding detail in a piecemeal way - but it would be nice to introduce more flexibility from the user's point of view
