Choosing a Header
I found the Canva Software program to be the most convenient for me to use. Having already purchased a membership to the software made this the perfect choice. Going into choosing a header, I considered factors such as pixel size, file type, accessibility, and relevance to the topic. My particular template called for a header to be 1000 x 250 pixels. PNG files support transparency and was best for this header, as I decided to use transparent background option. I opened Canva, selected “Custom Size” and entered the correct pixel count. From there, I searched templates for headers.
Upon finding a suitable base to work with, I began personalizing. I removed the template writing and text boxes. After a failed attempt at a more complex header that included digital images of computers, I settled on a simpler, more professional design. There were too many images and components included in my first design that did not allow for correct formatting with my chosen theme. High contrast was an important factor when choosing the color scheme. When I was happy with the design, I selected “Share,” “Download,” selected PNG as my file type, and selected “Transparent Background.” Once downloaded, it was easily uploaded to my subdomain by editing the appearance of the header. From there, I still needed to do a bit of cropping. After a couple of tries, I produced the final result. I did take into consideration that if I did not choose transparency for this image, a .jpeg file type may have been better for faster load times on the website.
The Day I Discovered Site Icons
You know those little pictures that show up on the tab of a website? I never thought much about the effort it took to have them in place. Each site icon is designed to give personalization, diversity, and communicates info quickly through the website’s tab. Again, I used the Canva Software, which allowed me to easily select parameters for my image. Similar to the Header, the image needed to be clear, simple, and relevant. Using Canva, I selected a new project by custom size. I selected 512 x 512 pixels. This allowed for the image to fit properly for WordPress. From there, toggled to the “Tools” section of the task bar.
Next, I used the “shapes” tool to make a large upright black rectangle in the shape of a book. Then, I used “shapes” to produce another slightly larger rounded rectangle in red. I placed it over top of the black rectangle and clicked “position” to send that shape to be behind the black rectangle. To make the image more clearly a book, I used “shapes” to add the flag at the bottom of the book in blue. Following that, I used “lines” to create distinct black lines across the top and side of the book to add the appearance of pages. The book seemed like an obvious choice as a site icon, because I am in the midst of studying the digital topic. To add relevance to my specific subdomain, I used the “Text Box” feature to add a text box to the front of the book. I chose white for the text, as it is highly contrasted to the black book. I chose the font I liked, chose font size, adjusted the text box shape, and added my text, “DGST101.” To download the image, I selected “share,” .png for file type, selected transparent background, and downloaded the image. I chose .png because it is a raster image and best for working directly with websites without the need to export the file. However, when this image is zoomed in, it will become blurry due to the pixelation. Another option was a vector image that retains its quality as it is scaled in and out, being based on mathematical equations. Vector images are best for logos and icons whereas raster images are great for detailed graphics. Once at this point, I went to my cPanel applications, found my subdomain, went to appearance, to site icon, and published a new icon. I look forward to experimentation in the future.