Creating a PHP design was a challenging prospect, it meant research had to be carried out in many things I had not considered before. The first challenge comes when you understand that you cannot design a php as straightforward as an average site since it contains sensitive information such as the database details and links to the tables within the database. I understood that I must build the PHP first to ensure full functionality. Next step would be to create wireframes that worked around the objectives of the php. For example, the gallery page was built using a white box function that allows expandable images, for the most part this was done using javascript but it also meant there was an added level of complexity. I had to consider many different variations of gallery page, and in the end scrapped the design for the gallery page as it was built around larger images and the initial purpose of my gallery page was to contain clickable thumbnails. Once the wireframes were completed the next stage was to build the design into real user experience. This began with me starting with the PHP and making sure the functionality was there, then adding the html code around that, then adding the css to make the design work.
The design needed to be thematic, therefore I decide to create a website based around a trip to Paris, which would allow the user to get a grasp for the experience they would have if they travelled there. There is a homepage with a welcome message, explaining the purpose of the site, a gallery page with all the images and finally a search page which allows you to search the images to find the place you want to visit along with a short personal account of the landmark.
I really found the process of learning php much different to the process of learning html and css as when you ‘fiddle’ with html and css things change on the browser and you can see the effects of what you are doing. Whereas with php either does or sensate work and there is no in between, it alerts you to issues with the code, but if there are no issues with the code and it simply does not work, it is a lot harder to try and fix bugs. I found this really challenging and I believed that this to be something that motivated me to master the php.
I found that by using examples of php code and spending time creating practise sites, it allowed me to get my head round how the code was working, the purpose of variables. It meant that when the module was nearing an end, I started to feel more confident with the php and what each individual element of the code was doing. A stand out point in my development is when worked out how to echo to another page if the user had not entered anything that matched the contents of the table from the search bar.
Problems I had were that when I was unsure of something I was really stuck, because I literally wouldn’t have a clue as to what to do. Google searching the issue and looking on w3 schools and the php website really helped. In a way it was more of a blessing in disguise because it meant I had to go and research the topic myself which mean’t i learnt the topic with much greater ease.
If I were to do this module again, I would spend a little more time developing the gallery page as it would really help the overall feel of the page, rather than being simple squares, create a better layout to create interest for the user, maybe even using a circles. I would like to redesign the top banner to be full width of the page and make the site fully responsive to create a better experience for the user.
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