Related Website Research

Similar Products

SquareSpace.com

SquareSpace is a company that power over millions of websites over hundreds of industries. Their website is incredibly simple and minimalistic, allowing users to digest information incredibly easily. The following lists the advantages and disadvantages of the website's aesthetics. 

Pros:

- Minimalistic

- Animated

- Matching colour scheme

Cons:

- Not very smooth scrolling

- Gets boring quickly

- Can get boring quickly (Nothing much to attract audience's attention)

- Limited content

- Not much user interactivity

Metta.com

Metta is an entrepreneurs club that connects people, ideas and resources. Just like the previous website, the layout of the website was also relatively minimalistic. However, the font is larger and while there is less content, there are videos and buttons that increase user interactivity making it more interesting overall. The following will list out the advantages and disadvantages of the website.

Pros:
- Minimalistic
- Larger font
- Videos

Cons:
- Hard to modify content without CMS


Technical Aspects

Scroll-jacking - replacing native scrolling with target scrolling: when the user initiates a scroll, they are taken to a specific part of the website (next area of content perhaps). If done correctly, this can offer clients a whole new level in experience.

PageScrollEffects - by Codyhouse

PageScrollEffects is a mini-library of experimental scrolling effects. It offers a wide range of scroll-jacking effects to use in a designer's website. All that is required is for the designer to insert the jQuery / Javascript file, embed it to the website and   modify the HTML and CSS for the jQuery file to work.

Pros:
- Wide range of effects
- Minimalistic design


Cons:
- Hard to modify content in each slides

fullPage.js

fullPage.js is a smooth Javascript effect that can be imbedded in a HTML file. This plugin allows the website user to experience a smooth effect in which 1 scroll will translate to the page moving down perfectly a page.

Pros:

- Smooth scrolling effects

- Intuitive / Easy to use

- Easy to modify content on each slide

Wireframe

After the meeting with my client, I drew up a wireframe in order to show how the product looked like.

Page 2

Page 1

First Draft

This draft was drawn purely off the client's needs (Blog Post 5 - Project Proposal)

It includes:

- Home Page

- The Team 

- Recent Projects

- FAQ section

What I forgot to add was the Weekly Minutes, which I later sketched out (as seen below) using an app on my laptop called Balsamic.

(INSERT IMAGE)

Balsamiq is rapid, effective, useful piece of software that allows anybody, experienced or not to develop their own wireframe. It uses a simple drag and drop function that allows users to put whatever into their wireframe.

Website: balsamiq.com

Time Plan

How will I be planning out my time?

In the past, I've used countless Gantt charts to map out what I will be doing. I find that the visual aspect of a Gantt chart allows me to understand data more clearly and be aware of impending deadlines.

What is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt Chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates project schedules. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of a project. Projects that overlap mean that are to be done at the same time. A Gantt Chart allows people to break down a large project into its smallest key components and work on it efficiently.


Time Plan: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1boG3T6jXO9Che2abTPaDWBYYn7MHKjfh5KK1ej_xoRc/edit?usp=sharing

Why use a Gantt Chart?

There are numerous advantages of using a Gantt Chart. Firstly, the chart is a clear way of seeing the overall tasks that needs to be completed. If I get confused during the process of completing the website I can easily refer back to the Gantt chart as reminder of what I need to complete. The chart is also a great way to plan out our time. By using a Gantt Chart, I can plan out my time wisely. The Gantt chart also to tells me if I am working too slowly or if I am right on track. By using the Gantt chart, I can get back on track even if I am working out of lesson.