Below is the website I ended up with:
It seems that “website with WordPress” is the new “www,” replacing the world wide web. Making a website with WordPress was challenging but rewarding. The setup process felt overwhelming at first due to all the technical details. Designing the website was also difficult at first because, since I don’t have any prior experience with the platform, I had to make a lot of compromises. However, as more time passed, I felt myself starting to improve. There were a couple of things that I found interesting: 1) Sometimes the website elements look different in editing than on the live site; for example, I added a border around the image, and it somehow didn’t appear on the live site. 2) The presence of HTML and CSS is still very evident in the structure of the website building tool.
This was a rewarding experience because although I am not comfortable with using the software yet, I feel like I have a greater understanding of websites, and I am more prepared to build them in the future. I expect making websites to play a key role in presenting myself to employers, as I intend to use websites to display a general overview of my career and interests, including biographical information, portfolio projects, and a resume.
Websites are an excellent way to document progress while learning a new digital skill. Knowing how to build websites can help in many ways, such as the creation of personalized tools. For example, this summer I built a web page that I used to help me stay organized and keep up with assignments/tasks. The creative potential that comes from hosting your website is limited only by technical ability, which is why it is important to keep practicing and learning when it comes to web development. Also, a personalized website is a good way to express yourself.
That being said, building websites can also have drawbacks. They are much harder to set up than social media platforms because of the time commitment required to be technically capable. Additionally, social media platforms have a centralized network and are more accessible for others to discover. Reaching out to people and building a community is harder with a created website. However, in my opinion, learning how to build websites is a worthy challenge to undertake.
