Web Developer / Designer
- Web Developer / Designer – LSL Brands
- My role was to redesign the existing website for Village Outfitters, an LSL Brands brand. I was also tasked with overhauling the SEO of the website.
- The main project can be found at https://www.shopvillageoutfitters.com. I was able to completely transform both the UI and UX of the website to meet modern standards and make backend updates to both keywords and page connections to boost the index rating on Google’s SEO listings. I created a new navigation-friendly header and footer that have both been optimized for mobile displays. The new website features many points for visitors to interact with, including a new events calendar, contact form, and monthly-newsletter blog.
- I have learned a few different things that directly relate to my MIS major. First, it is incredibly important to double-check work when it is published locally AND on the online server. There were a few times when I did not publish edits to the live site, which could have been problematic had I not noticed them quickly. My Web Application Development course strongly emphasized ensuring that submitted code will work on someone else’s machine as it works on yours. Secondly, I learned the importance of presenting data properly and that sometimes less is more. During the first progress presentation to my boss, I gave a report on the site usage, and some of the data fell out of context and was unorganized. In my Data & Analytics course, I learned about the three main principles of data visualization, the first being that the data should tell a good story, and the second being that the data in question should hold strong integrity. On reflection, I was lacking a bit in those areas during my first presentation, but after that, I made sure to deliver what was asked of me shortly and simply. Lastly, I learned that good UI/UX design practices must go hand in hand with good SEO practices. I followed an SEO guide to help make sure that the site would be optimized for Google and found that I was missing a few page connections in my initial design drafts. My Digital Marketing course has taught me that it does not matter how good the site looks if nobody sees it, so I was focused on marrying the two checklists as I moved forward with the project.