I used the Youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ff6ghp7iTA and simply added “gif” between www. and youtube.com.  Following the prompts I created the GIF below.

Let me know what you think of it!

After reviewing my peers blogs and getting their feedback on mine, I made a few changes.

What I Did:

I eliminated the quote from my main page so that the cover page is no longer static.  I deleted the Posts link from the main menu.

Why I Did It:

I made this large change back from what I had worked so hard to figure out for several reasons.  First, while reviewing my peers blogs I was distracted by the usability.  The easiest blog to use and read looked like it had taken the least amount of time to create.  Additionally, both peers that reviewed my blog mentioned that they were confused when looking for the blog posts.  Third, I realized that the “Featured Posts” feature of the Superhero theme only works when the main page is not static.

What I Still Need to Do:

I plan on further testing how to make my site more user friendly.  I plan on updating my Site Information and About Me pages.  I hope to resolve the issue of not being able to add the background color I wanted through the creative, consistent, and conscious placement of images.

What I Did:

The biggest change I made today was switching my theme from Goram to Superhero. I reconfigured and rewrote my about page after looking at the examples provided in the daily class notes.  I added several pages including a site information page and a projects page.  Since my class has not started working on the various projects due throughout the semester, I nested projects 2,3, and 4 so they appear in a drop down menu when Projects is selected.  I looked through the widgets available and selected several.

Why I Did It:

I switched because they both has similar simplistic ideals that accompany their clean appearance, but Superhero provides a wider array of opportunities to customize the blog.  I nested the project pages after seeing the idea when I was demoing the Superhero theme.  I was frustrated that a blank page appeared when the parent page was selected.  With some help I found a way to customize my menu by creating a custom heading labeled projects and deleted the black page that was acting as a placeholder.  I decided to select several more widgets than I anticipated, I chose Archive, Top Rated, and Calendar.  I plan to delete two in the near future after deciding which post organization widget is the most beneficial.

Opportunities:

The Superhero template theme allows for different headings to be used, featured posts to be highlighted, and some pages to appear without the widget sidebar.

What I Did:

I started my blog today, by picking a web address.  Today I created my blog and made a number of important decisions.  First, I decided on a web address based on the user ID that I commonly use, sarahfy.  Second, I titled my blog and choose a theme to support my simplistic mentality for this blog.

Why I Did It:

The decisions I made today are important because they are setting the foundation of my blog.   Thankfully, WordPress makes it easy for me to change the title, theme, and even web address if I think of a better idea in the future.  To start, I choose my web address because my original idea of my first and last name was already taken.  Second, my blog title is simple, so that I don’t distract from the content.  I have not thought of a creative tag line yet, and will add one once I think of one.  Finally, my theme is simple with a background of natural colors.  I love the natural colors of the outdoors and how they contrast reader’s experience reading my blog on their computer.