The Center Park Web Site: Complete Code Listing

Overview

Up to this point, the chapters have been focused on extending the functionality of the Center Park Web site. So far you have designed and implemented a login page, a store, an online test, and two different kinds of calendars—everything a good Web site of this type requires. This chapter will focus not on the design and implementation of new features, but on the improvement of the Web site visuals. Most professional Web sites have some type of dynamic content, also referred to as "eye-candy." Although eye-candy is not required in order for a Web site to be fully functional, it make a site more inviting and does encourage the Web site visitor to come back again.

Unfortunately, most dynamic effects on a Web site take tremendous time to create and finalize. There is no straightforward approach to adding the eye-candy that Web site visitors have come to expect. Because of this, this chapter will only focus on two types of dynamic content: mouseover image rotations and custom color schemes for the entire site.

The Center Park school administrators were quite specific in that they did not want a site that was overly "flashy," but at the same time wanted something that was still visually appealing. On several occasions, they had used the old design phrase of "form follows function," that is, they wanted the site's functionality to be at the forefront. By that they wanted a site that was easy to access, customizable to the end user, and informational across different audiences (parents, teachers, students). In your early meetings with the administrative group, you told them that through some rather straightforward visual effects, you could achieve all of these functional requirements but still make the site look good. That goal is the focus of the information presented in this chapter.