Our first project taught us the basics of how to write HTML code and customize it using CSS variables. I recall this site being the most difficult to build, given my limited knowledge at the time. However, the foundational knowledge I gained in making this site was critical to my success in customizing all of the subsequent sites I built in this course.

In making this site, I learned a lot about HTML very quickly. From a fundamental standpoint, I learned how to differentiate between types of elements, how to easily insert hyperlinks, and how to display images. With reference to CSS, I learned how to work with multiple class elements at once, how to change colors, text details, margins, and how to insert images in a variety of formats into a web page. Since this site was built locally, another important component to building it was organizing files successfully in Finder, which I now feel much more comfortable with.

For me, the most challenging part of creating this website was designing a navigation bar at the top of the screen. I worked to transform this section from a vertical list to a horizontal bar with unique hover states for each item. It also took me a while to establish the appropriate alignment and margins, but doing so helped me better understand how to use columns when working with CSS. I further developed my ability to work with columns as I worked to display multiple images next to one another. Although the images had a somewhat uneven spacing between one another, I was proud that I was able to eventually achieve this more advanced layout.

Despite my initial struggles with various elements of this site, I was proud of my final result given my limited knowledge at the time. I also began to learn more about typography and color usage in creating this site, which became highly important in the development of sites I made later in the course.