Introduction
This web application was created as the practical portion for my University dissertation project.
The aim was to build a comprehensive application that would be used by the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeology Society (GYLHAS) and the general public to offer a dynamic way to interact with the Blue Plaques located in and around Great Yarmouth. Highlighting their significance in history whilst being a modern part of the local community.
The platform was designed to allow users to both view information about the plaques and to be able to discover the plaques in their local area. Every plaque has it's longitude and latitude coordinates stored, which allows the application to plot the plaques on a map. The result of this is that the user can see a collection of plaques that are close to them, as well as navigate to the plaque they are interested in.
The application also features a comprehensive CMS, which allows the GYLHAS to manage the plaques and their associated information. This includes the ability to add, edit and delete plaques, as well as to upload images and other media to accompany the plaques.
Technologies
The application has been built from the ground up, utilising my own skills and ideas. The graphics and images throughout the website have been created by myself (with the exception of the Blue Plaque images), using a combination of adobe products.
The website has been built using a stack consisting of: HTML, SCSS, CSS, JavaScript, Python and Django. The website is hosted on a Linux server and is served using Apache. For the database, I have used PostgresQL, which is hosted in an AWS Environment. Bulding the website in this way has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the technologies and how they interact with each other, as well as how to develop a website that can handle around 500 unique visitors a month.
Challenges
The main challenge I faced was the time constraints of the project. I had to balance the development of the website with the research and write up of the dissertation. This meant that I had to be very organised and plan my time effectively.
Another challenge was the learning curve of the technologies I was using. I had never used Django before, so I had to learn how to use it effectively. This was a steep learning curve, but I was able to overcome it by using the Django documentation and online resources. Moreover, I needed to understand how to properly host an application in the Cloud to ensure that response times were low and reliability remains high. Whilst also ensuring that the website was secure and that user data was protected.
Finally, I had to ensure that the website was accessible and user-friendly. This meant that I had to test the website on multiple devices and browsers to ensure that it worked correctly. I also had to ensure that the website was easy to navigate and that the information was presented in a clear and concise manner.
Conclusion
Overall, I am very happy with the final product. I believe that the website is a great resource for the GYLHAS and the general public. It provides a modern way to interact with the Blue Plaques and learn about the history of Great Yarmouth. I have learned a lot from this project and I believe that it has helped me to develop my skills as a developer. I am excited to see how the website is used in the future and I hope that it will be a valuable resource for the local community.
Should I have the opportunity to work on a similar project in the future, I would like to explore the use of more advanced technologies and techniques. I believe that there is a lot of potential for this type of project and I would like to continue to develop my skills in this area.
In the future, I plan to continue to develop the website and add new features and functionality at the request of the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeology Society. You can read more about their charity here.
Links
You can access the Blue Plaques website here.