The website that we build has a main page. It is the page that appears first when users click the website’s link. The main page is also known as the home page. At this page, users will be able to see the name of the website, main sections of the website and the ‘Members Area’. The name of the site, ‘WOOF’, is located at the top of the page, the main sections are right below the page title and the ‘Members Area’ is placed on the right side of the page.
The ‘Members Area’ is where users can register or sign in. This section also contains recent activities on photos, blog entries and forum posts by users. Non-members can only view all the main sections and subsections. After logging in, the ‘Members Area’ displays the available actions that can be done.
The main sections of the website are ‘News’, ‘Members’, ‘Forums’, ‘Photo Gallery’ and ‘About Us’. The content of each section can be viewed by users regardless of whether or not he or she has registered as a member. However, each main section has its own settings of who can post blog entries and who can post topics in forum. Each main section has one or more subsections.
One of the important main sections is ‘About Us’ because here is where people will find out what the website is about and the history behind the creation of the website.
By clicking ‘News’, a user will be taken to a page containing updates or development of the website will appear. Under this section, there is a search field where users can search for desired entries. Users also have a choice to view the news in full mode or summary mode. The entries can only be posted and edited by administrators. Normal members and non-members can only view the entries.
Next main section is ‘Members’, where it contains all the related information of the users on the website. Registered members will be able to view all members and its particulars, search members, add other members, send invitation to non-members, view members’ profile, friends & photos. They can also choose the desired sortation of members and the type of view; grid or list. The available sortation types that can be chosen by the users are by display name, last login, creation date, member permissions or random. Member permissions is the flexibility of actions that are available to users. When a member’s profile is clicked, users will be taken to a subsubsection which is the member’s profile. At this page, the member’s particulars are displayed. Users can view friends, leave comments and view photos of the member. Besides all these, users can also send private messages and add or remove as a friend. All of the mentioned functions are not available to non-members. Viewing is the only available action to non-registered members.
The ‘Forum’ subsection is made available to users to enable them to discuss various topics that may be related or not related to the website. For example, new users can use this function as a platform to introduce themselves and also to talk about their lecturers. Members can add new discussions & topic and reply to them but cannot edit entries. Posts can be searched at the search bar. Users can see the number of views and replies of a post.
‘Photo Gallery’ is the most important main section as that is the main focus of the website. Similar to the earlier categories, members can search, add and comment on photos. Users are given the option to change the arrangement of photos by most commented or recently added. Categories can only be edited by the administrator. When an album is clicked, users will be taken to a page where all the photos are viewed as thumbnails. Here, users have the option to view as slideshow or enlarge a photo by clicking on it. Users will see the enlarged photo with the comment box below the picture. The photo can be shared through various platforms such as social websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc), blogs (e.g. Blogger), e-mails (e.g. Gmail) and others.
Based on the use case diagram and the website created, it can be concluded that non-members have very limited actions where they can only view the main sections and/ or sign up. As for registered members, they can do a lot more compared to non-members where they are allowed add photos, friends, topics, etc. Members can also edit or delete any post that has been uploaded. However, they are not allowed to edit entries, categories and membership. The most important action that distinguishes administrators from the others is the fact they have the power to manage function settings and availability of the website. In a nutshell, the administrator is capable of doing everything that the users (members and non-members) can do.
