A Note From the Owner
Welcome to the very first issue of The One Wheel Newsletter! This newsletter is where I share what I'm learning, what I'm building, and practical tips that can help small businesses get more out of the web.
One Wheel LLC started with a simple idea: if one person can put in steady, honest work, then they can accomplish any project or goal, no matter how far away it seems. Right now I'm a student, so most of my building happens in the classroom or on projects like this website. I'd rather show you my real progress than pretend to be further along than I am. So, in every issue, you'll see exactly what I've learned and how I'm putting it to use.
This season, my main project has been the website you're reading right now. Every page is hand-coded in HTML and CSS, with no website builders or templates. That means I understand every line, and I can fix or change anything on it.
The layout adjusts itself depending on the screen. On a phone, the navigation turns into large, easy-to-tap buttons, and on a computer it spreads out into a single row. The circular One Wheel logo on the home page isn't an image file at all. It's drawn with SVG code, so it stays sharp at any size.
New in My Toolkit
- Responsive design: pages that adapt to phones, tablets, and desktops
- CSS3 styling: gradients, rounded corners, and drop shadows (like this box!)
- SVG graphics: logos and shapes drawn with code instead of image files
- Python: honing my coding logic and specific skills such as using loops and packages
Dev Tip of the Month
Check your website on your phone
More than half of all web traffic now comes from phones, yet many small business websites were only ever designed for a computer screen. Try this: open your business's website on your phone and ask yourself three questions.
- Can I read the text without zooming in?
- Can I tap the buttons without hitting the wrong one?
- Can I find the phone number or contact info in under five seconds?
If the answer to any of these is "no," customers may be leaving before they ever contact you, and the fix is easier than you think.
What's Next
Next, I'm finishing my transfer prerequisites (Calculus and calculus-based Physics) on my way to the University of Florida's Computer Science program. Along the way, I'll keep adding new skills to this site so you can watch it grow issue by issue. In the next issue: I'll write about my learning journey with Python code.
Have a project or opportunity in mind?
Send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!