For a project in school I want to design and create a website for a competition. I've dabbled in web design before, I'm pretty good with photoshop and know basic HTML. In this process, I'd like to learn CSS and (x?)HTML, learn how to design, and learn some new skills. So, my question is, where should I start? Overall the designing process of the side will be really easy, but I don't know how to code, which is pretty much what I'm wondering about. What tutorials/books/tips would you recommend to a newbie who has to create a site in a few months of time?
Hi Wyattt, You're going to want to either go to your local public library or www.sitepoint.com/books/html1 and pick up a copy of "Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML & CSS" by Ian Lloyd. People will come along and recommend old sites like w3schools.com (which aren't as good as people make them out to be, especially when SitePoint has published the Ultimate CSS Reference) - ignore them. You can only learn so much from reading tutorials and experimenting. Save that for after you've learned the foundation - which Ian Lloyd will personally teach you in the book. (Disclosure: I am a Mentor on the Design Team at the SitePoint Forums. I am not recommending the book because of my status there; I am recommending the book because it is that damn good.)
Thank you! I'll probably be going to the library this weekend so I'll keep an eye open. Rep added. Any more comments?
If your library doesn't have it, see if they can get it via an inter-library loan. I also believe the book is available as a PDF from SitePoint as well if you need to get it "right freaking now". You're also going to want to have the following browsers installed on your computer: IE 5.5, IE 6, IE 7 (IE standalones are available at http://tredosoft.com/Multiple_IE) Firefox 2.0.12 Opera 9.25 Safari 3 Beta (Windows)
Most ebooks are not well written and contain code examples that don't work without a mountain of hacks, are inaccessible to people with disabilities, people who turn images off (such as dialup users) and/or rely on JavaScript for critical functionality without offering a "Plan B" for when scripting is disabled (and no, I do not mean the NOSCRIPT element, since a firewall will strip the JavaScript code from the page while making the browser think that scripting has been enabled, meaning that the browser will ignore the NOSCRIPT element and the contents within it). And that's just ebooks on Web design and development.
i better suggest you download free templates, that will reduce ur work loads, just search for free templates on google
that is such bull my friend, first of all w3schools.com is still damn good, i learned 3 languages there, yes it's true u need other websites to further ur knowledge, but start there, take my advice. Also, practice a LOT, a really good way to practice is by downloading a free website, then open in notepad, look through the code, add stuff/remove and see what happens, u learn a lot like that.
First off Cyrus_vtn, we're not friends so I would appreciate it if you didn't call me one. Second, w3schools.com isn't as good as you're making it out to be. The code they use on their site hasn't been updated in almost a decade, teaches nothing about proper formatting, semantics or structure, and was frankly horrible code back when it was originally written - and sure as hell is abysmal nowadays. Third, the site teaches you NOTHING about how to use the code to create an accessible, easy to use site that's not only optimized for the people who use it, but also the search engines, nor does it teach you how to code to the standards and against the four major rendering engines, nor does it teach you how to work around and avoid common browser bugs and other pitfalls. Ian's book does. Fourth, the method you're suggesting about learning how to code by downloading "free sample Web sites" is just pure NONSENSE since just about every single template you can find online is just pure garbage. And I'm not saying that as a compliment to the people who wrote that code either. How many of them use multiple nested tables for simplest of layouts? How many of them don't even bother using a proper complete DOCTYPE? How many of them use invalid markup and fail to separate the structure from the appearance, and rely on bloated JavaScript code to handle things that CSS can do better? How many of those free sites/templates are even accessible, easy to use and search engine friendly in the first place? (Shall I go on?) The answer is virtually none of them. You may think you know it all, but you don't. Hell, I'm practically a minimal markup EXPERT, and even I don't know everything. The sad truth is even the industry leaders and the people who write the specifications in the first place don't know everything. There's a common saying one of my friends loves to use. "The day you think you have nothing left to learn is the day the world leaves you behind." In order to properly code a Web page, much less an entire Web site, you have to learn first-hand how the whole thing works. And at the moment there's not a single Web site that does that (though there are a couple that do work very hard toward that utopian goal). However, there are a few quality books out there which do teach these fundamentals, and Ian Lloyd's book is one of them. Practically anything written by Eric "The CSS Godfather" Meyer is another. But if you don't care about such things, then go right ahead and continue trying to hammer in a nail with a screwdriver, since that's what you're going to end up doing anyway.
I second, third, and fourth this!! I've dabbled in building websites by hand coding for a while now and I finally decided to bite the bullet and learn to do it correctly with the current validations and all that, and Dan is spot on about this. Ian Lloyd's book is f'in amazing, and well worth the price. w3schools might work for some, and can be a good reference if you need to remember something, but I would never recommend it as a way to learn a language from scratch. The best way to learn is by doing, and if you're a newbie, having someone walk you through building an actual website is the way to go, which is what Lloyd's book does. I'm definitely NOT a newbie, but this book has made learning how to do websites correctly infinitely easier for me. If you want to get it right from the start, you have to learn it right.
Look for some dreamweaver tutorials on the net. Thats the best way to learn. Just do a search in google for "dreamweaver tutorials"
I fifth, sixth, and seventh Dan's book reference. It's the book that tied everything together-- I was aware of the tags one could use via w3schools, but that site doesn't show how to do a whole site-- only what each tag can specifically do. Any site which tells you how to use the <FONT> tag is not one I'd sent anyone running towards. Joshua, dreambeaver costs like 800 bucks. Wth?
It costs $400, actually. The Adobe Creative Suite costs well over a grand. That's in US Dollars, of course.
Agreed with the library idea, but also check out stores such as Barnes and Noble, or Borders. These stores have racks upon racks of books on web design, programming, anything at all you'd want. You can usually find a good one that fits your needs and reading style for $9-17. While W3 schools is fairly ok, it really should be only used as reference once you get a general idea of whats going on. Still it's worth a look, it will give you ideas, but it wont teach you the stuff. Lastly, I'd look into a program such as Macromedia Dreamweaver (may be adobe dreamweaver now, im not sure.) that allows you to build your site through graphics and interface. You can then observe whats going on from the coding side. Experience is the key, once you experiment you'll start getting the hang of it. Dreamweaver costs $$$ though, but since you mentioned your in a school, I'd ask the School Server/Systems Administrator if they have dreamweaver or a program like it. I know mine did. Experimentation + Reference/observation = better understanding = learning Hope this helps some
The reason why I suggested the library was to "try before you buy" that way if you don't like the book, you haven't lost any money.
I agree. What I meant was if he finds no success at the library the stores should be his next stop. And even if he doesn't want to buy a book, you are allowed to read store books in Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. Either way it's fairly inexpensive.