To be a web designer you have to learn HTML first then CSS, JavaScript and PHP. There are some server software like WAMP which combines Apache web server, MySQL Database Server and PHP server site scripting language to implement. And Knowledge in AJAX, JSP, ASP.Net, VBscript, Adobe Dreamwaver will be added advantage. Another easiest way, you need not to learn pros and cons of the above things; you just have to know how to use CMS(Content management system). CMS is a bundle applications to create, manage, store and deploy contents on your web pages easily. On this way to use CMS you can choose WordPress or Joomla to be a website designer. You will get a lot of video tutorials on the web specially on Youtube.
If you don't have a clue about HTML/CSS and no previous experience in coding, use CodeAcademy. (http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/web) If you have past experience in coding, use W3Schools.
Schools, videos and books are helpless until you are trying to solve one specific issue - I believe the best way how to learn is to do it and not reading the theory. Do some crap design, let people to laugh at your work and then do it better
I advise using htmldog.com or w3fools.com as a reference over w3schools if you want to learn the basics of web development covering html and css with because their documentation. You should download some Kindle eBooks for learning JavaScript and any other programming language. phpacademy is a great Youtube channel to subscribe too. Learn algorithm and data structures. If you're on a budget concerning taking online courses; lynda.com and teamtreehouse.com are good alternatives to codecademy.com
get: notepad ++ open:notepad ++ paste in the following... <!DOCTYPE html> <html> <!-- MakeStuff V.1 - a place to start --> <head> <title>Let's make stuff V.1</title> <style> /* A slash followed by an asterisk will open a comment in css... the reverse will act like a closing tag for css comments dont forget to close it or you will just have problems */ /* this means style the body tag */ body { padding:20px; background-color:#dddddd; } p { padding: 10px; } /*a dot means a class name*/ .aContainer { width:700px; height:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; padding:3px 3px; background-color:#ffffff; } .subContainer { background-color: #B0B0B0; margin: 10px; padding: 10px 0 0; width: auto; } .subContainer h2 { bottom: 8px; left: 20px; position: relative; } .subContainerTextbox { background-color: #CBCBCB; } </style> </head> <body> <!-- (this is an html comment, outside the parentheses to the left and right are the opening and then closing tags) --> <!-- this is a div element that we will use as a container --> <div class="aContainer"> <!--It can contain many subcontainers--> <div class="subContainer"> <p> You can use these paragraph tags to describe blocks of text that you want to make look all proper and such. </p> </div> <div class="subContainer"> <div class="subContainerTextbox"> <p>Play around and break it till it works as you google and figure out what it is you are doing</p> </div> </div> <div class="subContainer"> <h2>wash rinse repeat</h2> <div class="subContainerTextbox"> <p> keep on trying different things...but remember to save the file with increasing numbers added to the filename so you dont loose all your own trials </p> </div> </div> </div> </body> </html> HTML: save to your desktop double click the file you just saved... Play around and google stuff...if you still want to learn html and css in a week I can always do up something more than basic for you to look at...or if you don't get it and are determined, I could try making a basic standalone page and commenting the whole thing...anyways this is how I learned what I could and couldn't do and it was for me a great way to get hands on to decide on whether or not this was something I liked doing.
I completely agree with you. I mean without any experience in coding its a bit risky to use W3Schools because there are some wrong coding in W3Schools. Although cent percent coding are right there.
Browse around the Web, there's literally thousands of tutorials and ebooks available. Steer far away from Dreamweaver or other WYSIWYG programs, though. They are easy to use as a newbie but make terrible, terrible code.
Yape.....thats it! Your instruction is precisely practical realistic to follow for being an expert gradually. Nothing will be happened/progressed/improved until implementing.....