Hi there! I am wanting to create a new website for my company. The site will be extremely dependent upon databases and relaying info back and forth between the client and server to update/query those databases. I've been told asp.net would probably be where I'd want to start with this for the design. I want the site to have a simple and clean, yet modern look. I've flipped through an asp.net book and the screenshots from some sites just weren't very appealing. Does anyone have any recommendations about a certain platform/software I should research to help me achieve what I'm looking for? Again, the site will be simple....mainly several lists/drop down lists for the user to add items/query items (it is a listing service website), but I don't want it to look dull and mundane. Thanks again!
You'll need to learn HTML and CSS for the presentation side of things. You can then integrate ASP into your site, or alternatively design the backend first then scaffold your site around that.
Awesome, thank you very much! Is there a certain software or editor you recommend designing the site in? And to take it a step further do any of those softwares have decent templates that I might be able to use so I'm not starting completely from scratch? Thanks again!
Hey I know Dreamweaver is overpriced but it's a good peace of software to learn from. You can also try Webmatrix 3 it's a free software from Microsoft and I find it pleasant to use. as for templates just download some HTML and CSS templates online. Here is a list of a couple editors you can try: Dreamweaver - (www.adobe.com) Webmatrix 3 - (www.microsoft.com/web/webmatrix/) Aptana Studio - (www.aptana.com) Thanks
Have a look at the concept of MVC programming. It's a concept rather than a language but it will help you get to grips with the difference between programming and design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model–view–controller Those crappy templates you've seen bear no relation to the underlying code. I used to create all my own designs (simple, not pretty) but the game has changed significantly and these days you'll probably need a "responsive" or "mobile ready" design if your customers will ever access your site from a phone or tablet. Depending on the one you pick there will be a learning curve to get to grips with how you apply it to your data. Sites like ThemeForest are good. Yes, they charge for them but you get way more than you could code yourself. Don't be afraid to use PHP for your site. This forum uses PHP and does massive database queries. If your database is set up right and on an appropriate server for the volume of data and traffic then PHP will do the job brilliantly. Consider using a framework to get you started if your project isn't just about serving up pages. If it is, then one of the existing CMS products like WordPress, Joomla or Drupal. I can't recommend one over the other as I don't know your spec. All are extendable and may save you time since you don't need to code in all the user login stuff. FWIW I use NetBeans, TopStyle, Filezilla and SqlYog
I wouldn't trust the starter templates on Dreamweaver, particularly... In my experience, at least in my CS version, they're pretty buggy. I would, however, recommend checking sites like themeforest.net for themes with licenses. They are affordable and professional and generally come with good support. All care!
You are embarking on a long journey, I hope you are prepared for it. I recommend a CMS, Joomla 3.x ideally. Look into the K2 extension for the ability to attach "extra fields" data to articles / items. Joomla 3.x is built on Twitter Bootstrap as a theme framework. Get familiar with it.