Web Design Forums

Ytrav · 20-05-2006, 02:46

Ok I don't know mutch about web design and I am a total beginner. I would like to know the best advice for someone starting out. I would be intresting to here if anyone is made any mistakes or anything to be careful for" things I can't see at the moment". I rented a book called "Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS" by Jon Duckett is this a good book for starters are do you think it's too deep to begin with?

My other question, is learning web-devolopement good for independent study or is this something that would be better to learn in school? So far I can code basic things in HTML but it seems duanghting to see such great sites everywere and how far I have to go, not to mention I'm only at chapter 3. Is web-design all about codeing or do you get to have the freedom of PS type design. I'ts hard for me to imagine much freedom in codes and conforming to tables. Maybe I'm just too comfy in my GUI. Sorry if this was a little long.

pgo · 20-05-2006, 03:13

You shouldn't be laying out sites with tables at all - if that's what your book is teaching, then put it down. Hand coding with a focus on the separation of content (HTML) from design (CSS) is the only way to do websites properly in 2006. Actually, it's been the only proper way of building sites for a few years now. Sure, you could do it all with Dreamweaver in "Design View", but you'll never (at least not yet) get the best results (or even good results) - or the best jobs.

If you're more into the visual side or you can't stand coding, then get into a graphic design program at a university. Web design isn't something mature enough that I've encountered any decent college courses - best to learn the code independently (of course, taking design courses can't hurt!)

You do have to know much of that stuff for web design, but, at least at my job, in an 8 hour day I probably spend 2 hours in Photoshop and 6 hours coding. Once you know what you're doing, you have plenty of freedom in coding - seeing as it's what creates the website from content to design, it's an integral part of the process (probably the most important part). I find that moving from a Photoshop mockup to replicating that mockup with well-structured and efficient code to be very rewarding.

XHTML and CSS are the best place to start. Have a look around the "Web Standards" forum for lots of great links. It's very daunting at first - it isn't like learning new languages, it is learning new languages.

Ytrav · 20-05-2006, 04:09

The book dosn't start with tables it does have two seperate places for HTML and CSS. Thank you for you're reply. Codeing isn't that bad it has been fun learning new things and how to get the full ability out of my computer.

Ytrav · 20-05-2006, 04:11

Does anyone have any study tips, if you can please share your methodes when you fist learned codeing, so that I can be able to retain all this information and make progress at the same time. I have cramed information before and regret it becuase I forget it easier that way.

pgo · 20-05-2006, 12:48

http://www.dezwozhere.com/links.html
http://www.timvansas.nl/bookmarks/
http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/

dasplague · 23-05-2006, 01:36

i started studying web design independently when i was around 14 years old. id get some books from my school library, and learn basic html codes. then from there i took advantage of the view source option on my internet browser, and just copied peoples codes, disassembled them, and put em back together to see how they worked. 5 years later, its second nature to me. i would love to goto school though.

20-05-2006, 02:46	#1 (permalink)
Ytrav Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6	Just starting Ok I don't know mutch about web design and I am a total beginner. I would like to know the best advice for someone starting out. I would be intresting to here if anyone is made any mistakes or anything to be careful for" things I can't see at the moment". I rented a book called "Beginning Web Programming with HTML, XHTML, and CSS" by Jon Duckett is this a good book for starters are do you think it's too deep to begin with? My other question, is learning web-devolopement good for independent study or is this something that would be better to learn in school? So far I can code basic things in HTML but it seems duanghting to see such great sites everywere and how far I have to go, not to mention I'm only at chapter 3. Is web-design all about codeing or do you get to have the freedom of PS type design. I'ts hard for me to imagine much freedom in codes and conforming to tables. Maybe I'm just too comfy in my GUI. Sorry if this was a little long.

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20-05-2006, 03:13	#2 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	You shouldn't be laying out sites with tables at all - if that's what your book is teaching, then put it down. Hand coding with a focus on the separation of content (HTML) from design (CSS) is the only way to do websites properly in 2006. Actually, it's been the only proper way of building sites for a few years now. Sure, you could do it all with Dreamweaver in "Design View", but you'll never (at least not yet) get the best results (or even good results) - or the best jobs. If you're more into the visual side or you can't stand coding, then get into a graphic design program at a university. Web design isn't something mature enough that I've encountered any decent college courses - best to learn the code independently (of course, taking design courses can't hurt!) You do have to know much of that stuff for web design, but, at least at my job, in an 8 hour day I probably spend 2 hours in Photoshop and 6 hours coding. Once you know what you're doing, you have plenty of freedom in coding - seeing as it's what creates the website from content to design, it's an integral part of the process (probably the most important part). I find that moving from a Photoshop mockup to replicating that mockup with well-structured and efficient code to be very rewarding. XHTML and CSS are the best place to start. Have a look around the "Web Standards" forum for lots of great links. It's very daunting at first - it isn't like learning new languages, it is learning new languages.

20-05-2006, 04:09	#3 (permalink)
Ytrav Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6	The book dosn't start with tables it does have two seperate places for HTML and CSS. Thank you for you're reply. Codeing isn't that bad it has been fun learning new things and how to get the full ability out of my computer.

20-05-2006, 04:11	#4 (permalink)
Ytrav Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6	Does anyone have any study tips, if you can please share your methodes when you fist learned codeing, so that I can be able to retain all this information and make progress at the same time. I have cramed information before and regret it becuase I forget it easier that way.

20-05-2006, 12:48	#5 (permalink)
pgo Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 12,340	http://www.dezwozhere.com/links.html http://www.timvansas.nl/bookmarks/ http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/

23-05-2006, 01:36	#6 (permalink)
dasplague ckk! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Texas, USA. Posts: 76	i started studying web design independently when i was around 14 years old. id get some books from my school library, and learn basic html codes. then from there i took advantage of the view source option on my internet browser, and just copied peoples codes, disassembled them, and put em back together to see how they worked. 5 years later, its second nature to me. i would love to goto school though.

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