View Full Version : beginning web design
nicodemus
16 May 2003, 08:10 PM
Any pointers for beginning web design? I want to learn HTML and haven't a clue of where to begin.
thanks in advance.
Foosinho
16 May 2003, 10:17 PM
I would suggest starting with the raw basics. Get notepad, a HTML tutorial, a few sample pages (grab 'em off the net), and start there.
Once you have a basic understanding of document structure, you can move on to more complex structures like tables and the like, and using better editors. But I suggest _not_ skipping straight to a fancy editor. Your pages will likely be better (and load faster) if you understand a bit of the underlying HTML code.
Iason
17 May 2003, 04:10 PM
What foosinho said, and also, have lots of patience.
Foosinho
17 May 2003, 10:00 PM
It'll take some time, for sure. And for the love of all that is holy, don't use "blink". Ever. EVER.
nicodemus
17 May 2003, 11:15 PM
Originally posted by Foosinho
It'll take some time, for sure. And for the love of all that is holy, don't use "blink". Ever. EVER. While I've never actually done the coding, I have worked on a webpage before. I worked with some designers on what we conceptually wanted on a page. I'm not a fan of all those cheesy effects. I have a minor in art and know about design, I just need to learn how to work the nuts & bolts of the stuff.
Premium Hamatachi redded
18 May 2003, 03:24 AM
1. run the notepad
2. type this
<HTML>
<TITLE>My first web page!!</TITLE>
<BODY>
Welcome to my web page!!!
</BODY>
</HTML>
3. save this with htm or html extension
4. upload it with smartFTP or win32 or whatever to your host server (your isp should provide some space for you)
now you are a web master.
Foosinho
18 May 2003, 10:21 AM
Technically, you should probably have paragraph tags around the body text. But that's a good way to start, and just add stuff inside the body tags to try out all the different features as you learn them.
zpjohnstone
19 May 2003, 10:59 AM
yeah, the whole "click on view from your drop down menu and then select source" is the most valuable tool, but then again, I've never done .html for a living.
fidlerre
19 May 2003, 11:32 AM
yea, basically what everyone else has said...
i learned html through a class in college, i took it just for the hell of it and it has become very, very helpful. i use all sorts of those "fancy" programs now but you need to have that basic html understanding to really know what the heck is going on. oh yea, and like zp said...you can always "view source" and get ideas from pages you like...i have found that to be helpful on occasion.
cosmosRIP
19 May 2003, 11:35 AM
webmonkey (http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/index.html) has some good tutorials.
zpjohnstone
19 May 2003, 12:36 PM
Originally posted by Foosinho
It'll take some time, for sure. And for the love of all that is holy, don't use "blink". Ever. EVER.
Oh, and before I forget- FRAMES ARE EVIL.
Premium Hamatachi redded
19 May 2003, 03:49 PM
why doesn't everyone like frames?
fidlerre
19 May 2003, 08:37 PM
Originally posted by Premium Hamatachi
why doesn't everyone like frames?
frames are okay if you use them correctly...
in web design you have your frame-snobs though no matter what, kinda like the opposite of a euro-snob in soccer
Premium Hamatachi redded
20 May 2003, 04:47 AM
Originally posted by fidlerre
in web design you have your frame-snobs though no matter what, kinda like the opposite of a euro-snob in soccer
ic. for me stylesheet is the most useless feature in web design.
cosmosRIP
20 May 2003, 10:18 AM
Originally posted by Premium Hamatachi
ic. for me stylesheet is the most useless feature in web design.
nicodemus - don't listen to this, after you've got the hang of html, learn all you can about stylesheets.
zpjohnstone
20 May 2003, 10:49 AM
Originally posted by Premium Hamatachi
why doesn't everyone like frames?
This document (http://www.html-faq.com/htmlframes/?framesareevil) pretty much sums it up.
kerpow
20 May 2003, 04:53 PM
There are some good replies here but it depends what you want to do. If you just want to put together a nice site of your own read a few tuts, play with notepad and once your familair with the basics move onto Frontpage. After about a month you will be completely familiar with Links, Tables, page layout and the structure of a site. You can then move onto more complex stuff like Forms, Stylesheets and Javascript.
If you want to start web design as part of a career move you'd be better off buying a book and following the labs for a more in depth understanding.
Frames were good in 1996 :)
highgarden
28 May 2003, 05:09 PM
This site might help you out. http://www.w3schools.com/
nicodemus
28 May 2003, 05:14 PM
Originally posted by highgarden
This site might help you out. http://www.w3schools.com/ many thanks.