Want to learn web design

[janet327]

I want to learn how to do web design. I have came to these forums alot since the beginning of the year. I have researched the web and checked out books from the liabrary trying to learn web design. There is so much codes and other stuff that I did not know where to begin and I got over whelmed. My questions are these:
1. Which codes should I learn first? Should I just start with one and just good with that? I wouldnt have to learn everything all at once would I?
2. Can anyone recommend a good book to buy that would help me learn?
3. What programs am I going to have to have to get started? Am I going to have to have dreamweaver right away or can I just learn css. Or is there a cheaper program than dreamweaver just to get me started?
4. Will I have to have photo shop cs4 right away or could I use something cheaper till I get going. I have heard alot about Gimp...it is a free program but would it be good enough for now...just to get me going until I can do better?

[MikeF0421]

I am assuming from a message you posted in another area here that you are looking to do this for a career.

You have to learn HTML and CSS. I would start there. I'd probably look at PHP and Javascript next. You can pretty much create sites with just HTML and CSS though. There are a ton of books out there. I think this is a pretty good one for beginners. I liked it anyhow.

http://www.borders.com/online/store/...sku=0470274360

I'd stay away from the 600-1000 page behemoths that are out there as you are starting out. They can feel pretty overwhelming.

If you are just starting out, I would recommend skipping Dreamweaver. Two reasons. First, it's pretty expensive. Second, I think a beginner can become too dependent on the WYSIWYG editor in Dreamweaver and not really learn the coding. There are other free or cheaper options out there. NVU, CoffeeCup, or just the basic Notepad. I mostly use Notepad myself.

As for Photoshop... That's a judgement call. If you think it's something you can pick up quickly and really like doing graphic design, go for it. Again though, it's kind of an expensive program. You might want to wait until you start making some money before spending any on a program like this. GIMP is another pretty good option, and the best thing about it is it is free.

Personally, I outsource most of my graphic design needs. I pass the cost on to the client, so it costs me nothing. Just this week I had someone design a great header for me for a site for $40.

Hope this helps.

[janet327]

Originally Posted by MikeF0421

I am assuming from a message you posted in another area here that you are looking to do this for a career.

You have to learn HTML and CSS. I would start there. I'd probably look at PHP and Javascript next. You can pretty much create sites with just HTML and CSS though. There are a ton of books out there. I think this is a pretty good one for beginners. I liked it anyhow.

HTML, XHTML, and CSS: Your Visual Blueprint for Designing Effective Web Pages - Rob Huddleston - Paperback (ISBN 9780470274361) - Buy Books, Music and Movies at Borders

I'd stay away from the 600-1000 page behemoths that are out there as you are starting out. They can feel pretty overwhelming.

If you are just starting out, I would recommend skipping Dreamweaver. Two reasons. First, it's pretty expensive. Second, I think a beginner can become too dependent on the WYSIWYG editor in Dreamweaver and not really learn the coding. There are other free or cheaper options out there. NVU, CoffeeCup, or just the basic Notepad. I mostly use Notepad myself.

As for Photoshop... That's a judgement call. If you think it's something you can pick up quickly and really like doing graphic design, go for it. Again though, it's kind of an expensive program. You might want to wait until you start making some money before spending any on a program like this. GIMP is another pretty good option, and the best thing about it is it is free.

Personally, I outsource most of my graphic design needs. I pass the cost on to the client, so it costs me nothing. Just this week I had someone design a great header for me for a site for $40.

Hope this helps.

Thank you Mike! So are you saying I could just hire someone to do my headers and all i would have to do is put together the website? What about using templates? Do some designers use templates when building websites? I am also going to buy the book you recommended because I agree some of the books out there are a bit overwhelming! Thanks again for your help!

[MikeF0421]

I would stay away from templates in most cases. A lot of the "free" templates you find out there or even some you might pay for are embedded with malicious code and links to all sorts of places. Many even have links buried in the code to porn sites and the like. So if you are designing a website for a client, they could get a little upset if you give them something linking to a porn site if they were to ever find out.

What you could do is design a numerous amount of your own templates as a starting point for when you are putting together a website for someone. That can save you time rather than starting from the ground up every time.

You can hire someone to do just about anything you want. Headers, graphics, coding, search engine optimization. My company does a mix of doing stuff in house and outsourcing. It's a time versus profit thing.

For example, something like designing a good header with graphics included could take a few hours. It could also take a 30 minutes if it is something relatively simple. For something more complex, I'd rather pay someone else $40 to do it, than spend 2 hours of our time for something that really just isn't that important. I can spend that 2 hours writing 3-4 articles and a press release for the site instead.

[kristy85]

Hello janet...

Its better to start of with HTML and CSS...
It is a compulsion to learn photo shop and dream weaver because they are on the roll always..

Hope we will see your website sooooon..

kristy

[mybrokengnome]

I'm not sure I agree with Mike's advice on learning HTML/CSS and then moving on to PHP or JavaScript. The first part yes, if you want to be a web DESIGNER learn HTML/CSS. If you want to be a web DEVELOPER learn PHP/JavaScript. Decide which one you're interested in more, and focus on that one. In this industry it's better to be really good at one thing, than marginally good at at two things. Look up some web companies, they aren't hiring "Photoshop experts who can program PHP backends", no they are looking for 2 people, a photoshop expert and a php programmer. Like they said, you can outsource what you can't do.

[MikeF0421]

I in no way suggested becoming an expert in both HTML/CSS and PHP/Javascript.

However, I think it is a good idea to at least be familiar with both.

[mybrokengnome]

I still think she'd be wasting her time changing from one thing to another, time that could be spent learning Photoshop better. It might be helpful and nice to know about PHP, but a designer doesn't really need to know that PHP is a loosely typed language, and a developer doesn't need to know that Ctrl+Shft+E on Windows flattens all your layers together in Photoshop. Like the old saying goes, "leave it to the professionals".

With that said, I'm gearing this information towards the OP because she's new at it all. At some point in your career you will probably want (maybe need) to learn about the other side of it, but I don't think that point should come till you're at least 3-5 years into being a designer or a developer, where you're very comfortable with your knowledge i.e. you could go to a company and get a position as a middle-senior level designer/developer. But of course, the people that focus on one thing and don't switch back and forth end up being experts in their field, the ones everyone else looks to for advice and insights.

[janet327]

I am more interested in being a web designer. I checked out the book on html and css as Mike sugested but I read some bad reviews on Amazon. The reviews said that some of the codes were wrong. Do you know is this is true? Also, are there anymore that I could check out?

[mybrokengnome]

Honestly, I've never found HTML books that helpful. You can find the same information, and more, online. Visit w3c.org, htmlgoodies.com is the site that taught me HTML many many years ago (12 or 13 years ago, I feel old now ), but really the best thing to do is just visit sites that look cool, view their source, figure out how they did it, and then recreate it as best you can. This is actually the only HTML/CSS book I've ever bought CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions - Andy Budd - Paperback (ISBN 9781590596142) - Buy Books, Music and Movies at Borders, and while helpful as a quick reference, a quick google search is just as adequate. There is something nice about being able to lay in bed and read a book instead of sitting and browsing a lit up screen with little black text on it though.