Getting into web design and related stuff

The Gentleman · #1 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 11:49 AM

Hope this is the right place to post this. I'm interested in getting into web design as well as online marketing, hopefully as a means of generating income. I'm going to be heading to med school in a couple of years and would like to have some kind of income coming in while I'm busy with my studies since it's impossible to work a regular job in med school.

I'm asking because I don't have any friends who are into this who can give me some guidance, and I've tried learning from books before but it doesn't work for me. I think the best thing for me would be to just learn through experience.

My question to you guys is are any of you familiar with this and can offer me some advice as to where is a good place to start? what programs and stuff should I learn to use? Especially if my main objective is to hopefully make some money, but have some fun as well. I have a lot of great ideas so creativity is not an issue, but I just don't know how to implement it...like my experience trying to learn photoshop. i eventually gave up because I didn't have time, but I have some free time on my hands now, so I'd like to try this.

Please don't tell me to just "google" it; there's so much info out there that it's overwhelming. I'm just looking for some pointers from people with experience.

EDIT: I hope this doesn't count as soliciting or whatever; if anybody wants to point me to a different website where I can get some help that would be great too.

Vero · #2 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 12:35 PM

My first dabbling in HTML was with a simple children-style book on it that I got from my school's library. I checked out various books on the subject from the library and they helped a great deal. By far the book that has helped me the most is Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML [Amazon]. It lays out how HTML and CSS works in a very visual way that no other book did.

Once I felt that I was proficient in HTML and CSS (a few months with working in just that), I started working in PHP. I bought Beginning PHP 5 and MySQL: From Novice to Professional [Amazon], which is a great reference and a great way to read how to correctly format and use PHP code.

While I don't feel there is any alternative to the Head First HTML book for truly understanding HTML and CSS, I think that the tutorial at Tizag is a viable alternative to buying the large PHP book. I learned from Tizag before I bought the PHP book, and it explains what's going on very well in layman's terms. After you've got HTML and CSS firmly under your belt, I would recommend trying the PHP, MySQL, and Javascript tutorials there.

Of course, there's always W3Schools, but I never found their lessons very helpful. I guess it's a matter of taste.

Anyway, Good luck, and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

The Gentleman · #3 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 02:43 PM

Hey thanks for the advice Vero. I actually just started with the W3 tutorial. I've actually found it pretty clear and copacetic so far. When you say "matter of taste", are you referring to the delivery, or the actual information? If I can learn everything from the W3 tutorial, I don't mind sticking with it. I'll definitely check out Head First though. I was a little shocked that it's 600 plus pages...hope it's not too dense.

So I guess I'll work with the progression you suggested; master HTML and CSS first then move on to PHP, MySQL and Javascript.

Veyrael · #4 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 03:36 PM

If you decide that W3Schools doesn't work for you, there is also HTML Goodies and Lissa Explains It All. I know I definitely refer back to HTML Goodies whenever my fuzzy on some of my HTML or I'm trying to figure out how to achieve a certain effect in CSS.

Vero · #5 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gentleman

Hey thanks for the advice Vero. I actually just started with the W3 tutorial. I've actually found it pretty clear and copacetic so far. When you say "matter of taste", are you referring to the delivery, or the actual information? If I can learn everything from the W3 tutorial, I don't mind sticking with it. I'll definitely check out Head First though. I was a little shocked that it's 600 plus pages...hope it's not too dense.

So I guess I'll work with the progression you suggested; master HTML and CSS first then move on to PHP, MySQL and Javascript.

Yeah, you get the same info from any of the major sites. You just need to find the one that's the most understandable for you. If W3Schools works for you, then stick with that.

The Gentleman · #6 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 06:50 PM

Sounds good. Another question: I'm thinking of buying a new laptop and am seriously considering one of the new macbook pros. Is either windows or mac a better platform for web design, or does it not matter? (I'm talking about once I move on to more advanced things like Java or something.)

Vero · #7 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 07:32 PM

There are good editors for both platforms. I don't own a Mac, so I can't really have a favorite on there, but on Windows I use Notepad++. It's great and simple and low on resources. I've actually had some color problems in Firefox on Windows, which has caused me some headaches with web design when the colors need to be exact.

Ultimately it's your choice as to which you choose. Both operating systems are, in my opinion, equally equipped for great Web Design. So look to other aspects for your decision

Veyrael · #8 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 08:41 PM

OS doesn't matter when it comes to web design, though from my understanding, Macs are better for graphic design. As far as editors go, Notepad++, as Vero mentioned, is a really good one for Windows. Not only does it have tab for all of your different documents, but it's also good for parsing things up in other languages, such as PHP. If all else fails, though, regular Notepad is also decent for just learning HTML.

While there's plenty of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors out there, if you want the job done right, it's best to code the page yourself. :3

Aeliand · #9 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 08:56 PM

I use TextEdit on my Mac and when I'm at school I'll use Notepad++. Like the other people said, the OS doesn't matter too much when you're doing web design. You'll find Java editors and other advanced tools on both platforms.

shaun79 · #10 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 10:56 PM

download notepad++. it's easy to use and free. learn a little html and css. it won't take long because it's incredibly simple. next either find a comprehensive javascript online tutorial or book. spend most of your time learning this. once you're pretty good at that move onto php. php will be pretty easy to wrap your head around once you've already learned some javascipt and understand client vs server scripting. obviously you could learn php first but i would at least get some javascripts under my belt first. keep in mind if you want to learn php you likely have to download something like xampp or easyphp in order to emulate the code running on a server.

The Gentleman · #11 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-22-2009, 11:39 PM

Thanks for all the help guys! Yeah, I spent a few hours today with the W3 tutorial, and I think I already have the hang of it...I just need to spend some time practicing and memorizing the tags. Looking forward to it!

LeafGreen, thanks...I was wondering what WYSIWYG stood for; been seeing it all over the place with these tutorial sites.

Veyrael · #12 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-23-2009, 02:15 AM

Those types of editors attempt to approximate how the page you're creating will look in your browser while you're editing the page. With Web Design, that's intrisically bad; how something looks in one browser will look different in other browsers. That, and it's bad for learning how to actually code in HTML.

That's something else to keep in mind; once you've gotten the hang of HTML, get a hold of several different browsers. This thread will give you several to choose from.

Happy web editing! :3

TheBuzzSaw · #13 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-23-2009, 12:56 PM

I second the motion to use Notepad++.

My recommendation is to place particular emphasis on CSS. I think I have maybe one HTML book, but I have four books on CSS. I have seen too many web sites inject pointless HTML into places that could have been solved using slightly more advanced CSS. There is a small learning curve at the start, but it will save you so much work in the long run.

Tell me which HTML you would rather look at: this or this??? CSS works wonders.

CSS also empowers you in other areas. By being proficient in strong CSS, you cut down the amount of work necessary in Javascript and PHP. It cracks me up seeing people use PHP to output stuff like this:

Code:

<p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">stuff stuff stuff</font></p>

PHP is hard enough dealing with all the variables, database accesses, etc. It should output bare minimum:

Code:

<p class="news-update">stuff stuff stuff</p>

The Gentleman · #14 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-23-2009, 02:16 PM

Yeah, I downloaded Notepad++. I'm going to spend a few more days playing around with html, then do the css tutorial.

Danger · #15 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-25-2009, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gentleman

Sounds good. Another question: I'm thinking of buying a new laptop and am seriously considering one of the new macbook pros. Is either windows or mac a better platform for web design, or does it not matter? (I'm talking about once I move on to more advanced things like Java or something.)

Do not get a Mac for web design unless you can get a 30-40% discount.
They are extremely overpriced for that job - get a laptop with the same specs for half the price instead.

Program wise, I'd recommend Notepad++, Photoshop (great for making layouts which can then be sliced), and optionally Dreamweaver.

Language wise HTML and CSS is the bare minimum for design, generally. You might want Flash there, for dynamic content later.

Jason · #16 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-25-2009, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veyrael

OS doesn't matter when it comes to web design

This is by far the most incorrect statement in the entire thread - what *doesn't* matter across OS's is graphic design (at least as far as Photoshop and Adobe tools are concerned). Photoshop is going to be the same no matter what platform you're working on, but Windows has virtually NO web developer software suites aside from DreamWeaver that really offer a streamlined development experience. Mac OS, however, has a very healthy community of software developers making absolutely in-♥♥♥♥ing-credible tools for web development that you will NEVER find on Windows.

I could not do *half* of the web development I do without my Mac. So if you have the cash, and are *experienced* with web design (i.e. know exactly what you're doing), you'll find yourself far more satisfied with the tools available to Mac users than to Windows users. While Windows has Dreamweaver, Mac users have various choices of all-in-one web development software suites.

To code ZU, I use Espresso: http://macrabbit.com/espresso/

Espresso is a BEAUTIFUL program that does code highlighting, validation, has built-in doctype tags, built-in FTP, and can even auto-upload your files as you save them. But the big deal about Espresso is its ability to show you a LIVE preview of the site you're working on as you code. So, as you change your code, you can watch the site change.

Yeah, it's really ♥♥♥♥ing cool.

Coda is the other "big" name in web development on Mac OS. Although I've never used it, many people swear by it. Other excellent tools for Mac include CSSEdit (I use this for heavy CSS editing, it's made by the same people who make Espresso and also does the live preview stuff) and TextMate.

There is nothing on Windows, aside from DreamWeaver, that can compare to the development tools on Mac. I spent years doing basic web development on Windows with NotePad++ and I can easily say that working with NotePad++, saving files, and uploading them with a separate FTP program was the biggest pile of suck I ever experienced in web development.

Oh, and ignore fratey. He's a moron, no matter how large his text is. The price you pay for a Mac is for the glorious software available to you, software such as Espresso, Coda, CSSEdit and TextMate. If you were considering a Mac at all, do go for it - you won't regret it when it comes to web development.

Danger · #17 (**permalink**) [ ] 08-25-2009, 05:53 PM

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