a bit of advice for a noOb?

smemon

i plan on getting into web design over the next year, get a few sites together and make a few bob.

ive got my hands on dreamweaver, frontpage, flash, fireworks, photoshop etc... so software ain't a problem

i've a basic understanding of html, very basic for example i could throw a site together using frontpage or dreamweaver but im not happy with that, i want to do it the right way.

ive heard of CSS, know the theory behind it & from browsing through the web, i've heard i must learn it as it saves time.

apart from common sense, which i believe i have (looking at the 'attempts' made at some sites), is there anything else i should know about? anything else you pro's use?

i usually teach myself things just by trial and error, so ive got that lot of software above and have just begun to play around with it. (ive always had frontpage up to now). basically looking for any tips/ tricks of the trade

Bananna man

First thing i recommend is to get all the common internet browsers used today i.e. internet explorer 5 / 5.5 / 6, mozilla firefox, netscape and opera. You will probably find out the hard way that your page will not display correctly in all browsers after your first few attempts (especially if you decide to us css for your page layout).

I dont really see the benefit in wrighting the html yourself as the html editors do a good job of it. I know some people on here would probably say otherwise but i think you should just stick to the html editors at the beginning anyway just while your getting to grips with it all.

smemon

yip, got me all of the main browsers - well IE, firefox & opera.

i'll be focusing on firefox though - anyone who doesnt use it deserves to get a poor website

one thing ive noticed in IE over FF is that it uses DHTML or page transition? you know the way you can dissolve pages into each other when you clink on links. I assume that can be done somehow in FF also?

Gordon

Please don't use that dissolve thing on websites! The least amount of that on the internet - the better.

Delta_Golf

One of the traps new designers fall into is the urge to use lots and lots of bells and whistles on their sites.

For experienced browsers and web designers this is nausiating to say the least. Keep it simple and clear and professional!

• Learn HTML thoroughly
• Learn CSS thourougly
• Learn to code in PHP and/or ASP.NET
• Then progress to databases like Mysql etc

Rollo Tamasi

Gordon wrote:

Please don't use that dissolve thing on websites! The least amount of that on the internet - the better.

marquee text, blinking text, changing the mouse cursor to a bulls eye....it's all cool :cool:

pburns

Good advice from Delta_Golf, I'd second that.

Use Dreamweaver by all means but learn to code a basic page/form/table etc as well. Then when the WYSIWYG editor is not doing what you want, you can look 'under the hood' & have a better idea what's going on.

However don't just think in terms of learning the technical aspects. Think about usability & web standards. This book has been around a while but it's been pretty influental:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0735712018/qid=1150728537/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_2/202-8046946-0528629

Use the W3C html validator when you're putting pages together:
http://validator.w3.org/
You'll learn a lot from this. I'm not saying i've always followed best practice myself... But you're a newbie starting out & if you develop the right habits now you'll most likely stick to 'em.

miju

and remember to re-size images in photoshop / fireworks rather than doing it client side and while your doing that try optimizing them for the web as best as possible

smemon

Delta_Golf wrote:

One of the traps new designers fall into is the urge to use lots and lots of bells and whistles on their sites.

yes i agree with plain and simple, but it's also nice to show off and be able to do those things when required.

faster site = happy people. Nice colours = happy people. I'd probably be going for a plain, no-nonsense look with only 1 or 2 touches of flash to jazz it up a bit and add a more professional touch.

does coding actually matter so long as the site looks good on a browser? what's the big attraction of W3C?

matu

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

marquee text, blinking text, changing the mouse cursor to a bulls eye....it's all cool :cool:

yeah this is the style that most noobs go for, but I think it is more of the one off home user that goes for this.
If you are willing to learn you should google " good web design" and get some hints on what makes a webpage these days and what the average user expects to get when they see your page. i.e the pros and the cons.
Even take a look at sites out there that are well established and have a lot of traffic, there is a good reason for all of this it's not all promotion but the look and style of there sites and how it works that make it a success.

projectmayhem

learn XHTML, 'tis the future and all.

also, get rid of frontpage

smemon

projectmayhem wrote:

also, get rid of frontpage

perhaps the best advice so far 'tis a bit IE friendly anyway, dreamweaver looks a whole lot better.

so simple is the key. now i got it. no ronaldinho dummy's or ronaldo stepovers just simple gary neville passes

cheers lads

Rollo Tamasi

miju wrote:

and remember to re-size images in photoshop / fireworks rather than doing it client side and while your doing that try optimizing them for the web as best as possible

that's probably one of the worst things that a newbie could do actually. There is nothing worse than seeing an image sqashed and pixelated on the client side.

Try to use a css menu system too rather than an 100% image based one. The less unnecessary images on your site...the quicker your page will render in the browser.

A lot of people new to webdesign feel the sudden urge to add flash to their site....don't do it just because you downloaded a 'cool' animation, only use it if you have it....which is fairly rarely tbh.

Try to avoid Javascript too if you don't need it, it's going out the window slowly.

matu

Css menus area must and I agree with you on the Flash aspect I hate to see content sites full of Flash there is a time and a place for this, mostly for adverts and the likes.

pburns

smemon wrote:

does coding actually matter so long as the site looks good on a browser? what's the big attraction of W3C?

Proper coding will help ensure that it DOES look good in 'a browser' & not just Firefox! The browser manufacturers reference W3C nowadays, that's why designers do likewise. Every industry has to have guidelines or standards, otherwise it's chaos. There's no need to go overboard but you should be at least cognisant of the background of all this.

smemon wrote:

ll be focusing on firefox though - anyone who doesnt use it deserves to get a poor website

(X)HTML (and that means without Dreamweaver etc.) is pretty easy, it's no hardship to learn it thoroughly. It's the basic foundation of everything you'll eventually do in CSS, PHP etc.