Expert help needed

[Zeke]

Hey guys! I'm fairly new to website design and I would like to dive headfirst into it over the next few months. I want to learn just about everything you would need to be able to be able to handle the design and coding of a site such as, say, collegehumor.com. That's where my problem is..

I know that I need to start by learning basic html, css, and javascript because they are the cornerstone of any interactive site. I just don't know what direction I should take after that. I have been reading up like crazy but there doesn't seem to be any definitive way to approach becoming a web designer if you're self taught and I was wondering what a good progression would be.

ex: Do I learn html, then xhtml, then html5, then css? or html then css and then... etc.

I also don't really know what other languages or programs I should familiarize myself with. I know that programs such as photoshop are useful but I'm not sure what other ones I should really use. I'd be willing to read a ton of articles if you guys would rather link me than explain everything.

I really appreciate any help on this - thanks in advance!

PS - I own a PC not a mac, if that helps.

[ScriptMan]

First off, I am no expert.

Learn HTML and CSS first. Make a few static pages that look like you want them to look. Then learn as much PHP and MySQL as you need to to make the site you want. Security for PHP and MySQL should be the next thing you learn. A hacked site is a terrible thing.

I did not look at the page you referenced. Most sites are built using js and PHP. I don't do js but I do a little PHP. I choose to learn one and not the other. My stuff my take a little more server time but it works. I will leave it to others to say whether I am right or wrong. It works for me.

[Zeke]

Thanks Scriptman! I kind of added that title to draw viewers - any advice is good advice for me. :p

[ZunuZunu]

If you want to make a career in Web Design then no need to learn php etc.

Learn HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, flash, javascript (NOT Java; it's different) etc etc.

The point is that you should learn all that you need to design a website. In technical language- learn all that run client side and DON'T learn that run on server side.

BTW, if you learn PHP etc then that is BIG PLUS but web designer don't need in-depth knowledge; little basic is enough.

PS: Read WANTED WEB DESIGNER ads. You will know what you need to learn

[HTMLBasicTutor]

Originally Posted by ZunuZunu

PS: Read WANTED WEB DESIGNER ads. You will know what you need to learn

I would agree with this. You would then know what are the skills required by your local firms hiring.

Also, here, there are a lot of ads that require you be able to code by hand. i.e. You can't just push buttons in Dreamweaver to create your coding.

Another requirement here locally is to make your sites cross browser compatible.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by ZunuZunu

Read WANTED WEB DESIGNER ads. You will know what you need to learn

That's a really great idea! I've read a couple of the ads too i just never clicked until you said that - thanks!

Originally Posted by HTMLBasicTutor

I would agree with this. You would then know what are the skills required by your local firms hiring.

Also, here, there are a lot of ads that require you be able to code by hand. i.e. You can't just push buttons in Dreamweaver to create your coding.

Another requirement here locally is to make your sites cross browser compatible.

I'm planning to write most of my script at first by hand so that I can gain experience with it, and using a program once my site gets larger. The cross compatibility is actually turning out to be the hardest thing to figure out.. I suppose once I get it it will all come together though. Thanks guys!

Another thing.. I didn't really mention it above but I'm not going to be learning this to get a job in the field. I will be attempting to build and manage a decent size website on my own so I would probably have to know how to do everything... I'll check out what the server side languages entail to see if I would need to know something like that for the site.

[HTMLBasicTutor]

What kind of website are you going to build?

[Zeke]

Nothing too ambitious at first.. Just a website featuring articles and cartoons that me and my friends create. Eventually I'd like to add a way to connect it to social media sites and add video, though.

[dudaah]

I'd say learn html and css then get familiar with some content management systems like joomla and/or wordpress. Those will help keeping organized. Not bad to have some understanding of php as well before trying to get your hands on a CMS though.

Application wise, since you don't know html very well, would be to learn photoshop (or gimp if you want a freeware application) and then probably dreamweaver or some other wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor.

[Bensonbravo]

What kind of sites u gonna create?

[HTMLBasicTutor]

Originally Posted by Bensonbravo

What kind of sites u gonna create?

Asked and answered above.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by dudaah

I'd say learn html and css then get familiar with some content management systems like joomla and/or wordpress. Those will help keeping organized. Not bad to have some understanding of php as well before trying to get your hands on a CMS though.

Application wise, since you don't know html very well, would be to learn photoshop (or gimp if you want a freeware application) and then probably dreamweaver or some other wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) editor.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Joomla seems like it would be a little better for handling a large site with a lot of media (which is what this site would hopefully play out as), right?.. On a side note I actually have a friend who is graduating from graphic design school next spring and he said he'd be able to help me learn some stuff so I think photoshop may be the next step.

About Dreamweaver - does anyone know if this is the type of program that makes you buy every new version that comes out or is upgrading sufficient after you've already registered your project? It's probably worth it either way I'm just curious.

Thanks!

[dudaah]

To me Joomla is better than wordpress on a full blown portal while wordpress is better at blogs. But that's just my oppinion. Drupal is pretty extendable as well but I have found that to have a higher learning curve.

As far as I know, you get all updates from adobe as long as it's in the same version range. I.e. if you buy cs5 now you get all cs5 updates but once cs6 is out and you want to upgrade you can do so for an upgrade fee that is lower then the price of buying the full package. But when it comes to dreamweaver, there are mainly minor changes and new features if you ask me. You should probably be safe skipping one cs version number and wait for cs7 before you upgrade. This is a guess though, I don't know what adobe has up their sleeve.

[Zeke]

Thanks dudaah! That's very helpful.