Some serious advice needed

[ramee001]

Hi and thanks to anyone that replies to this thread.

 

I`m just starting out learning about web designing and development, I am really serious about becoming a designer, at the moment I work full time in the Lan Industry, I`m 33 years old and I`m looking for some advice from people that know about were I start developing my knowledge and what would be a really solid base. From what I can gather it is better to learn the coding raw than use something like dreamweaver as dreamweaver is only a tool to aid the designer ? (Is this correct ?)

 

I have simple HTML experience from 7 years ago which won`t be applicable now but it gives me an idea about what I`m up against.

 

I have started learning HTML 4 I think it is, and am able to grasp the basics so far my question is this, is the best route for my learning as follows ? >

 

HTML

XHTML

CSS

Java Script

 

Thats the coding side. From a design aspect and software I am looking at

 

Dreamweaver

Word Press (For Blogs?)

Photoshop

Fireworks

Flash

 

I really would appreciate someone taking the time and effort to help me and give me a really good idea whether the above is a good proposal for learning

 

With the programming I would work through HTML down ending up with java script

[JonnoTheDev]

If you are a designer then why learn javascript? Developer yes.

You must learn XHTML and CSS (XHTML is just extended HTML so don't bother with the previous as a lot of tags have been depreciated).

 

Raw coding HTML documents. If anyone does this they are liars, especially if they say, 'I use notepad'. You are better with an IDE like Dreamweaver or any of the free editors to make life easier. CSS editors like Topstyle can be useful also however most of the time I will hand crank CSS or use from existing projects. As long as you understand XHML, CSS etc then you can modify anything that an editor may insert itself.

 

As a designer you should have a strong knowledge of at least one image editor (Photoshop / Fireworks).

 

Get your HTML, CSS and image editing upto speed. Create some sample projects and share for critique. Once you are confident then move onto more advanced website features like javascript widgets and Flash.

[jcombs_31]

Don't be confused about tools such as Dreamweaver.  What you want to steer away from is using the WYSIWYG editor.  You can set up Dreamweaver to use a code view so you get your syntax highlighting, autocomplete, etc. 

 

While there is a difference between being a designer and developer, there is no reason you can't do both.  The first question would be where do you want to start.  My suggestion would be with code.  Designing interfaces is a different beast and does require some artistic talent, while coding requires a good sense of logic and math skills. 

 

What are your strengths?  What are your weaknesses?  HTML/XHTML is pretty simple and straightforward.  You'll need to learn CSS and since this is a PHP forum I would suggest learning at least some basics in programming with PHP.

 

Set up a development environment and learn how to install the LAMP/WAMP stack. 

 

What you really need to get started and motivated is a project.  It used to be pretty typical to create something like a guestbook, which really don't exist anymore since blogs became popular, but the same simple concepts apply. You'll want to work with basic CRUD applications to learn how to interact with a database and handle user data.

 

Read through some tutorials and practice, practice, practice.  A good place to catch some video tutorials on LOTS of topics is lynda.com.

[Axeia]

As already mentioned, using an advanced editor isn't a bad thing. It just tends to get the "noob" label from people who take pride in being able to write code in notepad. Or they consider it as too big a beast as a simpler editor doing syntax highlighing and supporting some code snippet features does the trick.

 

If you're starting out fresh I would suggest an editor that isn't too feature heavy, haven't used dreamweaver in ages but imagine it's UI is full of stuff that distracts, and indeed don't use the table wizards etc.. get familiar with what you write. Know there is a difference between a <td> and a <th>.

w3schools is in my opinion by far the best place you can start out on if you already have some knowledge of HTML and the likes.

It covers HTML, CSS, XHTML, PHP, and SQL. I suggest following all those tutorials in that order.. and if the HTML one bores you with information you already knew just skimp trough it and move on to the next one.

 

I used topstyle (lite version is free) when I was starting out as its lightweight, has a nice 'life preview' and excellent CSS support. Nowadays I use aptana studio which as an eclipse plugins means both that it's an unwieldly beast (taking up about 500MB RAM, slow loading) and also that there is a wealth of plugins. I really really really would strongly advise against using it to start out with however, learning the UI along with learning (x)html/css etc is a bit too much at once.

[xtopolis]

My two cents:

 

First off, read THIS STICKY for information regarding XHTML vs HTML, I don't think Neil above did justice with his explanation.

 

Secondly, follow jcombs advice.  Find out what you're good at and start/focus on that.  It will be good to know at least a little bit of all sides of the experience, but you would be best to focus on what you can do well.

 

In the web world, it's kinda 2 sides with a heavy blur down the middle.  You have designers and developers, with each of them being able to dabble at least a little bit in the other.

 

These are my opinions of the side, but by no means definitive.

 

Designers:

-Use graphic design programs to create stunning sites and code them into HTML/CSS versions

-Have knowledge of color schemes, readability, usability, etc

-More concerned about the "what" not the "how"

-Might do some coding to enhance the user interface experience

 

Uses: Photoshop/Illustrator, Dreamweaver(or equivalent).  Knows HTML and CSS coding really well in order to make cross browser compatible sites.  I emphasize knowing CSS really well.  Perhaps does some coding in Javascript in order to do advanced rollovers or form hints (though many of these can be achieved with CSS)

 

 

Developers:

-We love data, who cares how pretty it is?

-Designs authentication systems, CMS, algorithms, basically making things work behind the scenes

-Knows how to work with databases and hopefully proper database design

-A good understanding of math and logic is usually needed, you sometimes will design complex loops and decision trees.

-We learn to read the manual and that's all we need most of the time

 

Uses: Zend Studio (or equivalent IDE), Notepad for the hardcore or those who aren't comfortable with IDEs, also things like Visio (to describe and model classes/sites/databases etc).  We have a relatively good understanding about the way computer communicate (protocols, headers, etc etc) as well as a concern for security.

 

 

As you might notice, I consider myself more of a developer than a designer.  I like them both equally, but I tend to develop more than design since I have minimal artistic talent.

 

 

Once you have an idea as to what you prefer, we can offer more resources to get you started.  But remember of course that development and design tend to go hand in hand a lot here.

[meomike2000]

i do all my design and development (html, sql, css, php, some js) with bluefish (a text style editor), but i use a linux os....

 

that is just how i learned, if you learn with a graphical style editor that will be what you will prefer.......

 

mike.....