Combining HTML/XHTML and CSS

Once you've mastered a bit of HTML/XHTML, you'll also want to learn how to apply CSS (cascading style sheets) to your web site. Once you understand the power of CSS you'll never go back to straight HTML ever again. With CSS you can change characteristics of hundreds or even thousands of web pages with just a few key strokes.

Some great places to start on learning about web design languages are:

http://www.w3schools.com - top recommendation
http://www.webmonkey.com - lots of "how to" articles
http://www.htmlgoodies.com - great for beginners

Static vs. Dynamic Web Site Designs

Using only HTML or XHTML your web site would be what is commonly referred to as "static", that is: the pages do not change often or the site is not database driven. Some sites are built using PHP, ASP, Javascript, AJAX and other languages to make them much faster and more dynamic. These types of sites are often linked to databases where information is called up and pages are built dynamically as requested by the web site visitor.

These languages are more complex and can be more difficult to learn so we recommend you try HTML and XHTML to begin. If you want to try your hand at programming, a good language to start with is Javascript. There are a number of web sites that have tutorials on JavaScript - just "google" "javascript" and take your pick.

Once you have mastered HTML/XHTML/CSS you will be ready to start playing with a bit of the software that goes with the web development territory. The following packages represent some of the best quality web design and graphics products available on the market:

Dreamweaver: Although hand coding is always the most preferred method of building a web site, Dreamweaver is one of the best alternatives available for those who need to have a software tool to help. The amount of code Dreamweaver produces can be controlled to some extent by the user learning to make use of the CSS functions, and working in the "code" view to eliminate excessive tables or other code that may not be necessary.

Adobe Illustrator: Industry standard for drawing and illustrations, for both print and the web.

Adobe Photoshop: Industry standard for optimizing and manipulating images for web apps and print.

Other software worth considering once you feel like more of a challenge include: Flash and Director. These two software packages are available from http://www.adobe.com. Adobe also offers on line tutorials and classes on how to use their software products.

More great web tools for web designers:

http://www.pagerank.net (great web site tools)

http://webdesign.about.com (all about web design)

http://www.webweaver.nu/ (design tools)

http://validator.w3.org/ (validate your HTML)

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