Web site design

Shazza1976

Has anyone got any good tips on web design for DUMMIES?

PaulK_3

Start simple, google well, build up more content as you learn more. What tools are you looking to use? I used dreamweaver designing a site for my student stepdaughter to showcase her final collection here and it is very easy to use, doesn't create too much cr*p code and you can use a split view and actually learn the HTML that it uses. Before I coded jessie-lou I had only put 2 other sites together and they were very basic, each time I fired up dreamweaver I learnt a bit more and google search phrases containing terms like
html hyperlink image
can yield good results. Always use the letters html in the search string though as it will give you a more specific result.

villeroy1502

Hi,

I used MS office live.
Igot free domain name & 25email addresses.
It was really easy to do.
My website: www.reliefchef.org

The MS website: Ms office live


Enjoy

save-a-lot

Hi

If you need a leg up on the design front you can get an open source css (cascading style sheets) template for free from Open Source Web Design https://www.oswd.org

Then just fill the template with your content. Because these templates use css they are very "lightweight" and search engine friendly. If you want to create something from scratch at least you could look at how the templates are put together and learn that way.

Also, this html editor is meant to be good
http://www.nvu.com/index.php
I have not used it, but I hear good things about it and it is Free. Dreamweaver is expensive, but it is good. Do not use Microsoft Frontpage - the HTML it produces is not good

esuhl

http://www.w3schools.com is brilliant for HTML and CSS tutorials and references. I'd definitely have a look there as a starting point.

daltocli

My advise would be don't use something backdated like HTML 4.01... XHTML 1.0 Strict, XHTML 1.0 Transitional and XHTML 1.1 are the current 'modern' ones to use. If you use HTML 4.01 you'll have to update quite a bit at some point! Plus the others have more to them

Also remember things like: Where possible, DON'T use flash or animations. Nothing looks cheaper and 'newbish' then a page full of it. Static images look more 'professional', more eye catching, etc. Little images as possible too - it's about the content, more images == higher load time, less content.

Either use fixed widths within browser limits, 700px or 750px at a push is more than adequate, usually and allows people with 800x600 resolutions to read everything still. Or used variable width (i.e. 100%, 80%, etc).

Simplicity can be most pleasing - my designs usually look quite 'geeky' because I keep them very simple, yet kinda stylish at the same time, doesn't take much to make a great looking site using purely XHTML and CSS.

Oh yes... Use CSS for controlling styles, colours, etc. It makes updating everything easier as theirs only one file to edit, otherwise you would have to manually edit every page... It can be a pain in the rear.

Avoid JavaScript - some people disable it, which will lessen the functionality of the site. Plus JavaScript can be a complete nuisance.

Most importantly: Don't rush. Take your time, try many designs, maybe incorporate some until you hit something that says 'I like that. That's impressive.'

Thats my advice, which can be applied from learner, right up to wizardly levels. Sorry if I baffled you somewhat!