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Learning web design
1
#1
2 Frags +

I would like to teach myself webite design, but i dont know what or where to learn. I am reasonably proficient with python, and also the basics of java. Do i keep building on one of those or just learn something anew? If anyone has recommendations or websites it would be appreciated

I would like to teach myself webite design, but i dont know what or where to learn. I am reasonably proficient with python, and also the basics of java. Do i keep building on one of those or just learn something anew? If anyone has recommendations or websites it would be appreciated
2
#2
0 Frags +

the head first series is amazing for beginners, get head first with html/xhtml and i think they have a php book too which you'll want

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-HTML-CSS-XHTML/dp/059610197X
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-MySQL-Lynn-Beighley/dp/0596006306

^ this is pretty much all you need to start w/ webdev

the head first series is amazing for beginners, get head first with html/xhtml and i think they have a php book too which you'll want

http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-HTML-CSS-XHTML/dp/059610197X?tag=teamfortresst-20
http://www.amazon.com/Head-First-MySQL-Lynn-Beighley/dp/0596006306?tag=teamfortresst-20

^ this is pretty much all you need to start w/ webdev
3
#3
-1 Frags +

Don't buy a book. You can learn everything you'd need here, and it makes a great reference later on http://w3schools.com/

Don't buy a book. You can learn everything you'd need here, and it makes a great reference later on http://w3schools.com/
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#4
5 Frags +
reillyDon't buy a book. You can learn everything you'd need here, and it makes a great reference later on w3schools

NO! FORGET YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT A "W3SCHOOLS" D: D: D: D:

The Mozilla Developer Network (https://developer.mozilla.org) is a much better resource. Here are some other useful links: http://w3fools.com/#what-should-be-done

[quote=reilly]Don't buy a book. You can learn everything you'd need here, and it makes a great reference later on w3schools[/quote]

[b]NO![/b] FORGET YOU EVER HEARD ABOUT A "W3SCHOOLS" D: D: D: D:

The Mozilla Developer Network (https://developer.mozilla.org) is a much better resource. Here are some other useful links: http://w3fools.com/#what-should-be-done
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#5
0 Frags +
HazSwagI am reasonably proficient with python, and also the basics of java. Do i keep building on one of those or just learn something anew?

No, you generally don't use programming languages for web design. Programming languages such as Python can be used to develop web applications, but the design part is simply markup languages, namely HTML and CSS. The exception here is JavaScript, which you could use to make your web site a bit more interactive and dynamic.

As far as resources go, check out the links vtable and reilly posted; those should keep you covered. Other than that, you can always view the source of other websites to see how things are done.

Cro0Ked_a php book too which you'll want

I disagree.

[quote=HazSwag]I am reasonably proficient with python, and also the basics of java. Do i keep building on one of those or just learn something anew?[/quote]
No, you generally don't use programming languages for web [i]design[/i]. Programming languages such as Python can be used to develop web applications, but the design part is simply markup languages, namely HTML and CSS. The exception here is JavaScript, which you could use to make your web site a bit more interactive and dynamic.

As far as resources go, check out the links vtable and reilly posted; those should keep you covered. Other than that, you can always view the source of other websites to see how things are done.

[quote=Cro0Ked_]a php book too which you'll want[/quote]
I disagree.
6
#6
4 Frags +

www.codecademy.com ?

www.codecademy.com ?
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#7
-1 Frags +
ompCro0Ked_a php book too which you'll wantI disagree.

on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anything

[quote=omp][quote=Cro0Ked_]a php book too which you'll want[/quote]
I disagree.[/quote]on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anything
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#8
1 Frags +

Assuming you're considering website design as building web apps like tf.tv and not just static web pages, there's really two parts: The frontend, which is all the HTML/CSS/JavaScript you see, and the backend, which handles requests from the web browser and reads/writes the database.

For the frontend, start with HTML/CSS and ignore JavaScript for now. What you'll be doing won't really be programming, which may feel weird. I've heard amazing things about http://www.amazon.com/HTML-CSS-Design-Build-Websites/dp/1118008189. Long ago I learned HTML from http://www.amazon.com/HTML-XHTML-CSS-Sixth-Edition/dp/0321430840, and I still swear that the best book to learn CSS from is http://www.amazon.com/CSS3-Missing-David-Sawyer-McFarland/dp/1449325947.

For the backend, you should build on your experience in Python. My go-to web framework for Python is Flask because it's so damn simple: http://flask.pocoo.org. The tutorial alone takes you through building a small micro-blogging site like Twitter: http://flask.pocoo.org/docs/tutorial/introduction.

As for w3schools.com, yeah it's free. But it's more like a reference, and when it comes to accuracy, you're getting what you pay for...

Assuming you're considering website design as building web apps like tf.tv and not just static web pages, there's really two parts: The frontend, which is all the HTML/CSS/JavaScript you see, and the backend, which handles requests from the web browser and reads/writes the database.

For the frontend, start with HTML/CSS and ignore JavaScript for now. What you'll be doing won't really be programming, which may feel weird. I've heard amazing things about http://www.amazon.com/HTML-CSS-Design-Build-Websites/dp/1118008189?tag=teamfortresst-20. Long ago I learned HTML from http://www.amazon.com/HTML-XHTML-CSS-Sixth-Edition/dp/0321430840?tag=teamfortresst-20, and I still swear that the best book to learn CSS from is http://www.amazon.com/CSS3-Missing-David-Sawyer-McFarland/dp/1449325947?tag=teamfortresst-20.

For the backend, you should build on your experience in Python. My go-to web framework for Python is Flask because it's so damn simple: http://flask.pocoo.org. The tutorial alone takes you through building a small micro-blogging site like Twitter: http://flask.pocoo.org/docs/tutorial/introduction.

As for w3schools.com, yeah it's free. But it's more like a reference, and when it comes to accuracy, you're getting what you pay for...
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#9
0 Frags +
zigzterwww.codecademy.com ?

Damn that is an awesome site. I will use to to learn new web languages. Thanks for sharing. :)

[quote=zigzter]www.codecademy.com ?[/quote]
Damn that is an awesome site. I will use to to learn new web languages. Thanks for sharing. :)
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#10
2 Frags +
Cro0Ked_on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anything

It's good to know PHP in the sense that the more languages you know, the better. However, it is an absolutely horrible language and I would not suggest its use to anybody unless there is a particular reason to use it. I would suggest Ruby or Python for web development.

[quote=Cro0Ked_]on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anything[/quote]
It's good to know PHP in the sense that the more languages you know, the better. However, it is an absolutely horrible language and I would not suggest its use to anybody unless there is a particular reason to use it. I would suggest Ruby or Python for web development.
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#11
0 Frags +
ompCro0Ked_on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anythingIt's good to know PHP in the sense that the more languages you know, the better. However, it is an absolutely horrible language and I would not suggest its use to anybody unless there is a particular reason to use it. I would suggest Ruby or Python for web development.

unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best bet

[quote=omp][quote=Cro0Ked_]on what grounds? php is valuable knowledge if you're going to do anything[/quote]
It's good to know PHP in the sense that the more languages you know, the better. However, it is an absolutely horrible language and I would not suggest its use to anybody unless there is a particular reason to use it. I would suggest Ruby or Python for web development.[/quote]unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best bet
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#12
0 Frags +
Cro0Ked_unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best bet

I disagree once again.

[quote=Cro0Ked_]unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best bet[/quote]
I disagree once again.
13
#13
0 Frags +
ompCro0Ked_unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best betI disagree once again.

in the years i've worked as a system administrator i can probably count on two hands and one foot how many sites i've seen written in ruby or python. php, *html, css, and to a lesser extent javascript are still by far the most prevalent and the most easily marketable skills if you're looking for a career in web development.

[quote=omp][quote=Cro0Ked_]unless you're developing web apps you're likely not going to use ruby/python, and php is going to be your best bet[/quote]
I disagree once again.[/quote]in the years i've worked as a system administrator i can probably count on two hands and one foot how many sites i've seen written in ruby or python. php, *html, css, and to a lesser extent javascript are still by far the most prevalent and the most easily marketable skills if you're looking for a career in web development.
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#14
1 Frags +

PHP is ezmode if you know a C language. Ruby takes much more effort to learn, and then you have to learn Rails and stuff. But it's suppose to have a much better code structure and performance.

PHP is the way to go unless you really want to spend weeks-months learning Ruby before you make progress. Python w/ Flask is also an option, but I haven't personally worked with it. Ask TronPaul, he's coding LobbyPy with it.

To omp: even if PHP is an inferior language, it is the standard. Going against the standard isn't always worth it, although Ruby on Rails is probably growing (I've seen a few more internships asking for knowledge of it).

PHP is ezmode if you know a C language. Ruby takes much more effort to learn, and then you have to learn Rails and stuff. But it's suppose to have a much better code structure and performance.

PHP is the way to go unless you really want to spend weeks-months learning Ruby before you make progress. Python w/ Flask is also an option, but I haven't personally worked with it. Ask TronPaul, he's coding LobbyPy with it.

To omp: even if PHP is an inferior language, it is the standard. Going against the standard isn't always worth it, although Ruby on Rails is probably growing (I've seen a few more internships asking for knowledge of it).
15
#15
0 Frags +

https://www.djangoproject.com/ you may enjoy messing with this since you already know python.

https://www.djangoproject.com/ you may enjoy messing with this since you already know python.
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#16
1 Frags +

You should start by just learning html and CSS and then go onto basic javascript IMO. Start thinking about PHP and Ruby afterwards.

You should start by just learning html and CSS and then go onto basic javascript IMO. Start thinking about PHP and Ruby afterwards.
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#17
2 Frags +
Cro0Ked_i can probably count on two hands and one foot how many sites i've seen written in ruby [snip]

you probably haven't gotten around a lot considering how popular Rails is
of course i hate rails more than i hate php so whatever back to figuring out how to make python scripts run right on apache

[quote=Cro0Ked_]i can probably count on two hands and one foot how many sites i've seen written in ruby [snip][/quote]
you probably haven't gotten around a lot considering how popular Rails is
of course i hate rails more than i hate php so whatever back to figuring out how to make python scripts run right on apache
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#18
1 Frags +

htmldogs is a straightforward "guide" that gets a lot of praise

headfirst has been getting praised a lot lately as well. I've heard the php book doesnt even get into oop so you probably want something else. ive been using php and mysql web development. if you find the latest edition pdf of that lmk. it goes fast to the point where it probably wouldnt be worth it if you don't already know a c-style language though.

php is one of the easiest languages to learn and one of the most employable. it's completely illogical to not learn it if you're getting into webdev just because some cooldude blogger told you it is structured bad

htmldogs is a straightforward "guide" that gets a lot of praise

headfirst has been getting praised a lot lately as well. I've heard the php book doesnt even get into oop so you probably want something else. ive been using [i]php and mysql web development[/i]. if you find the latest edition pdf of that lmk. it goes fast to the point where it probably wouldnt be worth it if you don't already know a c-style language though.

php is one of the easiest languages to learn and one of the most employable. it's completely illogical to not learn it if you're getting into webdev just because some cooldude blogger told you it is structured bad
19
#19
0 Frags +

There are a lot of programs out there like dreamweaver that let you basically point and click to build a website without a whole lot of knowledge of HTML (or any other language). It is still a good idea to learn the code tho. Those guides will be helpful. I used to be a web designer (still have a couple old clients), and I never used anything like dreamweaver. I taught myself and hand codes everything in notepad. This obviously isn't the most efficient way lol (I started doing this in like 1997, so yeah...).

If you are really new and want some hands on experience with coding, what I did when I first started should still be pretty helpful. Find a basic looking web page with a couple pictures and links on it. Save all the pics to a folder on ur PC. View the source for the page too and save that file as well. Open up the source file (should be a .html or .php file) with your favorite text editor and look at the code. Find what part of the code puts pictures in, try changing it to show a different pic. Change some links, tweak the background color or image, align things differently and so on. Now like I said this isn't really a good way to do things now but it's still an incredibly easy way to learn some very basic code.

Your best bet is to read the guides linked above, check out dreamweaver, and get familiar with Wordpress.

There are a lot of programs out there like dreamweaver that let you basically point and click to build a website without a whole lot of knowledge of HTML (or any other language). It is still a good idea to learn the code tho. Those guides will be helpful. I used to be a web designer (still have a couple old clients), and I never used anything like dreamweaver. I taught myself and hand codes everything in notepad. This obviously isn't the most efficient way lol (I started doing this in like 1997, so yeah...).

If you are really new and want some hands on experience with coding, what I did when I first started should still be pretty helpful. Find a basic looking web page with a couple pictures and links on it. Save all the pics to a folder on ur PC. View the source for the page too and save that file as well. Open up the source file (should be a .html or .php file) with your favorite text editor and look at the code. Find what part of the code puts pictures in, try changing it to show a different pic. Change some links, tweak the background color or image, align things differently and so on. Now like I said this isn't really a good way to do things now but it's still an incredibly easy way to learn some very basic code.

Your best bet is to read the guides linked above, check out dreamweaver, and get familiar with Wordpress.
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