Learning HTML...

[cynthia_b]

Hello! I just joined this forum today.

I am a recent graduate from a Technical college for Graphic Design. The thing is, they didn't teach us ANY html. Is there a place were I can learn html on my mac? Or should I go back to school for this subject?

Thank you!

Cynthia

[morea]

welcome cynthia!

check out www.w3schools.com - it's a great resource.

[JPnyc]

That's probably the best resource. You can also try htmlgoodies.com. There's some simple tutorials there. And you can always post questions here. We promise to answer at least some of them seriously. :)

[EC]

It depends on how you like to learn. Personally, this is one subject that I am much faster learning on my own (and I learn something new every day).

I learned HTML back in the day when there was no such thing as a "web design class" (or, EXTREMELY rare and hard to find.) It's definitely possible to pick this up on your own. And a personal observation -- a lot of web design students pick up bad habits in the classroom. There tends to be an emphasis on the TOOL (i.e. Dreamweaver) rather than the code that it's designed to help you write and edit.

Hint: Learn how to read and write code, and editor should only serve to make things faster, not skip that step. Just a personal opinion.

You'll probably want to learn XHTML since most professionals either use it or are in the process of making the transition. (There are just a few rules that are different.)

You'll also want to learn CSS. Go here for more information on that: http://www.w3schools.com/

For learning software (HTML editors) -- www.lynda.com is the best imo.

Find a couple of books -- a beginner's guide to XHTML/CSS and go through them until you've made yourself a simple web page.

Oh, and come back and visit the forum, lots of web gurus here and very helpful. :)

[cynthia_b]

Thank you! That is really helpful. :) Is there a free program I can use to learn html? I mean, there are layout programs that people use for making websites, right?

[cynthia_b]

Oh! Another question! lol...is Dreamweaver a bad program? I heard alot of people talking about it like it's the "god of all web design programs!".

[morea]

You can write HTML write in your notepad program (or whatever it's called on mac) - it's really a better way of coding, according to most of the web designers I know.

[EC]

You can use notepad to create a website. :) That's what I use. But when I started, I used Dreamweaver (I still fire it up now and then.)

I would definitely download a few trials, see how the interface treats you. I am considering purchasing TopSite as it was recommended on the forum this week. Even though I have DreamweaverMX2004, some of the CSS features on TopSite were pretty cool. And at a fraction of the cost of DW. (I think around $70, not bad)

HomeSite is another one that professionals use -- I am not sure what the cost is on that.

[DesignIt]

There are lots of programs for writing code. I don't mind Dreamweaver though because I usually use it in Code format (which is HomeSite).

But overall, the code it writes isn't the cleanest, that's my only gripe against Dreamweaver.

Also, tons of very knowledgable people here!

[EC]

Dreamweaver is ok, and no matter what people will try to tell you, it DOES spit out a lot of crappy code. I'm no longer convinced it's worth the investment.

[EC]

Haha jinx. Glad you said it first DesignIt. I got flamed last time. lol

[cynthia_b]

Thanks again! :D When I get back from work today, I'll take a look at those websites! Yay for quick replies!

[DesignIt]

Haha jinx. Glad you said it first DesignIt. I got flamed last time. lol


TOO funny! :D

[morea]

this is a hopping forum! :p

[JPnyc]

It's not possible to code a program that will write code in every instance as efficiently and cleanly as a human coder. There's just too many variables and situations to be considered. So in short, there is no WYSIWYG program that can equal direct coding.

[cbscreative]

My tool of choice is NoteTab www.fookes.com (http://www.fookes.com/) which is free for the basic model. You can step up to NoteTab Pro for a whopping cost of $20.

[Ryan8720]

HomeSite is another one that professionals use -- I am not sure what the cost is on that.
HomeSite and TopStyle Lite used to come as a package back when Allaire owned them. They are both written by Nick Bradbury. Then Macromedia bought HomeSite, and it used to be packaged and integrated with DreamWeaver.

Apparently Bradbury kept the rights to TopStyle and turned it into a full-fledged editor.

DreamWeaver is decent for code, but the WYSIWYG part screws things up. Also , the program itself is far too bulky. It hogs much more resources and loads slower than an editor.

[DesignIt]

Realize that a lot of these opinions on Dreamweaver are coming from Designers with experience in coding. You will likely get, and have gotten, a completely different opinion from a Print designer doing a website. Dreamweaver is catered more to designers that don't have much "coding" knowledge. (if that made any sense.) =)

I have not crossed over completely so I still use Dreamweaver a lot. =)

[tZ]

You can learn code yourself.

Its very technical... black and white.

Code isn't really open to interpertation.... if it works it work if it doesn't it doesn't.

I have spent alot of time on my breaks learning coding and now at a pretty fluent with CSS and html.

Its just about devoting time and coming up with "practice" projects.

cause you can't just sit there and read... to really understand it you need to apply it over and over untill it becomes natural.

CSS took me around a week or two to grasp.

I kind of worked backwards.... In that I just starting learning about tables and html about a month ago... after learning CSS over the summer.

There are alot of good resources on the interent.

http://www.wpdfd.com/editorial/basics/cssbasics1.html

The above is just one, but it is very good for the beginer.

Personally my opinion about dreamweaver is it sucks.

I hate being limited in my design work by what I know and am "able" to do with software.

Learning code opens up a whole new world for the better.