Web Development: Beginner

Most people want to know the most important aspects of Web designing, as well as how to get started in the world of design and development. As I add to more blog posts, we'll be discussing graphic design, CSS, XHTML, Web standards compliance, Semantics, and accessibility. This will all be part of a series of blog entries designed to be read in steps, and to help guide you from beginner to advanced.

I'll get started by describing the very basic aspects of what to learn as you begin building your first website. The first thing you need is an HTML editor. While this isn't completely necessary (you could create an HTML page in Notepad or any other plain text editor of your choice), it will make your life a whole lot easier (I wish they were around when I first got started back in 1993). If you're not sure whether or not you are going to take Web development seriously, or rather as your career, I'd recommend starting out with a free HTML editor. A good free HTML editor to consider would be Coffee Cup HTML Editor 2008. I personally use Adobe Dreamweaver, but for those not serious about making Web development their career or at least a serious hobby, you probably wouldn't want or need to spend the money.

Now that we have our HTML editor, it's important to note the features it has. This one has the HTML editor itself, a built-in FTP client (you won't need to worry too much about FTP until later on), and a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. While WYSIWYG allows for drag and drop of images, text, etc., it's very important to realize that the end result of using them is usually undesirable. My recommendation: don't use WYSIWYG.

We're now aware of the features, but you might be unsure as to what everything does. For now, we'll put a focus on just how to create something with it, so we need to learn the basics of HTML. While I can't possibly go in-depth enough here in this post to teach you about HTML, I can link you to some great free resources on how to get started learning. One good resource to check out would be HTMLGoodies.com. The tutorials there will teach you everything you need to know about the basics of HTML, and get you started creating your first couple projects. Good luck!

You're now primed and ready! You should at least know some basic HTML if you followed the tutorials correctly, and you've probably even created a basic page or two! Good job! Now, how can we apply what we've learned and start taking it to the next level? I will be making more blog posts to guide you from beginner, to intermediate and advanced - stay tuned to my blog!