How difficult is it to learn how to design a professional quality website?

Question

BQ: Which is better: Flash or HTML?

I want a professional, jazzy website and i'm just not satisfied with the quality of templates/designs that are available through the domain hosting websites like Godaddy or Hostgator. I want a site that looks like I spent some major cash on it. But, I don't really want to spend the cash.

Is there a "For Dummies" book on web designing that I can buy to learn as I go? I want to launch a website by the year end and i'm already working on articles for inclusion on the site.

Is this an unrealistic goal? Also, what software is the best for novice individuals like myself?

Thank you AGAIN!

Answer 1

Ok. Here's the problem.



Eveybody knows how to draw or paint a picture. Does that means the painting will be a masterpiece? Or does that means that you can create a portrait or a comic book?



Same applies to Web Design. There are so many tools online that can help you out with your website, including templates, software, free icons, etc. Does that mean that you can make a professional quality website? NO!



First of all, you gotta learn XHTML and CSS (minimum). JavaScript or jQuery will be a PLUS. But that's not enough. You have to master these technologies to be a real professional and follow web standards. Keep learning new technologies and how to apply them into your projects. Then you also have to have a good eye and do a ot of testing to make sure your website is error free, cross-browser compatible, user friendly and accessible, etc.



But most importantly, you gotta have the talent. You can have all the tools, all the knowledge... but if you don't have the skills or talent to do it, then your website will look amateur-ish.



Sorry for being pessimistic, but I have to be honest here. Not everybody can design. In fact, I personally know a lot of talented programmers/web developers that simply cannot design. Same with Graphic Designers... I have many friends that are Graphic Designers, good with ads and posters, etc.... but cannot design a website. It requires a different mentallity, different approach, different techniques.



Now with your questions:



Q: Which is better: Flash or HTML?

A: You will need HTML anyways, even if you use Flash. But if you are refering to a site completely in FLASH vs a site completely in HTML then I will have to say HTML. Flash is awesome for animations, etc. but with the existence of jQuery, CSS, etc. you really don't need FLASH for certain things that developers used to use FLASH for. That's why you will notice that 90% + of websites are built in HTML.



Q: Is there a "For Dummies" book on web designing that I can buy to learn as I go?

A: Yes! There's a lot of books about design. But... its not just the knoledge or technique. You really need to have the talent.



Q: Is this an unrealistic goal?

A: It is not!!! But it will all depend on a lot of factors.



1) You need to learn the right stuff and practice, practice, practice. And I think 3 months will not be enough.



2) You need to learn aesthetics and usability. A website is just more than just a pretty site. And this can take you years. I'm a professional and I'm still learning.



3) You need content for your website. You can have a good looking website but if you don't have content, then whats the use.

4) You need time. If you think 3 months is enough, then go for it. But a good quality website can take months... and you still have to learn. and



5) Talent! If you have talent... if you are artistic... GREAT!!! If you are not, then prepare for lot of frustrations and dissapointments.



Q: what software is the best for novice individuals like myself?

A: Free - Aptana. Commercial - Dreamweaver

Answer 2

"Which is better: Flash or HTML?"



Yes. IOW ... you're going to be using HTML, whether you use Flash or not.



"Is there a "For Dummies" book on web designing that I can buy to learn as I go?"



There are a few. You'll need them all. You have to learn computer programming (that's free - http://www-old.oberon.ethz.ch/WirthPubl/AD.pdf ), HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP and, if you want to store anything, SQL. (And, if you want Flash, Actionscript.)



By year end? You might learn programming by then - if you devote 40 hours a week to it (it should take about 6 months, actually). You won't be making any but the most primitive sites in that time. If you want a site with articles, use Wordpress.



Software? Novice or seasoned professional, GIMP http://www.gimp,org/ for the graphics and any decent, syntax-highlighting text editor for the site, like Notepad++ http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/download.php (If you can't make a complete site with GIMP and Notepad++, you can't make a site.)



Is 3 months from stop to a complex site a realistic goal? If you have a staff of 3 or 4, who are already experienced. Otherwise, learn programming first. then learn HTML. Then download Notepad++ and xampp (http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html so you have a webserver on your computer to experiment with) and start playing. You'll see how far you are from your goal by actually trying it.



I'd really suggest that you go to http://www.wordpress.com/ and start a free blog. There's nothing wrong with putting up your own site once you're capable of it, and telling all your users to go to your new site. If you want your articles to be seen now, use Wordpress. You can have the site up and running in 15 minutes, and have articles posted a few minutes later. Maybe even write about learning to become a web developer while you're learning.

Answer 3

There are a few things that you should know before you try to design your own website.

If you want to make a website which looks good you should know how to create good designs and should have a good color sense.

HTML means just the basic coding. Flash is used for animation(for animating images for slidesetc) .The newest trend is not flash.its jquery.



I don't think creating a good website is an easy task. It needs artistic skills as well as technical skills.

There are two types of websites static and dynamic.

The static websites usually contain html , some javascript flash etc. A dynamic website means a site that changes according to some user input.For eg ur email login. when you enter your email id and password it communicates with a server and logs you in.Creating Dynamic websites needs much more skill as they need you to know some scripting language thats used to create dynamic sites like PHP.



I think you wanted to make a simple static site that looks wonderful.

Then I think you will need these softwares.



Adobe Photoshop.or the open source GIMP.

Adobe Dreamweaver (Its easy to make a site using this)



Most websites contain a lot of images.. the background ,the banner and other components are usually images. What designers do usually is they make a design (as an image) in photoshop .



If you want to insert an animation, then that place is kept blank in the image . Then this design (image) is split into different pieces( the blank will not be taken) and then placed in the web page using HTML and CSS. CSS means cascadng style sheet. Its a set of rules for the various elements that we place in our web page.( like the positon of the elements, the color for background,the color of text etc.).

How well you can make this design and place it will determine how good your site will be.



You can also buy images you want from stock photography sites if you like.

Then if you want menus or navigation then you should know how to make menus using one f the following

(you can make a menu using just HTML itself but that wont look very nice.)

CSS

Javascript or jquery

Flash(not recommended for menus as its difficult to make a change later. )



If you want to create small animations you cant do it in flash.You can also use javascript or jquery for image animation (slides) and others





for doing this much things. you must know atleast the following



HTML

Javacript

CSS

How to edit an image using an image editing tool like photoshop or gimp (atleast the basics)



For HTML and CSS I think you can refer

Griffiths - HTML Dog - Best-Practice Guide to XHTML and CSS .I think that ebook is available in 4shared.com for downloading.









The best way to learn how to create websites is to go to this site ..Everything you need to know is there ..



http://www.w3schools.com/









also check these sites



www.cssmania.com

http://www.designm.ag/news/lets-get-inspired-%E2%80%93-top-10-css-galleries-of-2010/

http://www.designm.ag/news/50-fresh-css-website-designs-showcase-roundup-for-inspiration/







http://www.dynamicdrive.com/



http://www.cssplay.co.uk/menus/

http://www.instantcsscode.com/



http://www.jqueryninja.blogspot.com/

http://spyrestudios.com/jquery-tutorials-plugins-impress-your-friends/

Answer 4

I'm not good enough to give any advice on this.It's not one of the things that i'm great at,but i can ask my boss later on when i get to work.This dude knows pretty much everything about templates/designs and stuffs.Then again,I'm not even sure if you'll need any more advice,after Colanth broke it down so well for you .Good luck,Miss Fine.

Answer 5

Basically I am a moderator on the http://www.techsupportforum.com/ website, and me and my colleagues may be able to help you if you make an account with us, and we have one on one sessions that you can talk to us about specific problems, such as websites and programming. It is 100% free and requires no money or credit card details, and we have already helped a lot of people already. 100% free, no charges, and I am a moderator. As for this, I am not sure what has happened. But, if you create an account with us me and my colleagues at Microsoft Support will be glad to help you with any problems regarding website making. We have one on one chats with real Microsoft Support Teams (me included) and that means you can get the best out of everyone's knowledge. Please come up and make an account, as I said, it's 100% free and we don't ask for any home details. Just make your account user name and password and email, and you are all sorted!



Microsoft Support Team(C) 2010