If you want to make a web site yourself, there are some basic concepts and terms you need to be comfortable with before you do anything.
You'll notice on your computer there are lots of applications - you have Microsoft word for typing up letters and essays, you have Microsoft excel for spreadsheets, adobe photoshop is for working with graphics, etc, etc. Well, HTML editors are applications for making web sites. Your first mission is to get one of these on your computer.
There are usually evening classes at community colleges or maybe even universities that teach you how to build a web site using one of these HTML editors (such as Adobe Dreamweaver). Usually you can get a good discount on Dreamweaver if you are signed up for a course at a college or university. One of the most essential things is getting your hands on one of these HTML editors.
There are dozens and dozens to choose from, and some of them are free.
Here's a table breaking them down: Comparison of HTML editors
Kind of hard to choose isn't it?
Well, a friend of mine uses Coffee Cup, which is pretty damn cheap. Personally, I use Dreamweaver. It's a tad expensive, but if you're a student, you can often get a discount, so look into that.
So get your self an HTML editor. It is an application designed to produce web sites.
After you get an an HTML editor, you have another big step: get a "graphics editor" (photoshop, fireworks, etc)
Comparison of Graphic Editors
There's a lot to choose from, but professionals use photoshop and/or fireworks. However, these programs are expensive.
After you get your HTML editor and your Graphics Editor, you are going to have to spend a lot of time learning how to use these two different applications. A graphics editor allows you to make banner and you can also make graphics of panels and buttons. An HTML editor allows you to do the coding which displays those graphics, along with any text and links you want to type in.
So the first challenge is getting the two essential pieces of software: "HTML editor" and "Graphics Editor"
Once you get those pieces of software, you are ready to learn how to use them.
Using your HTML editor effectively means understanding three coding languages - HTML, XHTML and CSS.
Start with HMTL.
It makes absolutely no sense to try learning XHTML and CSS when you don't understand HTML.
The difference between HTML and XHTML is very little, so it's not quite fair to say they are separate languages. However, you will find making the leap from HTML to XHTML challenging, because you can't understand XHMTL without understanding CSS.
You see, CSS and XHMTL are intertwined. You can't understand one without understanding the other. So start with HTML. When you have grasped that, you are going to have to learn XHMTL and CSS together, treating them as one subject.
Is learning CSS and XHTML necessary? No, it's not necessary, but your sites will look and function better if you know how to use those languages. Likewise, using a graphics editor to produce banners, panels and buttons is not necessary either, but your site will look better if you can do that.
I've touched on the most important topics to get you started, and now it's up to you to ask the right questions and so some research, good luck!
The difference between HTML and XHTML is very little, so it's not quite fair to say they are separate languages. However, you will find making the leap from HTML to XHTML challenging, because you can't understand XHMTL without understanding CSS.
You see, CSS and XHMTL are intertwined. You can't understand one without understanding the other. So start with HTML. When you have grasped that, you are going to have to learn XHMTL and CSS together, treating them as one subject.
Is learning CSS and XHTML necessary? No, it's not necessary, but your sites will look and function better if you know how to use those languages. Likewise, using a graphics editor to produce banners, panels and buttons is not necessary either, but your site will look better if you can do that.
I've touched on the most important topics to get you started, and now it's up to you to ask the right questions and so some research, good luck!
- Cory Duchesne
