drahkon Posted May 17, 2011 Posted May 17, 2011 Yeah, any tips? I assume there are ways to at least learn the basics other than taking courses. I'd like to be able to design a website. How should I start? What do I need?
Sméagol Posted May 17, 2011 Posted May 17, 2011 (edited) http://www.w3schools.com/ Start with HTML 5 HTML, then HTML 5, then CSS, then javascript. Edited May 17, 2011 by Sméagol
Diageo Posted May 17, 2011 Posted May 17, 2011 I was looking at learning the same thing during the summer as a hobby. I've learnt that HTML 5 is the future so I was planning to start there. I was going to ask for advice, I guess you beat me to it. I was going to ask if it's better to buy a book or if there was enough online. I'll take a look at that website.
Sméagol Posted May 17, 2011 Posted May 17, 2011 (edited) Well, in general, I think books are better. Stuff on the internet is free, books are expensive. Because you pay a lot of them, you can generally expect them to explain to you basic and advanced knowledge of whatever subject you're getting in to, better than some internet tutorial. But. When it comes to computer related stuff though.. There are 2 things to keep in mind. First of all, there's more info to be found on the internet, about HTML, programming, etc, because it's a natural way to teach this stuff. Learning languages, or learning to play musical instruments, for example, you're better off with books and a teacher, in my opinion. Secondly, computer related stuff gets outdated, fast. Any book you buy right now may have incorrect information a year later. Still, in the long run, I think books are a good thing to have, they may get outdated fast, but they still should be able to teach you the basics in an extensive way, and explaining it well, like how and why things are done the way they are. Tutorials you find on the internet usually deal with examples, which you can experiment with. You can find reference sites on everything on the internet, but they're too technical for someone starting out, you have to know what to look for and how. Books will likely give you a better grasp of the basics, in which case you'll be able to use those reference sites more easily, for example for things that replaces stuff that's in the book. Anyway. This will do you no good without concrete suggestions for good books, but I don't know any personally. That said, I think HTML is simple enough to be learned just from the internet, like that site I linked, you may want to get a book for javascript though. Edited May 17, 2011 by Sméagol
Charlie Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 I'd also recommend starting out with an up-to-date (ie. published 2011) book. You get some fantastic tutorials online but books take you right to the basics of where you need to start. If you can afford it I'd also recommend getting an instructor of some sort, enrolling on a course or something. Coding can get very complicated and there's a lot to it.
Raining_again Posted May 21, 2011 Posted May 21, 2011 i would suggest getting a basic book, not too big, to start off with. I've got reference books that are about 1000 pages long but they only give you a headache if you haven't got some basic foundations to work with. There are lots of good books on amazon, and you can check out the reviews on there too
The Peeps Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 That site Sméagol posted is actually great. I had to teach myself basic HTML for part of my course and that site helped so much!
Aimless Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Whilst I haven't dabbled in website coding for years, at the time I found the In Easy Steps series to be a really good entry point. I haven't read the HTML5 version so I'm not sure if it's appropriate for beginners, but the book on standard HTML is very straightforward. That said I've no idea if there are localised German editions; not doubting your grasp of English, I just imagine it would be preferable. Personally I think a book is a good thing to have. There's untold amount of guides on the 'net, no doubt, but there's a purity to having something in your hands: you've one authority to turn to, you don't find yourself second guessing their teachings due to know-it-alls in the comments sections telling you how this or that is 'wrong', et cetera. When you know enough to be able to process the fundamentals then you can read around and more or less teach yourself, but when starting out I think it's best to pick a single source and stick with it.
Ashley Posted May 22, 2011 Posted May 22, 2011 Don't forget about your local library (while it's still around...). Might be worth checking out what they have to see if there's a particular book, or series (i.e. the same book that gets new editions as things changed) that you like then you can buy it without fear of wondering if it is any good or not.
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