Help website building best practices and questions

[- English -]

I've made this thread hopefully to ask the professionals (you lot ;p) any questions I have within the web design / building industry.

I've been interested in websites for a number of years now, I remember building my first HTML website back when I was about 15 for personal use, allbeit - it was crap. It contained tables with borders, and a picture of me as the header and a turquoise background (enough said). It also never contained any CSS and never touched the internet (thankfully).

Nine years on (ouch), I still consider myself interested in the web, but having only ever really used it on a personal level, i've never understood much about the best methods and practices. I like to say I have taught myself HTML, CSS (to an extent I understand whats going on, rather than learning all the syntaxs'(if thats even possible)). I've also followed Lynda videos on PHP, building CMS using mysql etc, which I felt was good, but all very complicated at the later stages. This is nice, but i've never really had any direction in where to go. Saying that, i've also started reading up on XML.

I can imagine having a wide scope of languages is good, but realistically is it impossible to say your an expert in all? or should I concentrate on one particular area and try learn that like I know the alphabet. I daren't look into things such as AJAX, JavaScript, JQuery etc.

Anyway back to the my first question. This relates on web building methods. I've always gone from the bottom, and still do. I'll start with notepad, build my folder structures and slowly develop from there. I still only try and do personal websites, and hopefully once i feel i understand everything, ill develop a portfolio of sites i've made.

The main problem with building a simple HTML website is the design. As you know an eye catching design is the first impression a person gets, and the designs i seem to do, using photoshop images and css positons etc seem to suck versus free templates you can download from the net. This has also lead to me try editing these, changing colours, styles, images and passing them as my own - but i don't feel a sense of pride in doing so - so off they go to the recycle bin.

The next method I've tried is using a PSD file, converting it to a html file with images, then eventually uploading it to joomla. Again, it can look nice, designing is easier but i feel my hardwork of learning how HTML works has gone because any idiot can do it.

The other method is me using PHP. Rather than using the HTML approach, i've designed a front and backend database system, and developed my own simple CMS (allows to update content, add menus, upload images to the front end etc).

I understand all websites have specifications and you may say build it to the specification. For example why build a portfolio website which displays your CV using PHP when its simply possible using HTML.

I'm looking for direction, where to go, where to put my time into. Should I concentrate on designing joomla templates, design my own CMS in php, design CSS templates, learning XML, learning javascript/jquery

Thanks for any input.

 

[Aoami]

I can imagine having a wide scope of languages is good, but realistically is it impossible to say your an expert in all? or should I concentrate on one particular area and try learn that like I know the alphabet. I daren't look into things such as AJAX, JavaScript, JQuery etc.

You need to know these 3 things imo. You can usually find pre-built JS scripts for what you want to do, but (re. my thread a bit further down) if they go wrong you need to know how to fix them.

The next method I've tried is using a PSD file, converting it to a html file with images, then eventually uploading it to joomla. Again, it can look nice, designing is easier but i feel my hardwork of learning how HTML works has gone because any idiot can do it.

No shame in doing this imo, would it make you feel better if you wrote out the html yourself rather than exported it from PS?

The other method is me using PHP. Rather than using the HTML approach, i've designed a front and backend database system, and developed my own simple CMS (allows to update content, add menus, upload images to the front end etc).

I understand all websites have specifications and you may say build it to the specification. For example why build a portfolio website which displays your CV using PHP when its simply possible using HTML.

If you go for a web design job and say you know PHP, i reckon they'd assume you know HTML.

I'm looking for direction, where to go, where to put my time into. Should I concentrate on designing joomla templates, design my own CMS in php, design CSS templates, learning XML, learning javascript/jquery

Thanks for any input.

PHP, Javascript & MySQL is the way forward imo. I'm currently teaching myself the same stuff as we did none of it on my course.

 

[Aoami]

Also, if you want to do web design for money, it's very important to be knowledgeable about usability, e.g. what to put where, what colors to use, accessibility etc.

 

[- English -]

You need to know these 3 things imo. You can usually find pre-built JS scripts for what you want to do, but (re. my thread a bit further down) if they go wrong you need to know how to fix them.

Well until you know javascript like a second language, i think it will be hard to build something, and taking pre built scripts is the only way forward? i think with taking scripts, changing it to your own in acceptable for personal use, or perhaps even if your selling them on to someone, but if your working for a company - they are gonna expect you to build it form scratch(?).

PHP, Javascript & MySQL is the way forward imo. I'm currently teaching myself the same stuff as we did none of it on my course.

Well the thing that concerns me is that I am wanting to eventually go into this industry, so learning more is obviously an advantage, the problem is how realistically can you learn them until they become a second language, and whats most important.

Even with HTML, i forget simple syntax things, and have to refer to the net (ie sometimes how to link a style sheet, yea its simple but to remember that line from your head is something im not good at ;p)

 

[Aoami]

You don't need to know it like a second language imo, you just need to be proficient. At uni even the best people whose final year projects were for big companies spent most of their time on google.

You need to know more than 'basic' but not as much as 'back of your hand', if you get what I mean.

Edit - It's hard to explain, but it's important that you know exactly what it's capable of, so you know what you can acheive before you start working.

 

[- English -]

so lets take CSS for example, as im sure you will be familiar with it. If I gave you some simple html code, including lists, pictures, text, paragraphs etc, and said i want this here, this there , that colour etc, would you instantly know how to start writing your CSS code, or would you refer to some manuals along the way.

 

[Aoami]

i'd know how to do it, CSS and HTML should be basic knowledge, things like Javascript you can wing it more.

 

[GReaper]

I can imagine having a wide scope of languages is good, but realistically is it impossible to say your an expert in all? or should I concentrate on one particular area and try learn that like I know the alphabet. I daren't look into things such as AJAX, JavaScript, JQuery etc.

Jack of all trades, master of none. Although on the web this isn't entirely bad if you're a one man web developer which can offer the entire solution. Although you might be limited to the bottom of the market doing this.

Focus on the parts of the solution you feel you can excel in. Are you a programmer? Are you a designer? Try to master one part, but spread your skills and knowledge around other areas of web development.

Do you like designing in Photoshop? Can you create HTML/CSS and design templates which work well on multiple browsers, on different screen widths (desktop, tablet, phone), and don't rely on things like hover? Do you like client side coding, creating Javascript to enhance pages instead of producing boring static pages? Do you like coding and creating something which actually powers the site?

Figure out which parts interest you most and concentrate on them.

 

[Aoami]

Every web design job i've applied for in the last 2 months, working knowledge of JS has been a requirement. What exactly a 'working knowledge' is, i don't know.

 

[- English -]

Jack of all trades, master of none. Although on the web this isn't entirely bad if you're a one man web developer which can offer the entire solution. Although you might be limited to the bottom of the market doing this.

Focus on the parts of the solution you feel you can excel in. Are you a programmer? Are you a designer? Try to master one part, but spread your skills and knowledge around other areas of web development.

Do you like designing in Photoshop? Can you create HTML/CSS and design templates which work well on multiple browsers, on different screen widths (desktop, tablet, phone), and don't rely on things like hover? Do you like client side coding, creating Javascript to enhance pages instead of producing boring static pages? Do you like coding and creating something which actually powers the site?

Figure out which parts interest you most and concentrate on them.

Out of everything, i guess design as i feel its less stresful than PHP coding. HTML and CSS aren't as bad as often its about try and test. However i find design hard just from using notepad. By this i mean making a site look professional. I've never really tried photoshop much, then putting it into code. Is that a viable way of learning design? what do you suggest?