[cenutrio]

Hi guys,

I've built my last two web sites using iWeb which is an easy tool, yet limited and not that efficient. I think is time for me to move on and get into more fancy projects that may require Pro software. There you have my last two web sites, so you can take a look to my proficiency. Comments are encouraged.

www.fernandoechavarri.com and www.tonirivas.com

I have to mention that I'm not code writer. Thus, i know there's a bunch of things I need to learn, which books or web sites do you recommend?

First, I host my web sites with Web Hosting by StartLogic which I find cheap, support is ok, and I never had troubles (somebody around here recommend it). I update my sites using ftp. Hosting iWeb sites in .Mac is no trouble, but when sites are hosted somewhere else, FTP is a troublesome and slow tool.

Secondly, I rather move to a more technical software, but still object oriented. The ability of modifying the HTML output is important, so i can test my learnings.

I'm convinced that some I'll have to learn flash. Mostly to create animations with photo galleries. is there other way or easier software? This is important because most my costumers have a lot of graphic material (images, video) material. Indeed, I would love to implement some image animations in those two sites, but iweb does not really allow it. Any tips?

Also, secured pages within a site. A potential customer has asked me for a site that need to have restricted access to club members. How is possible to do that? which software allows it?

My final goal is to become proficient with these tools to later fuse them with my background in genetic sciences. Although those two sites are related to my second passion (sailing), in reality I'm a scientist. I want to fuse web design, 2d animation (and may be even 3D) with my skills in molecular biology as a mean to promote science.

Any advice, from pinpointing to other sites, or communities specialized in this to tools for web hosting or good books manuals that may help may be a major help. Thanks so much.

Sorry for the long email.

[@pplejaxkz]

I myself am a fairly new Web Designer. I've only been doing it for a year, but I can tell you that there are many great sources in which to learn code and tips from. I know that I learned a good portion of my HTML from w3schools and a couple good books. And while you're at it, once you feel comfortable with the HTML, CSS and a little XHTML then why not go for the HTML certification. W3schools offers it for a low price, they even give you a practice test and everything. Just another nice thing to look on your portfolio and resume.

I think you should definitely look into hand coding some HTML and using CSS. CSS if done right can make things LOADS easier when it comes time to change the layout or switch something small. A good book that I just finished on CSS was CSS Web Site Design from lynda, a great Hands On Training company. It's really great because their books come with a dvd with examples and exercises to go through, so you aren't just reading you are actually doing the material. Some even come with video tutorials on the dvd as well.

I am not really in a position to give out much advice, but I can say that searching tutorials and looking at code a lot will get you far fast. Good luck, and if there is anything that you do have a question with feel free to PM me!

[MacosNerd]

A step up from iweb is rapidweaver. The code it produces is cleaner then that of iWeb and you have the opportunity to add html/css pages yourself.

[imitchellg5]

RapidWeaver is great, I used to use it all the time. The only bummer is you have to pay for large updates.

[cenutrio]

Hi guys so far the feed have has been excellent, thanks specially to @pplejaxkz, this w3schools site is excellent. So far, Rapidweaver seems to be a favorite among you, I'll take a look to it. Thanks and keep them coming.

[mdc]

I do not think that you need to learn flash to create a photo gallery. Nowadays with javascript libraries getting as advanced as they are there isn't a need for flash for html animations. Of course Flash will always be around for proper animations (in the cartoon sense) and video, but not for fade ins and all of those simple things people used to use it for.

This page is created with javascript libraries and unless you go to the Carousel link it does not use flash.
My site (signature is a link) is mainly a photo gallery that I created using Movable Type and can be very automated using an iPhoto plugin.

[@pplejaxkz]

Not a problem, and another good source is the actual W3schools Forum. There you'll find excellent help on anything you may need. Definitely check it out!

[cenutrio]

Hi mdc,

The javascript web site is beautiful, apparently it is a iphoto, .Mac thing, I have to check if it si possible to build such thing because the outcome is amazing.

I wonder about those iPhoto plugins you mention.

Again, thanks to @pplejaxkz for his feedback.

[@pplejaxkz]

Some free graphic design tutorial sites:
Tutorialized probably my most used tut site
Pixel2Life tuts for multiple applications, ie photoshop, flash
AbsoluteHype A great community where they hold graphic design contests along with great tuts and help.
13dots tuts for multiple applications, ie photoshop, flash


If you are interested in going the paying route, then another great source would be CartoonSmart. They have loads of video tutorials all from Flash to Basic and Advanced Web Design. I myself bought a Flash tutorial and a Dreamweaver tutorial. Both were excellent and had hours of video that actually showed you how-to do things and how-to do them the right way.

I usually can find out what I need on the web through basic tutorials, tips and whatnot. But sometimes you just need to buy "that book" or "that online lesson." And I can say that CartoonSmart is one of those sources where you won't feel like you've wasted your money.

If anyone has any questions about CartoonSmart or just about being a novice web designer, feel free to PM me. I too am a novice web designer and I like to share any knowledge that I do have. Good Luck!

[imitchellg5]

//off topic
I'm not going to lie, I love it when we have threads like this where everyone is respectful and helpful. It's great that we don't have people coming in like "iWeebz is teh wurst retart." It makes me think that there is good in the Lounge.

[SirCastor]

I highly recommend you grab Firefox and a copy of Firebug. While it may not be a huge thing now, the further you get into development, the more useful this will become (especially as you struggle to make universally functioning code).

For HTML/CSS: W3schools, as other have mentioned. I use it all the time.

For Javascript, pickup Oreilly's "Javascript: The Definitive Guide" and Yahoo has some developer stuff up too worth watching (Douglas Crockford... I'll warn you that this assumes previous programming experience. Still good either way):
Yahoo! UI Library: YUI Theater

Best of luck. I used to worry when I saw the rush of Web developers. It felt like the market was going to become very crowded. Somehow though, there's still plenty of work out there, and still lots to learn.
You're lucky that you're coming in now. The technology is significantly more mature than it used to be. Hopefully IE 7 will become more and more fully deployed and save you SIGNIFICANT stress we dealt with IE 6.

[kelso]

Originally Posted by @pplejaxkz 

Some free graphic design tutorial sites:
Tutorialized probably my most used tut site
Pixel2Life tuts for multiple applications, ie photoshop, flash
AbsoluteHype A great community where they hold graphic design contests along with great tuts and help.
13dots tuts for multiple applications, ie photoshop, flash


If you are interested in going the paying route, then another great source would be CartoonSmart. They have loads of video tutorials all from Flash to Basic and Advanced Web Design. I myself bought a Flash tutorial and a Dreamweaver tutorial. Both were excellent and had hours of video that actually showed you how-to do things and how-to do them the right way.

I usually can find out what I need on the web through basic tutorials, tips and whatnot. But sometimes you just need to buy "that book" or "that online lesson." And I can say that CartoonSmart is one of those sources where you won't feel like you've wasted your money.

If anyone has any questions about CartoonSmart or just about being a novice web designer, feel free to PM me. I too am a novice web designer and I like to share any knowledge that I do have. Good Luck!

I second Pixel2life. I've learned so much from there. They have tutorials on everything.