Starting my own website! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Stare At The Sun · 06-20-2010, 07:21 PM

So, today I had an awesome idea for a website. However, a few seconds after I had this thought, I remembered that I know nothing about HTML or coding or anything.

Thus, I need to learn! It's not going to be a super elaborate page or anything. But I will need to be able to have people submit things, post comments, replies, etc.

I'm not really sure where to even begin.

Any advice on pages with tutorials, guides, or just resources for a beginner would be super helpful.

I've done some research with google, but I'm not even sure which direction to go in.

Any input or experience you guy's have had with your own sites would be great.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Pacifier · 06-21-2010, 04:55 AM

For posting comments and stuff like that you will need some scripting, like PHP. That is a lot to learn.

You could try to use a premade software and change the design.
Wordpress for example lets you edit the templates (there are also a lot of free premade templates out there)
Or you could try a full content managment system (CMS) which are more flexible, but also more complicated.

Martian · 06-21-2010, 04:35 PM

Yeah, your best bet is to use something like Wordpress. If it takes off you can look into getting your own software set up; could probably contract out the site design.

Web design is tricky stuff. Leave it to the pros, I say.

Lucifer · 06-22-2010, 06:03 AM

Not necessarily.

Wordpress is of course, one of the easiest ways to start, but some good resources are:

DIY Web Design Education

Web Design Video Tutorial for Beginners

Net Tuts Plus: Inspiration, Tutorials and More

W3 Schools - Thousands of Web Site Building Tutorials, All FREE!

I'd start with the last one first, a basic primer for beginners on HTML and CSS. If you want to spend a bit of money, the web design video tutorial for beginners is great value for $20. All you need to start making websites is a basic text editor, like notepad which comes standard on the PC.

You can even create a webpage in as little as 10 seconds:

1. Open notepad
2. Type the following:

<head>
<h1>
Hello World
</h1>
</head>

<body>
This is my first webpage!
</body>

3. Save it on your desktop as:

index.html

4. Click on it, and it will open in your browser.
5. Congratulations! You've just created a webpage. Of course, it's not live on the internet and it isn't very fancy, but it's a start, right? Most designers started out with a page just like that.

Good Luck!

Martian · 06-22-2010, 04:51 PM

You're way outdated, Lucifer. HTML is child's play, but today the web runs on PHP and XML, with liberal doses of Flash for good measure. None of it's anything that someone with no prior coding experience is going to pick up in an afternoon.

Look, if you really want to learn and do it yourself then go for it. All I'm saying is, it's not as easy as you might think. Expect to dedicate serious time and resources to this. The reason web designers are able to make a living is because it is something that not everyone can just do.

Lucifer · 06-22-2010, 05:08 PM

Bullshit

I'm not saying it's going to take an afternoon, but it's not an impossible task either. And at the heart of PHP and wordpress is HTML and CSS.

Baraka_Guru · 06-22-2010, 05:50 PM

Knock yourself out:
Free Layouts.com | HTML Templates

Stare At The Sun · 06-22-2010, 06:28 PM

In regards to flash:

I've heard that HTML5 is the way to go? Is this true, or is flash still the thing to use?

Pacifier · 06-23-2010, 12:56 AM

don't use flash.
it's cheesy and almost adds nothing to the website.
I like my websites clean and simple

And with HTML, CSS and PHP you will more more than enough to learn

Schwan · 06-26-2010, 10:42 AM

Making pages is, like many other things, easy to learn, and hard to master. It's really easy to plop down a simple page, like Lucifer says. It's a bit harder to learn managing templates in ready-made blog sites. And then you have an almost infinite numbers of technologies and specialized knowledge to sink your teeth in. Databases, graphics, servers, coding, animations. The more complicated things you need, the more likely it is you'll need money and people from the outside.

Personally, I'm a UX designer. In the agency I do stuff for, all pages are first designed as workable prototypes - no coding or graphics involved. Get Axure RP (theres a 30-day trial), create a mock up of what you want, and go from there - see how feasible the project is before you start working on it.

Martian · 06-26-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pacifier

don't use flash.
it's cheesy and almost adds nothing to the website.
I like my websites clean and simple

And with HTML, CSS and PHP you will more more than enough to learn

So you never use Youtube? Or Pandora? Or Hulu?

Flash is a tool. When used poorly it can be a pain, but that's more an issue of good site design vs. bad site design than anything.

Flash is not as dead as Steve Jobs would have you believe. It's possible that HTML5 will supercede it in the future, but I wouldn't anticipate that happening for a few years yet at least.

Merlocke · 06-26-2010, 09:48 PM

Course if you were using flash then I couldn't read it on the iPad I'm using to post this...

There's an inset flash website builder over at wix.com ther were two other sites I've used to build instant sites as well. Mind you wordpress is still my fav method.

Pacifier · 06-28-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martian

So you never use Youtube? Or Pandora? Or Hulu?

almost adds nothing, the keyword here is "almost"
Flash is too often used as just something "flashy" for your website.
When used properly it can be great, but in my opinion it is too often not used properly.

Merlocke · 06-28-2010, 11:54 PM

Well even stuff written in flash by google blows up my browsers eventually, but then again I do have too many open tabs. Maybe it's why I like my iPad. Forces me to do non flash browsing and keeps me to 9 max open tabs. Funny how sometimes limitations end up being useful for focus

Zweiblumen · 06-29-2010, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stare At The Sun

In regards to flash:

I've heard that HTML5 is the way to go? Is this true, or is flash still the thing to use?

The HTML5 is delayed and this quote I have seen in several places, "Ian Hickson, editor of the HTML5 specification, expects the specification to reach the Candidate Recommendation stage during 2012, and become a W3C Recommendation in the year 2022 or later." (Wikipedia).

HTML5 will only be supported in the latest browsers so anyone using the draft must take that into account either by limiting the potential users or offer alternatives.

Yours
ZB

yournamehere · 06-30-2010, 06:00 PM

This will probably annoy the purists, but you can download a free trial of Microsoft's Expression Web 3.0 and create just about any kind of web page you like. Like most Microsoft products, since you're used to using a ton of them, it has a fairly intuitive interface. And there are many good tutorials online.

Not everyone has time to master writing their own code. However, since you'll want it to be interactive with the public, you're way above my pay grade . . . . I've got a couple sites up and running, but I saved the PHP for last - it's my "contact us" form. I hope to learn it this week. But I won't be "learning PHP;" I'll be Googling "Creating forms in Expression Web."

Good luck!

EDIT LATER: Changed my hosting from Linux to Windows so I can use ASP.NET (since that's what Expression Web uses) instead of PHP.

Double Dose · 07-13-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martian

Yeah, your best bet is to use something like Wordpress. If it takes off you can look into getting your own software set up; could probably contract out the site design. Web design is tricky stuff. Leave it to the pros, I say.

Wow no one thus far recommended Dreamweaver how come? Okay sure a student won't learn Dreamweaver in one day. But they might be able to learn Dreamweaver in 30 days if they use a good video tutorial and dedicate 4 or 5 hours a day, 5 to 6 days a week to learn how to use Dreamweaver. At the end of 30 days a person might know enough to create a web site with it.

clavus · 07-14-2010, 12:49 PM

I use Nvu to make my sites. It's free and easy.

For my big, important complicated sites, I use professionals. They cost money.

06-20-2010, 07:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
Stare At The Sun Eh? Location: Somewhere over the rainbow	Starting my own website! So, today I had an awesome idea for a website. However, a few seconds after I had this thought, I remembered that I know nothing about HTML or coding or anything. Thus, I need to learn! It's not going to be a super elaborate page or anything. But I will need to be able to have people submit things, post comments, replies, etc. I'm not really sure where to even begin. Any advice on pages with tutorials, guides, or just resources for a beginner would be super helpful. I've done some research with google, but I'm not even sure which direction to go in. Any input or experience you guy's have had with your own sites would be great. Thanks in advance for the help!

06-21-2010, 04:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
Pacifier undead Location: Duisburg, Germany	For posting comments and stuff like that you will need some scripting, like PHP. That is a lot to learn. You could try to use a premade software and change the design. Wordpress for example lets you edit the templates (there are also a lot of free premade templates out there) Or you could try a full content managment system (CMS) which are more flexible, but also more complicated. __________________ "It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere. Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death — Albert Einstein

06-21-2010, 04:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Yeah, your best bet is to use something like Wordpress. If it takes off you can look into getting your own software set up; could probably contract out the site design. Web design is tricky stuff. Leave it to the pros, I say. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

06-22-2010, 06:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
Lucifer Husband of Seamaiden Location: Nova Scotia	Not necessarily. Wordpress is of course, one of the easiest ways to start, but some good resources are: DIY Web Design Education Web Design Video Tutorial for Beginners Net Tuts Plus: Inspiration, Tutorials and More W3 Schools - Thousands of Web Site Building Tutorials, All FREE! I'd start with the last one first, a basic primer for beginners on HTML and CSS. If you want to spend a bit of money, the web design video tutorial for beginners is great value for $20. All you need to start making websites is a basic text editor, like notepad which comes standard on the PC. You can even create a webpage in as little as 10 seconds: 1. Open notepad 2. Type the following: <head> <h1> Hello World </h1> </head> <body> This is my first webpage! </body> 3. Save it on your desktop as: index.html 4. Click on it, and it will open in your browser. 5. Congratulations! You've just created a webpage. Of course, it's not live on the internet and it isn't very fancy, but it's a start, right? Most designers started out with a page just like that. Good Luck! __________________ I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. - Job 30:29 1123, 6536, 5321 Last edited by Lucifer; 06-22-2010 at 06:13 AM..

06-22-2010, 04:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	You're way outdated, Lucifer. HTML is child's play, but today the web runs on PHP and XML, with liberal doses of Flash for good measure. None of it's anything that someone with no prior coding experience is going to pick up in an afternoon. Look, if you really want to learn and do it yourself then go for it. All I'm saying is, it's not as easy as you might think. Expect to dedicate serious time and resources to this. The reason web designers are able to make a living is because it is something that not everyone can just do. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

06-22-2010, 05:08 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lucifer Husband of Seamaiden Location: Nova Scotia	Bullshit I'm not saying it's going to take an afternoon, but it's not an impossible task either. And at the heart of PHP and wordpress is HTML and CSS. __________________ I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls. - Job 30:29 1123, 6536, 5321

06-22-2010, 05:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Knock yourself out: Free Layouts.com \| HTML Templates __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

06-22-2010, 06:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
Stare At The Sun Eh? Location: Somewhere over the rainbow	In regards to flash: I've heard that HTML5 is the way to go? Is this true, or is flash still the thing to use?

06-23-2010, 12:56 AM	#9 (permalink)
Pacifier undead Location: Duisburg, Germany	don't use flash. it's cheesy and almost adds nothing to the website. I like my websites clean and simple And with HTML, CSS and PHP you will more more than enough to learn __________________ "It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere. Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death — Albert Einstein

06-26-2010, 10:42 AM	#10 (permalink)
Schwan A boy and his dog Location: EU!	Making pages is, like many other things, easy to learn, and hard to master. It's really easy to plop down a simple page, like Lucifer says. It's a bit harder to learn managing templates in ready-made blog sites. And then you have an almost infinite numbers of technologies and specialized knowledge to sink your teeth in. Databases, graphics, servers, coding, animations. The more complicated things you need, the more likely it is you'll need money and people from the outside. Personally, I'm a UX designer. In the agency I do stuff for, all pages are first designed as workable prototypes - no coding or graphics involved. Get Axure RP (theres a 30-day trial), create a mock up of what you want, and go from there - see how feasible the project is before you start working on it.

06-26-2010, 09:48 PM	#12 (permalink)
Merlocke Location: Canada	Course if you were using flash then I couldn't read it on the iPad I'm using to post this... There's an inset flash website builder over at wix.com ther were two other sites I've used to build instant sites as well. Mind you wordpress is still my fav method. __________________ -=[ Merlocke ]=-

06-28-2010, 11:54 PM	#14 (permalink)
Merlocke Location: Canada	Well even stuff written in flash by google blows up my browsers eventually, but then again I do have too many open tabs. Maybe it's why I like my iPad. Forces me to do non flash browsing and keeps me to 9 max open tabs. Funny how sometimes limitations end up being useful for focus __________________ -=[ Merlocke ]=-

06-30-2010, 06:00 PM	#16 (permalink)
yournamehere Invisible Location: tentative, at best	This will probably annoy the purists, but you can download a free trial of Microsoft's Expression Web 3.0 and create just about any kind of web page you like. Like most Microsoft products, since you're used to using a ton of them, it has a fairly intuitive interface. And there are many good tutorials online. Not everyone has time to master writing their own code. However, since you'll want it to be interactive with the public, you're way above my pay grade . . . . I've got a couple sites up and running, but I saved the PHP for last - it's my "contact us" form. I hope to learn it this week. But I won't be "learning PHP;" I'll be Googling "Creating forms in Expression Web." Good luck! EDIT LATER: Changed my hosting from Linux to Windows so I can use ASP.NET (since that's what Expression Web uses) instead of PHP. __________________ If you want to avoid 95% of internet spelling errors: "If your ridiculous pants are too loose, you're definitely going to lose them. Tell your two loser friends over there that they're going to lose theirs, too." It won't hurt your fashion sense, either. Last edited by yournamehere; 07-01-2010 at 01:23 PM..

07-14-2010, 12:49 PM	#18 (permalink)
clavus pow! Location: NorCal	I use Nvu to make my sites. It's free and easy. For my big, important complicated sites, I use professionals. They cost money. __________________ Ass, gas or grass. Nobody rides for free.