amateur web designer

tcshoppers · 08-17-2007, 10:57 PM

Hi, I'm probably not qualified to post in this forum, because I am just a hack web designer. Perhaps someone can tell me where is a more appropriate place for me to get help.

I created our small business photography web site using Frontpage 2003. I had taken a 15 hour inservice course and then I learned by just playing with it. I would like to redesign our site and I would like to add some updated features, such as mouse over scrolling (I don't even know what the proper term for that feature is!

) I can't even show you the web site right now because I just transferred the domain and it's not uploaded to the new host yet.

I was trying to play around with Microsoft Expression Web, but I just couldn't figure out how to do anything! Man, did it make me feel STUPID.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

**Redcore** · 08-18-2007, 04:11 PM

lol you don't have to be a professional or "qualified" to post here! :P Most web developers started off doing the same as you and learned by playing and tinkering as well.

I haven't used FrontPage in years (I couldn't stand the previous versions) and I know it causes a lot of problems because the code it generates is pretty unclean (all the extra trash it outputs just creates headaches).

Here's a small "HTML Basics" tutorial that looks like enough to explain some small stuff to you in a very HUMAN format (I can't stand sites that go all guru on ya!)
http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/html-basics

Beyond that, just post what specifically you're looking to accomplish and people will help find the answers you want. Be sure to at least TRY to figure it out first and then look for help.

As far as learning programs...that's to be expected. First time I opened up Photoshop I was like "uuuuuh, NO!" and I didn't really work with it for quite some time because I felt stupid for not knowing how to do things off the bat. Don't worry about that, though...there's a learning curve to pretty much everything...especially advanced programs. It just takes time tinkering and messing around.

tcshoppers · 08-19-2007, 08:11 PM

Dear Redcore,
Thank you SO MUCH for your very thoughful and comforting reply. Thanks also for the link. I'll spend some time reading and continue to play. A friend who is builds sites for a living came over and worked on the site with Adobe's Contribute. I watched and learned!
Thanks to your reply, I won't feel embarrassed about asking for help later on.

**Redcore** · 08-20-2007, 01:38 PM

No problem. I'm glad you have such a good resource there for you to learn from - and in person! Looking back on how I learned on my own...it would have rocked to have a resource like that! :P

ObsidianRain · 08-21-2007, 04:37 PM

I'm very new here too, and also an utter novice when it comes to these things.

But I heard HTML gets messed up really easily, and is really geared towards I.E. users. :( CSS would be the better choice for web layouts, yes?

**Redcore** · 08-21-2007, 05:38 PM

More and more people are switching over to FireFox because it's more stable than IE7. Most of what you'll design will be compatible with both browsers these days (FireFox 2 is better than what FireFox 1.0 was in that sense). There are also differences between IE6 and IE7 (and obviously with much older versions of IE) ... we can't really worry about the people who are not keeping up with basic updates to their computer. You don't want to build a site that is based on a feature that only one browser can execute, though. Most differences you run into are not going to be a big deal. If it's unavoidable, you can always write a script that detects the browser when the user enters the site...and if they're using IE when FireFox works best, it can ask them to switch and provide a link to download FireFox if necessary.

I used to think HTML corrupted easily...but it was just that I wasn't coding things correctly. It can get confused and corrupted if you build things in weird ways...like having 5 inset tables or something. I rarely have problems with HTML flat-out failing or corrupting...most of the time I'm not following good practices.

08-17-2007, 10:57 PM	#1 (permalink)
tcshoppers Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 12 OS: Windows XP Pro	amateur web designer Hi, I'm probably not qualified to post in this forum, because I am just a hack web designer. Perhaps someone can tell me where is a more appropriate place for me to get help. I created our small business photography web site using Frontpage 2003. I had taken a 15 hour inservice course and then I learned by just playing with it. I would like to redesign our site and I would like to add some updated features, such as mouse over scrolling (I don't even know what the proper term for that feature is! ) I can't even show you the web site right now because I just transferred the domain and it's not uploaded to the new host yet. I was trying to play around with Microsoft Expression Web, but I just couldn't figure out how to do anything! Man, did it make me feel STUPID. Thanks for any help that can be offered.

08-18-2007, 04:11 PM	#2 (permalink)
Redcore Design Team Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Jamestown, CA Posts: 713 OS: Linux Mint 7 My System	Re: amateur web designer lol you don't have to be a professional or "qualified" to post here! :P Most web developers started off doing the same as you and learned by playing and tinkering as well. I haven't used FrontPage in years (I couldn't stand the previous versions) and I know it causes a lot of problems because the code it generates is pretty unclean (all the extra trash it outputs just creates headaches). Here's a small "HTML Basics" tutorial that looks like enough to explain some small stuff to you in a very HUMAN format (I can't stand sites that go all guru on ya!) http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/html-basics Beyond that, just post what specifically you're looking to accomplish and people will help find the answers you want. Be sure to at least TRY to figure it out first and then look for help. As far as learning programs...that's to be expected. First time I opened up Photoshop I was like "uuuuuh, NO!" and I didn't really work with it for quite some time because I felt stupid for not knowing how to do things off the bat. Don't worry about that, though...there's a learning curve to pretty much everything...especially advanced programs. It just takes time tinkering and messing around.

08-19-2007, 08:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
tcshoppers Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 12 OS: Windows XP Pro	Re: amateur web designer Dear Redcore, Thank you SO MUCH for your very thoughful and comforting reply. Thanks also for the link. I'll spend some time reading and continue to play. A friend who is builds sites for a living came over and worked on the site with Adobe's Contribute. I watched and learned! Thanks to your reply, I won't feel embarrassed about asking for help later on.

08-20-2007, 01:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Redcore Design Team Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Jamestown, CA Posts: 713 OS: Linux Mint 7 My System	Re: amateur web designer No problem. I'm glad you have such a good resource there for you to learn from - and in person! Looking back on how I learned on my own...it would have rocked to have a resource like that! :P

08-21-2007, 04:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
ObsidianRain Registered User Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1 OS: Vista	Re: amateur web designer I'm very new here too, and also an utter novice when it comes to these things. But I heard HTML gets messed up really easily, and is really geared towards I.E. users. :( CSS would be the better choice for web layouts, yes?

08-21-2007, 05:38 PM	#6 (permalink)
Redcore Design Team Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Jamestown, CA Posts: 713 OS: Linux Mint 7 My System	Re: amateur web designer More and more people are switching over to FireFox because it's more stable than IE7. Most of what you'll design will be compatible with both browsers these days (FireFox 2 is better than what FireFox 1.0 was in that sense). There are also differences between IE6 and IE7 (and obviously with much older versions of IE) ... we can't really worry about the people who are not keeping up with basic updates to their computer. You don't want to build a site that is based on a feature that only one browser can execute, though. Most differences you run into are not going to be a big deal. If it's unavoidable, you can always write a script that detects the browser when the user enters the site...and if they're using IE when FireFox works best, it can ask them to switch and provide a link to download FireFox if necessary. I used to think HTML corrupted easily...but it was just that I wasn't coding things correctly. It can get confused and corrupted if you build things in weird ways...like having 5 inset tables or something. I rarely have problems with HTML flat-out failing or corrupting...most of the time I'm not following good practices. Last edited by Redcore; 08-21-2007 at 05:39 PM.