Career Advise

Fa1nT

Fa1nT

Fa1nT

Associate
Joined
25 Sep 2003
Posts
116
Location
Torquay
Hi all , I need some advise and Im not too sure about what to do . Im working at the moment updating a website very basic , like my knowledge on webdesign , I know basic HTML , CSS , Photoshop and basic dreamweaver however I really want to expand my knowledge and learn . Databasing / Java and learn Html / CSS to a high level .

Question is Where do I start . I really learn best doing practical tasks , and Im thinking of finding a course at college or a private one can any recommend me anything or give me some advise on where to take this .

Cheers !

Darren
 
If you already have a grasp of basic HTML etc. then learning XHTML and CSS to a high standard, and even a programming language (I would recommend PHP over Java for web programming/scripting) shouldn't be too hard to pick up.

XHTML and CSS are things that you can learn yourself very easily, it's just a question of practice, and more importantly, inspiration :)

A programming language like PHP will require a little more effort, but still shouldn't be too difficult to get your head around. Again, practice makes perfect here; the more you use it, the better you'll get at it.

Your best bet is just to keep designing websites and refining your skills. You could just write the HTML files and use them locally in your browser, which would be fine for HTML, CSS etc., but if you want to try out any server side scripting, such as with PHP, you'll either need to get your own PHP-enabled webspace or install some server software (I'd recommend the XAMPP package).

Here are some good resources to get started on...

HTML/XHTML/CSS:
http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/default.asp
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

PHP/SQL:
http://www.tizag.com/phpT/ (this one's good for programming beginners)
http://www.tizag.com/phpT/
http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp
 
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Provided you're remotely competent at self-teaching, learning XHTML, CSS and PHP should be an absolute breeze to teach yourself.

Be sure to consistently make sure you're learning the best practices as you're going along, though - it sucks to have to relearn something when you find out that the tutorial site you used was inaccurate or just plain wrong.

HTML Dog is a fantastic website for learning how to hand-code good-quality HTML and CSS, and should get you into a good mindset for website building.

As for PHP, which I guess you'll end up learning, you can start by installing XAMPP. Then have a peek at the official introduction, here on the PHP website. Then, consume this weighty tome: the Hudzilla PHP book, which is fantastic and also available in print as PHP in a Nutshell, published by O'Reilly, if you prefer to read from a book rather than online.
 
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