Some time ago, well, about a week ago, Terry suggested I write a series of articles dedicated to those people who want to learn to design websites.
I have thought about this long, and I have thought about this hard. The idea has merit, as we constantly get enquiries from people who want to learn to design websites. The idea has merit, as we see this as a way to repay those folk who have helped us along the way.
I designed my first website a few years back, when WordPress was still a little puppy, and when a really hot PC had Windows 2000 or even better still, Windows XP. Internet Explorer 5.5 and 6 were the browser to use, in South Africa at any rate.
My first site was built with Microsoft frontPage. And it looked really great on my PC. Then I loaded it to a server. Then it looked shit. I didn't understand frontPage extensions (still don't. and don't care). My server didn't support FrontPage extensions.
Not to be put off, I re-designed the site, using some or other WYSIWYG editor. I don't remember the name. It kinda did the trick, but there were things I couldn't do. I spoke to my Web host, Collin, and asked him how he designed his website. I wanted the same editor he used. His reply? Hand coding! I was stunned! Who on earth would be able to remember all the coding that went into a website?
Damn. In the meantime, I made use of blogger.com (I still do, in case you hadn't noticed). I investigated. I scratched around, searched around, downloaded Gigs of software, and spent hours studying whatever I could find.
It wasn't that long ago, but resources then were pretty shoddy by current standards.
Now here comes the crunch. If I am typical of all or most people, then a Quick Fix is being looked for. So many people seem to have the idea that designing a website is a simple matter of making a pretty picture and loading it to the Internet. That simple.
Well it's not. It is not rocket science or applied Physics, but it is a damn site more than just "plakking a pritty picher onna internet".
I'll tell you why.
Next time...
You should be really proud that you're self taught, Tony, and I think these articles are going to be awesome - if people just bother to read them, take their time, and learn, they'll be fine, and, hey, thank you for teaching me!
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