The Secrets to Successfully Learning Basic HTML

If you'd like to create/maintain a website, having some HTML knowledge is necessary in order to create a standard page on the web. Learning the HTML basics is easy and should take less than an hour.

First you'll need some type of software/editor to create your html pages. Here's a few to try out (or not) and see which you feel most comfortable with.

Editors for Hand Coding:

(http://www.notepad.org) Notepad - This easy-to-use HTML editor is FREE (for Windows version 2.0 and above). If you are interested in learning how to code by hand then this editor is highly recommended. It is not cluttered with tons of features and is handy for all scripting languages, html, perl, php, etc.

Advanced Source Code Editors:

These editors are similar to Notepad by allowing you to create your webpage via hand coding, but they help to speed up the process of coding by hand with features such as syntax highlighting, spell checking, global find/replace, code libraries, code snippets, file explorers, page previews, and much more. Ideal for all scripting languages.

(http://www.alleycode.com) AlleyCode - This award winning HTML editor is fast and comes with many great features. You can view your progress in real time using it's Synchro View feature. Another great editor if you want to learn to code by hand, comes with handy code snippets. Supports all scripting languages. Alleycode is FREE!

(http://www.evrsoft.com/download.shtml) 1stPage - This html editor comes packed with many features you won't even find in the high-priced editors, and it's free. This editor is perfect for everyone, from novice to expert. Some of it's features include, 400+ javascripts, 15 dhtml scripts, 17 perl scripts, 6 html scripts, 2 cgi scripts.

(http://www.macromedia.com/software/homesite) Macromedia HomeSite - $99 (Free 30-day trial). HomeSite provides a lean, code-only editor for web development. Advanced coding features enable you to instantly create and modify HTML, CFML, JSP, and XHTML tags, while enhanced productivity tools allow you to validate, reuse, navigate, and format code more easily.

WYSIWYG: (What You See Is What You Get) I do not personally recommend using these. Reason being that the code can be messy, unnecessary tags can get put in, and most importantly, the code will NOT be valid. Valid code is important for a properly functioning, SEO-friendly webpage. Once you learn how to hand code you can use these editors to save time and just go over the source code and clean it up to be sure it's valid.

WYSIWYG is a type of editor/software which allows the user to see the web page as it's being created. In other words, you can drag and drop images exactly where you want them, place text where you want it and not really have to deal with the code side of creating a web page.

(http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver) DreamWeaver 8 - Free to try; $399 to buy. Generally known as the best of the WYSIWYG editors. Comes with an easy to use interface, expanded CSS support, background FTP.

(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX010858021033.aspx) FrontPage 2003 - 30 Day Free Trial, $199 to buy. While being a popular choice and commonly used, FrontPage is also known to produce bloated, messy, invalid code, you're best not to use this program. Features include the ability to upload your web site without requiring an FTP program, hit counters, feedback forms, and more.

(http://www.adobe.com/products/golive/main.html) GoLive - $399. Adobe® GoLive® CS2 software lets you unlock the power of CSS with intuitive visual tools such as prebuilt CSS objects that you can drag and drop to build sophisticated sites. Jump-start your designs by easily converting Adobe InDesign® layouts into Web pages. Or, design Web and mobile content in an advanced, standards-based coding environment.

To learn HTML it's best to make use of the tutorials offered at such sites as (http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp) W3Schools and (http://webmonkey.wired.com/webmonkey/authoring/html_basics) WebMonkey. That's how I learned. Also be sure to check out these excellent HTML resources, (http://www.websitetips.com/html) Website Tips and (http://www.htmlgoodies.com) HTML Goodies. To do the HTML tutorials I would advise using Notepad or one of the advanced source code editors listed above.

Colleen Chard is a professional web designer based in the greater Toronto, Ontario Canada area. She has been designing websites since 2001 and runs her own online business Kalina Web Designs, http://www.kalinawebdesigns.com. Colleen is also the webmaster of many other web sites including Directory Source, http://www.directorysource.info, and Apex Templates, http://www.apextemplates.com.

---

How To Choose The Right Web Design Company

1. Size does not equate to competencePeople sometimes assume a... Read More

Web-Safe Fonts for Your Site

Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important,... Read More

When Good Computers Go Bad

Remember the day that you got your new computer (or... Read More

My Top Ten List Of Extremely Annoying Web Page Design Elements!

Easy navigation and usability are one of the most important... Read More

Dos and Donts in Web Design - part 2 (content)

Do know your audienceIt's important to know your audience. If... Read More

Want to Increase Your Online Sales? Make Sure That Your Web Site Has a Unique Selling Proposition

If you own a web site or if you are... Read More

Best Web Design And Free Web Promotion Tips

This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More

Is Your Site Too Slow? Why Image Optimization Is Critical

Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More

Pop-Ups Still Work. At Least For The Time Being

Do you remember playing with the jack-in-the-box toy as a... Read More

How to Find Inexpensive Web Design

Web design is a very competitive area and there is... Read More

Design Matters in our Visual Culture

FIRST IMPRESSIONS. First impressions often leave lasting impressions. Impressions... Read More

Be Friendly to Search Engines

The object of search engines is to give their visitors... Read More

Questions to Ask When Designing a Website for Clients

Questions to ask when designing a Web Site for your... Read More

Building Your First Web Site?

Before doing anything on the technical side, you need some... Read More

Ten Basic Steps For Building A Web Site That Works

1. Assemble a web site development plan that is integrated... Read More

Caveat Scriptor: Use the Advice of Those Who Know Before You Build a Site

~A man [woman] is a success if he [she] gets... Read More

Low Cost Web Design In Birmingham

There are many companies who build websites, all of which... Read More

Why Ugly Sites Sell More Than Pretty Ones

What the heck is going on lately? Most internet websites... Read More

Web Site Redirection - How to Implement a 301 Redirect

You just created a new web site but want to... Read More

Designing Professional Web Pages

If your Web site doesn't project a professional and polished... Read More

Why Do Images Disappear from a Webpage?

In learning webpage design, I encountered many problems that took... Read More

Cool Web Design And Promotion Tips

This article gives free tips on how to find a... Read More

Web Site Professionalism? What Is It?

Your web site should be-visitor friendly to navigatesearch engine friendly... Read More

The Right Trigger Words

CNN.com's designers have gone out of their way to make... Read More

Moving Things Around

How often, men, have you come home to find the... Read More

Should You Bother Learning HTML to Build Webpages?

The most popular method to build webpages today is to... Read More

Web Copywriting: The Psychology Of Scarcity, Less Is More If You Want Faster Sales

Countdown to Armageddon - at least you'd think so judging... Read More

Drupal Modules

There are plenty of Drupal Modules that you can install... Read More

10 Ways to Sabotage Your Website Traffic and Send Visitors Packing

If you're running a website or online business, your number... Read More

What is ASP.NET

ASP.NET is a new programming framework from Microsoft for developing... Read More

Turn Harmful 404 Error Pages Into Helpful 301 Redirects

It's a fact, Page Not Found, known as a 404... Read More

Understand Your Color

Any design on a web application involves the effective input... Read More

Website Sales: Discover 10 Mesmerizing Insider?s Tricks To Ignite Your Sales

Marketing is not an easy skill to acquire.It requires patience... Read More