Practical Web Design for Absolute Beginners

  • 6h 56m
  • Adrian W. West
  • Apress
  • 2016

Learn the fundamentals of modern web design, rather than relying on CMS programs, such as WordPress or Joomla!. You will be introduced to the essentials of good design and how to optimize for search engines. You will discover how to register a domain name and migrate a website to a remote host. Because you will have built the web pages yourself, you will know exactly how HTML and CSS work. You have will complete control over your websites and their maintenance.

Practical Website Design for Absolute Beginners centers around introducing small amounts of new code in short practical chapters and provides many website templates that can be easily adapted for your own websites. Each chapter builds on the templates created in the previous chapter. You are provided with a practical project to complete in most chapters, and taught to produce practical web pages right from the start.

In the first chapter you will install and configure a free text editor, then you will produce the structure for your first web page. You will then gradually learn to create more sophisticated and increasingly practical web pages and websites.

In this book you will be encouraged by means of a series of achievable goals, and you will be rewarded by the knowledge that you are learning something valuable and really worthwhile. You will not have to plow through daunting chapters of disembodied code theory because the code is described and explained in context within each project. Because each project is fully illustrated, you will see clearly what you are expected to achieve as you create each web page.

What You'll Learn

  • Provides instructions for installing a text editor for producing HTML and CSS
  • Shows you step-by-step how to build and test web pages and websites
  • Teaches you how to ensure that your websites are attractive and useful
  • Describes how to make the most effective use of color and images
  • Teaches you the essential features of search engine optimization
  • Shows you how to migrate your website to a remote host

Who This Book Is For

Practical Website Design for Absolute Beginners is for people who want to begin designing their own websites. It uses a highly motivational, easily assimilated step-by-step approach where you will start learning practical skills from the very first chapter. The book is an excellent choice for people who have computer skills but would also like to learn HTML and CSS. For readers who have little or no knowledge of HTML and CSS, the book will teach enough to complete all the projects in the book.

About the Author

Adrian resigned as a chartered design engineer and has been teaching in one form or another since 1982. He introduced computers into his work place in 1989 and taught the staff how to use them. In his present location, Colyton, Devon, UK, he has designed and produced websites for UK businesses and charities. He served as a computer technician to about 100 locals. He stopped visiting and teaching IT five years ago so that he could concentrate on his favorite occupation, designing websites. To avoid disappointing his former clients, he launched his free computer help website, Coly Computer Help. He also writes a monthly computer help page in a local magazine.

Adrian has produced and maintained websites for 15 years through his website-design business, AM Web Design.

Adrian produces an on-line course for students who wish to learn how to design their own websites from scratch. The work sheets from that course and the helpful feedback from the students form the basis of this book.

Adrian is the author of:

Practical HTML5 Projects; Apress May 2012; ISBN-13: 978-1-4302-4275-8

Practical PHP and MySQL for Website Databases; Apress Dec 2013; ISBN-13: 978-1-4302-6076-9

In this Book

  • Creating Websites
  • Create Your First Website and Add Hyperlinks
  • Styling the Website with CSS
  • Create Web Pages with Three Columns Using CSS
  • Create Web Pages with Four Columns Using CSS
  • Add Pictures to Websites
  • Enhancing the Website
  • Rollover Menu Buttons
  • Using Color Effectively
  • Screen Size and Resolution: Useful Templates: Rounded Corners
  • A Vertical Menu with a Picture Gallery
  • A Horizontal Menu with an Enlarged Picture Gallery
  • More about Website Images: Create a New Appearance with Tiles
  • Vertical and Horizontal Menus on the Same Page: Colored Columns
  • Create Tiles: Use Two New Tiles: Float-Drop and the Box Model
  • Create Tables for Data
  • The Secret of Attractive and Useful Websites
  • Design a Feedback Form
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Positioning Elements on a Web Page
  • Save Time and Reduce Tedium
  • More on Using PHP include
  • Receive Emails from a Contact Us Page
  • Add Slideshows and Videos
  • Create a Tab Menu
  • Designing a Drop-Down Menu
  • Drop Shadows
  • User Name and Password for a Member's Page
  • Create a Printable Order Form
  • Add a Search Field to Your Website
  • Styled Bullet Points
  • Indicating Which Horizontal Menu Button Has Been Clicked
  • Indicating Which Vertical Menu Button Has Been Clicked
  • Creating Multi-row Menus and Picture Galleries
  • Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 1
  • Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 2
  • Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 3
  • Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 4
  • Avoiding Some of the Pitfalls of a CMS Website
  • Go Live and Validate Your Website
  • Quick Reference: Graphics Programs: Resources
  • Installing and Using Text Editors
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