Practical Web Design for Absolute Beginners

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.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Creating Websites
Chapter 2: Create Your First Website and Add Hyperlinks
Chapter 3: Styling the Website with CSS
Chapter 4: Create Web Pages with Three Columns Using CSS
Chapter 5: Create Web Pages with Four Columns Using CSS
Chapter 6: Add Pictures to Websites
Chapter 7: Enhancing the Website
Chapter 8: Rollover Menu Buttons
Chapter 9: Using Color Effectively
Chapter 10: Screen Size and Resolution: Useful Templates: Rounded Corners
Chapter 11: A Vertical Menu with a Picture Gallery
Chapter 12: A Horizontal Menu with an Enlarged Picture Gallery
Chapter 13: More about Website Images: Create a New Appearance with Tiles
Chapter 14: Vertical and Horizontal Menus on the Same Page: Colored Columns
Chapter 15: Create Tiles: Use Two New Tiles: Float-Drop and the Box Model
Chapter 16: Create Tables for Data
Chapter 17: The Secret of Attractive and Useful Websites
Chapter 18: Design a Feedback Form
Chapter 19: Search Engine Optimization
Chapter 20: Positioning Elements on a Web Page
Chapter 21: Save Time and Reduce Tedium
Chapter 22: More on Using PHP include
Chapter 23: Receive Emails from a Contact Us Page
Chapter 24: Add Slideshows and Videos
Chapter 25: Create a Tab Menu
Chapter 26: Designing a Drop-Down Menu
Chapter 27: Drop Shadows
Chapter 28: User Name and Password for a Member’s Page
Chapter 29: Create a Printable Order Form
Chapter 30: Add a Search Field to Your Website
Chapter 31: Styled Bullet Points
Chapter 32: Indicating Which Horizontal Menu Button Has Been Clicked
Chapter 33: Indicating Which Vertical Menu Button Has Been Clicked
Chapter 34: Creating Multi-row Menus and Picture Galleries
Chapter 35: Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 1
Chapter 36: Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 2
Chapter 37: Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 3
Chapter 38: Building Responsive Websites for Mobile Devices Part 4
Chapter 39: Avoiding Some of the Pitfalls of a CMS Website
Chapter 40: Go Live and Validate Your Website
Chapter 41: Quick Reference: Graphics Programs: Resources
Chapter 42: Installing and Using Text Editors