best way to learn website building?

Go to adobe.com and download a the trials for FireWorks And PhotoShop. Then go on youtube and look for tutorials. They are all over the place for both of these programs.

I always had my sites designed by the "graphic designers" that you can find all over the place, but I soon got fed up with waiting for other people to complete my projects. So, I took the first steps and downloaded the two programs above. It took me about a week before I was able to develop sites that could rival what I was paying for.

I always thought there was some kind of magic that these people used to build really nice sites, but there really isn't. The software does all of that fancy stuff for you.

Sure, you can pay to have this stuff done, but in the end I think that these are skills that any serious IMer should have.

Best of luck!

hey thanks!..

actually i tried to learn those 2 software....and i remember i had a problem with going from fireworks to dreamwever...
maybe i'll go back for those 2 softwares again...

thanks again!

I would suggest to start learning how to modify templates for popular content management systems like joomla and wordpress.

This days only small presentation sites are built from scratch (or the very huge budget ones), imo 99% of the sites are built on skeletons (aka content management systems or already made scripts).

There is no point in reinventing the wheel

After you get a hang on basic knowledge through editing existing things you will learn the things you are trying to learn now much more easily.

I remember some 5 years ago trying my first html page in dreamweaver, was horrible and i felt discouraged.

After that i made my first website on joomla, learned a lot adding , modifying things in it, sold it after 1 year for 1000$, not much but was more fun to learn things and seeing results.

No what you still have to learn HTML or CSS in building a website or blog. It makes custom much easier so Youtube has lots of tutorials or better yet simply search this forum for some the best website building tips and ideas.

Id say hit the books, One book that helped me was simply "Internet Marketing for Dummies" It was actually a really good resource for beginning to end, And only $25 bucks to boot, I invested a ton more into learning the internet but this was one of the best lower priced materials I have bought, came close to traffic secrets 2.0 IMHO. if you need any more gems let me know. good day!

When I needed something different than WordPress I search for a nice Template and learn coding by doing. I mean, I try things out and see how it works. I can change the codes, implent it from other sites and so on... This is the best way to learn how to design/build websites.

Hi molan,
Start with HTML. Then move to CSS and javascript. If you would like to serve dynamic content from a database, you'll also want to learn PHP.

None of the languages mentioned above are rocket science. But there are so many different things to learn the curve can be quite steep. If you're just affiliate marketing it may be better to just go with a CMS or WP blog.

There is plenty of options for you to learn, like Photo shop, word press, kompozer etc. It depends on which way you want to learn.

Jamian.

Sitepoint

Here is a good introductory book by SitePoint on the subject, and here is a tutorial that should be useful. Once done with this, progress to other books that tend to get more advanced and more specific (jquery, form design, css, etc).

w3schools

At w3schools, you can learn your favorite technologies in small, easy steps. A really useful reference too, so worth bookmarking. And you can try things out yourself too.

Content Management Systems

It's good to get the hang of a popular CMS that combines HTML with the power of a dynamic scripting/programming language (like PHP) and databases. I'd say Wordpress is the gentlest start in this direction.

Do It

Get some hosting space (you can even find it for free), and make sure the servers support PHP and MySQL. Try things out. Download lots of well-done free templates. Tweak them. Install stuff. Play with the settings, mess around.

Design

If you can't afford photoshop, GIMP. It's free, and nearly as useful. Similarly for vector art, you try inkscape. Again, download stuff and tweak, look at stuff and get inspired, read tutorials and learn the skills, and finally you'll be doing original creative work You'll need these tools to design your own layouts, headers, logos, banners, and graphics (bullets, lines, buttons, and the like).

Get a good editor

Mainly, ensure you have support for syntax highlighting. If on Windows, try Notepad++. Dreamweaver's good too, although potentially overwhelming. Try whatever you area comfortable with, and step it up with time.


Have fun and good luck!

If you are looking for a free method, search on YouTube for what you are looking for.

If you are looking for a paid method, search Google for various products. Then come back to the Warrior Forum to see if the products that you like have been reviewed here. Make your choice based on your gut instinct and go with that product.

It is important to give whatever method that you choose your all and don't give up too quick like what most people do.

I hope this helps you Molan.

Jay

Well, as i see, many tools/softwares (for example : Wordpress) are easy to handle and save you a lot of time. You can have a site up and successfully running within 24hrs. with WP.

However, if you want to become a web designer or learn about website development, then put your hands on PHP and Ajax/CSS.

What worked for me was a lot of reading and a ton of YouTube videos and then just trying different things till I got a good understanding of what was going on just keep working at it you will get it down.

If you're going to market to local businesses, you need to more than proficient in building websites.

If you can't take a physical class, try Lynda.com. They have very good tutorials.

Have you ever checked out Frank kerns stuff for building a list. He made 24 million in 24 hrs and was intereviewed by Tony Robbins.

Suggestion anyways

Esmonde Holowaty,
Author of "Unleash The Billionaire Within"

Go to Amazon.com and check out "Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML." Head First books have a very unique style -- they're actually FUN to read!

You can learn more about it -- and download a sample chapter -- here...

Head First Labs from O'Reilly Media, Inc. :: Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML

Regards,

John

I agree. Many members of our website use self-hosted WordPress and come up with very professional looking sites even without knowing how to write code.
You will still want to learn how to write code so that you can put in some customizations that cannot be achieved with plugins on your WordPress-generated site. But the advantage of using WordPress is that your website will be up and running much sooner, as opposed to waiting till after you learn how to write code.

Molan,

I see a great range of suggestions.

Could we ask why you would want to learn how to build a web site? That may influence the input you are getting. Learning how to build, and building Web sites seems to be a very poor use of an Internet Marketer's time.

Just asking.

Joe

go on to amazon and purchase "dreamweaver cs4 virtual classroom" - you get a book and a dvd and its a brilliant resource to learn the ins and out of website creation with dreamweaver.

Hi molan,

I would recommend Yaro and Gideon Shalwick's BecomeABlogger Program. They also have made tutorials about setting up a Wordpress site which is a good start in website building. You could look from their website here to access the tutorials:

How To Blog - Why You Should Use WordPress | Become A Blogger

Enjoy!

It would be easier if you try on templates and learn from there. But basic knowledge in HTML & CSS helps a lot and will really take you to the next level. There are also good CMS out there that helps. Concrete5 is quite nice also. They offer video tutorials as well.

I am a total wordpress fan, like some others on this thread.

You can have a website setup in 30 minutes.
You don't need to know any coding first off and you can learn some coding along the way (if you want to customize the site to be different from the theme).
There are many different themes to choose from... it's best to have a paid theme like Thesis or Flexsqueeze (plus many others) as they offer support.

Wordpress websites are dynamic which means they are easy to login and add content (good for business owners who want to post new articles with their eyes closed).

With dynamic websites, you can have content automatically being posted on your site, from RSS feeds (it's fantastic). It doesn't even have to be your content.

The main purpose of a dynamic website is automation. A dynamic website can operate more effectively, be built more efficiently and is easier to maintain, update and expand. It is much simpler to build a template and a database than to build hundreds or thousands of individual, static HTML web pages.

I have built 4 wordpress sites without knowing any coding... it's so easy.

But I'm concentrating on local business marketing now, which is much more profitable. It does include WP websites, but I outsource that (it's so cheap to outsource).

I know many people are recommending static websites on this thread, but think about why you're wanting to learn website development.

Is it for creating an offline/online marketing consulting business?

Then learn marketing... it pays more and local business owners are screaming out for help and they're not really sure what they should be doing... they think they need a better website... but that aint gonna help if their marketing funnel isn't sorted out.

I think I'm ranting... sorry

You can see I'm passionate about wordpress.

Have a look at my signature links - they're all wordpress websites and each slightly different.

Best of luck
Mark

If you only want to build 1 website (or a couple of websites) then I would not worry about learning to build websites yourself. Instead outsource that to someone else and focus on creating your products/content to your subscribers.

If you want to get started quickly on a limited budget I would opt for Wordpress as they get ranked very quickly in Google and have many great plugins to customize a lot, make the SEO optimization easier and also you can easily find themes to suit many different niches and site layouts that suit your need.

i learnt it from dreamweaver, its very easy to use, just watch some videos on youtube for dreamweaver tutorials. you will learn html and coding on the way itself.

Youtube + Dreamweaver.

That was how I learnt alot of the stuff I know today about dreamweaver!

Not all of your customers will want a Wordpress blog so you will need to get good at building html sites as well as Wordpress. There are a lot of online tutorials, but when I started, it was practice, practice and more practice. I taught myself, but I've heard good things about w3schools and lynda.com mentioned above.

What is your objective in learning how to build a website? Becoming a website designer? Programmer? If you are not in the business to desgin for someone else, I suggest you not to spend too much time in website designing. To be a professional, you need at less html, css and graphics design. You might want to learn javascript as well. It's is not easy to master each one.

If you just need a few sites for yourself, I suggest you outsource or buy some templates to start your project. Else you will take a supper long time to even get started.

Just my 2 cents

trial and error and READ

first of all.. select what kind of website do you really want. As mentioned here, if you want it for your local business, yes you can easily design it using dreamweaver and frontpage. If you are a beginner, i would suggest frontpage as it is easier and more user friendly. It looks like having most of the options of microsoft word. You can use them easily. I recommend dreamweaver for those who have a basic knowledge of web designing and HTML, CSS etc. Dreamweaver if more advanced than frontpage so i will rate it at level 2. You can easily learn how to use these software using the help in it. You can also find guidelines and tutorials over internet which can help you use these software.

I hope this information helps

Joomla is the best CMS to learn IMO

I find that anything I need to learn is USUALLY available on Youtube or elsewhere on the web.

Hi Molan

With wordpress you can do almost anything I just yesterday learn't a new technique to put html into wordpress. I more techinical that programmer so wordpress works well and I going be using it to setup local websites.

Also you need get a front end product you can introduce to your offline business too to get then to trust you. Before you offer then website.

Take Care

thank's... many resources how to make good website today... but i will recommend you can make website with wordpress platform .. because easy to management content and wordpress have many resources can help you to grow your business

Yep, second that - use wordpress and save LOTS of time and money. You can use a free template (but check copyright).

With Wordpress and many of the free site building
applications and CMS, nowadays not many people
want to bother with learning how to design
websites the HTML way.

Kingsley

Use google and you will not be disappointed, you can also try noupe.com