I NEED advice on how to correctly build a website. Any links or pointers?

Without knowing HTML... the rest of the knowledge is almost useless. (Flash, definitely, is a dead end.)

Yes, you need to learn and understand the basics of HTML divs styled by css.
Free > W3Schools Online Web Tutorials

Thanks for the replies

Istvan - yes i agree it is all not of much use without a good understanding of HTML - i sort of have a 'grasp'..using external css files and styling elements, but positioning has become quite a headache for me. And Flash and Actionscript..i equate it to learning Latin..quite difficult and quite pointless..

Ronc0011 - thanks for the link, looks like exactly what i have been trying to learn...i will check it out right now! Many thanks

Use a piece of paper and draw the different divs - as "boxes" - as they are contained by each other and/or placed next to each other.

I almost never need to use the "position" thing in my stylesheet and I still can accomplish placing different elements exactly where I want them.

Look at this forum page where you read this

Imagine,
the 'body' is the whole width that shows up in your browser;
a 'wrapper' div would contain everything that is inside of the two grey borders on the side - open it here and we will close it later... ;
inside the wrapper you start adding divs inside of the that div:
- header (same width, defined height)
- content (same width, auto height/length) etc.
-- this can again contain 2 or more divs: their width together should be exactly the width of the parent div, otherwise they fall down - e.g content=600px > sidebar=200 + post=400 sum = 600! ;
-- the box model is about learning the idiotic IE that interprets the borders, margins and padding differently than other browsers
-- the post and sidebar can/should be floated left next to each other (and learn how the floated elements behave) ; and close the content div
- finally, still in the content div, add a footer div...
- and now you can close the wrapper

Width, background, borders, margins, padding etc. should be defined in the stylesheet.

Where in the above (very basic) layout do you need to place an an HTML element that gives you difficulties? Everything should be just a new div with dimension or without (depending on the required behaviour) and its position inside the parent element (div) can simply be defined by margins...)

Istvan was right. Draw everything in a paper, make a draft of what you want to achieve with your website. Use the body as the main box and create boxes within the body and you will achieve boxes, 2 or 3 columns can be easily done. If your point about learning positioning is to create clickable images/links or playable videos using absolute position, then you need to use z-index code as well. I always using this on my html designs, it all depends on how you want to code your website. The positioning is not necessary.

Thanks again for the replies

@Istvan...I am going to make a site today from scratch and will do as you say, putting everything in a wrapper except the body, and see if I have any problems positioning...seems to make sense what you have said so I will try asap. Many thanks!

One question...would I define the wrapper height?

Alan

There are many online tutorials which can help you to understand how to start website building.The very first thing which you need to learn in HTML.So w3schools is best source to learn as well as practicing.
It needs lot of practice and dedication to need web designing work.

Gud Luck!

basic should be there and i hope Tstan Horvath Sir showed you a path for success that how to make your website perfectly..............

1. Any image to be shown here MUST be hosted somewhere on the net - e.g. on your site.

2. That "last bit" means that most people talk back endlessly without ever trying to apply what is offered in help replies... and my willingness to help those people is equal to zero.

3. Even if you are working with hand-made HTML files - you should have a basic template for the site (consistency in design is a must). Which means you should not mess with the basic layout when you need something different - but with the specific div/element in that page: in your case an inside div with the contact info.

4. Lots of good advice above by Ronco, especially, 2nd paragraph!

I believe codeacademy.com has a course on web design. I'd highly recommend you check the out. They make learning interactive and fun, and I've really enjoyed their programming courses.

If you are in initial stage then visit w3school.This website will teach you the basic techniques to create a website.And if you are asking about the software for developing a website then use dreamweaver.