Re: A newbie Question

> >However, coding is only half the battle.  I've seen a lot of technically
> >correct, validating pages that are ugly. You may have some understanding
> >of graphic design with your writing background, but if you don't you
> >might consider taking some graphic design classes.  Good code absolutely
> >doesn't equal good design.

YES!!!  I would have to say the FIRST thing you should do is put away your
computer for a while and take some college level writing classes and some
art classes that will teach you drawing and painting. You need an
appreciation for beauty and form. This will prevent you building a site with
dark purple background and brown text. Not only is it depressing, but almost
impossible to read. Suitable for Halloween maybe, but not for selling dolls
or T-shirts.

Many of the most effective websites have a lot of writing in them. It's
cheaper for your clients to develop good websites than it is to staff a
1-800 number to answer dumb questions.  Ever notice how many websites have a
picture of the product and no amplifying information.  Well written sites do
better in the search engine game too.

Then you might want to work at a printer or publisher for a while to get a
feel for composition.  You need some white space on the page.  You also need
to know that if the part the viewer sees does not grab them, they will not
pan down three screens to see what you have hidden there.

It wouldn't hurt to have some retail sales experience either. This gives you
a "customer-centric" idea about how you should put your sites together,
built so they are easily navigated and the customer is led where you want.
Ever notice that milk is always at the back corner of the grocery store?
They know you will walk down the potato chip or candy isle to get there.

After all that - THEN you're ready to learn HTML or XHTML, then JS CSS and
the rest.

            Simply put - it's the content that counts - not the tools.

Paul Wilson
webguroo(at)tampabay.rr.com

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