Bedrich Rios

In the last couple of months I have crossed paths with many individuals who still believe web pages are created using only HTML and table layouts. People who have no knowledge of web standards, accessibility, or the work that goes into creating or designing a website. Furthermore, there are those who, in my opinion, sadly still perceive the web as child-play.

I am not the most experienced web designer, far from it actually, but I have spent countless hours (for the past three years) learning about the web in order not to “hurt it.” That said, it is really hard to find higher education programs or classes about web design, mainly do to its “young” nature. At the same time, a simple Google search will return an overwhelming number of links to tutorials and how-tos. So, what’s good out there? There are many possible answers to that question. The following list is one. It will provide you with what worked for me when I began to take interest in web design. They are not all related to web design per se, but they will give you a brief overview of what your are getting yourself into.

The List, But Not “The List”

1. Understanding Web Design
   In this article, Jeffrey Zeldman, writes about what it means to be a web designer and what it does not. He talks about why web design is misunderstood and the dangers the misconceptions carry. Furthermore, he gives an answer to the question: what is web design? This is a must read for anyone interested or involved in web design.
2. The Web Standards Project
   “The Web Standards Project is a grassroots coalition fighting for standards which ensure simple, affordable access to web technologies for all.” In other words, web standards attempt to assure that the exchange and use of information between web based products go “smoothly” regardless of the browser being used.
3. CSS Beginner Tutorial
   Cascading Style Sheets are a web designer’s best friend. CSS allows you to design the way a web page displays without ever having to mess with the markup (HTML). Follow all the steps on the tutorial and you will be off to a good start.
4. Learn CSS Positioning in Ten Steps
   Learning how to position markup generated elements on a web page using CSS will be your key to liberating yourself from ever using tables to layout a page. Leave tables for displaying tabular data not entire web pages.
5. A Guide To Web Typography
   Many times overlooked, typography is one of the most important parts on a website’s design. After all, content is the meat of your site, display it right.

What Next?

I wrote this article with the assumption that you had general knowledge when it comes to HTML and CMSystems. If not, check out these articles: CMS and the Single Web Designer and HTML Beginner Tutorial. In any case, this list is intended to give you a good and solid starting point before you begin designing web pages. It worked for me in the past, I hope it works for you. If you have any questions or comments, please leave your thoughts down below.

I posted this article on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008. Is filed under Guides, Web Design, Web Standards. If you liked what you read, please digg it by using the button on the left. Also, you can subscribe to my RSS feed and read more articles like this one.