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Web Design: 7 Courses and Tutorials to Get You Started

By | September 6, 2012

It’s not hard to get into web design. Really, it isn’t. With a little tact, persistence, and the right learning materials you can be creating professional-looking websites of your own. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are the fundamental building blocks of every website online. At first, these programming languages may look like a confusing mess of letters, numbers and symbols, but it is actually quite simple to get a basic grasp of how they work. Plus, if you ever want to get into web development, whether it is blogging on a WordPress site or designing  professional web pages of your own, a basic understanding of HTML and CSS can give you a leg up on the competition. HTML and CSS programming are valuable skills to add to your repertoire, especially as more and more companies and resources become fully integrated on the internet.

Learning code won’t take you a lifetime. OpenSesame provides a wealth of resources to get you started. There are beginner courses to learn the current industry standard HTML 4 language, the stricter XHTML language, CSS, and even the new HTML 5 standard that is set to be released in 2014. Here’s how to get started:

Aside from the “building block” markup languages, you have the option of utilizing one of many intuitive web design software programs. One of the most powerful and popular program is Adobe DreamWeaver. DreamWeaver is an intuitive and easy-to-use web design program that writes and renders HTML code for you that is optimized and easy to understand. There have been a lot of versions of DreamWeaver released over the years but it doesn’t have to be confusing to tell them apart. Conveniently, most features throughout the versions are the same. The main differences between the programs boil down to slightly different interfaces and a few commands and tools being found under different menu items. Here are some great introductory courses to get yourself started:
 

With all these resources at your fingertips you can gain invaluable insights and experience into web design. I recommend starting out with a basic overview course on HTML and CSS. This will allow you to get your feet wet with some contextual knowledge before moving on to more complex publishing and design coding, or utilizing a software development program such as DreamWeaver.

How did you get started web programming? Let us know in the comments.