Web Design Tools and Tips

If you’re new to web design, here are some resources to get you started:

SOFTWARE

Adobe Dreamweaver is a web design and development software platform available in all campus labs, including the department’s G-26 computer lab.
For basic tutorials, see Adobe TV - Learn Dreamweaver

Tips:

Encourage students to design their websites in “split view,” writing their own HTML and CSS in the coding window and watching how it renders visually in design window.

If students are using a USB drive to host their local website files and designing on multiple computers, they will need to export their server settings as a Dreamweaver .ste file (details here).

Recommended Open Source alternatives include KompoZer and Aptana Studio.

 

HTML TUTORIALS

W3Schools - HTML5 Tutorial and Tag Reference

HTML Dog - HTML Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

 

CSS TUTORIALS

W3Schools - CSS Tutorial and Examples

HTML Dog - CSS Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

Tizag - CSS Tutorial

 

CODE VALIDATION

W3C - XHTML / HTML5 (experimental) Validation

W3C - CSS Validation

 

WEB FONTS AND COLORS

Typetester: an online application for comparison of the fonts for the screen

Color Picker: hexidecimal codes for web colors

Colors on the Web: color theory for web design, with a Color Wizard for matching

 

IMAGE OPTIMIZATION

How to Optimize JPEG Photos for the Web: Photoshop video tutorial

 

WORDPRESS CMS

As an alternative to “from-scratch” web design, the WordPress platform allows students to create a basic site for use in blogging exercises or as a portfolio of written and multimedia work using customizable templates.

The following tutorials offer a comprehensive overview of how to start your own WordPress site:

Sign up for WordPress Username (for multiple authors on a single class blog)

Sign up for WordPress Username and Blog (for individual student sites)

Writing Posts

Embedding SoundCloud Tracks

Embedding Vimeo Video

Embedding YouTube Video

Customize My Site

 

Category: