Maybe you’re bootstrapping a business from the ground up and are looking to build a website. Perhaps you’d like to make an entry into the web development world and are looking for a good and solid introduction to VPS hosting or coding. Or maybe you simply wish to stay a step ahead of your hacker tech savvy kid.
Whether you are in a position of differentiating between CSS and HTML or you want to improve an already existing website, there’s one way that can assist you in taking your website design to where you want it to go, the next level, and that is tutorials.
There is today an immense amount of resources out there that can come to your aid in honing your web design skills. However, odds are high that you lack the time needed to scroll and master hundreds of such web design websites so as to get the one that offers the best training.
For a graphic designer, the following are some of the tools and techniques which you may want to master.
1. Basic HTML and CSS
It doesn’t get any simpler or more basic than these video tutorials that are also beautifully designed. This is the work of the dynamic duo of web designer Russ Maschmeyer and illustrator Jessica Hirsche. They have turned website their design tutorials into an appealing work of art.
An assemblage of all conceivable visual examples and very comprehensive explanations that have been collected in the form of tutorials become your guiding line, designed to simplify the laborious tasks associated with creating a new web page considerably.
This HTML & CSS Tutorials provides you with chance of choosing the direction and work style of your work, providing several ways, which to a certain degree could even become alternatives your previous work styles.
2. 1st Web Designer Video Course
This 3-part tutorial that also comes with handy videos essentially amounts to a one-stop shop for the majority of web design basics. It comprehensively provides a detailed walkthrough of the process of web designing and the tools you are going to need.
The first section of the tutorial covers aspects related to wire framing and planning, Photoshop basic tools and panels, as well as designing is required in Photoshop. The 2nd section deals with HTML tags, structure, and the basic CSS properties. The final part handles complete HTML markup and the application of CSS styles.
3. Ruby on Rails Tutorial
Ruby on Rails, among the most popular frameworks for web development is based on what is referred to as the Ruby language- Twitter, powers Basecamp, and GitHub, among many others. For those interested in planning and developing their own awe-inspiring web app, this free tutorial book on Ruby on Rails from Michael Hartl is strongly recommended.
Mastering the technique of building a modern web application is certainly a daunting task. Ruby on Rails has gone on to makes the process more fun and easier. It covers all you may require in building fantastic applications, and as you are doing that, you also get the support of a huge and friendly online community.
This tutorial certainly covers much more than just Rails, you in addition will learn the “ins and out” of the bigger picture related to web application development.
4. Tuts+ Network
The folks working at Tuts+ Network purpose to give you all they got. Working with 13 different network affiliates, the Tuts+ Network has been rated as one of the most-packed bags of tricks you can have in your arsenal of online web design learning.
The affiliates include the self-explanatory mobiletuts+, psdtuts+, webdesigntuts+, and vectortuts+. It also comes with a community-supported network. Basically, the Tuts+ Network provides tutorials on nearly everything you can ever imagine when it comes to matters of designing a web page.
5. w3schools.com
In general, among the tutorials mentioned in this review, w3schools may be deemed to be the one that assumes the most no-nonsense teaching approach. The w3schools tutorial provides very broad tutorials on the main web design programming languages. Such include HTML, CSS, SQL, PHP, JQuery, and JavaScript.
What makes the w3schools tutorials unique is that they have integrated, ‘do-it-yourself ‘hands-on exercises in every chapter, enabling you to practice what you’re progressively learning. You will get complete references regarding tags, events, URL encoding, color names, attributes, entities, character-sets, HTTP messages, language codes, and more.
This is the perfect web design solution for those professionals seeking to strike a balance between work, career building, and family.
6. Lynda.com
Lynda.com offers a huge instructional videos online library that covers the latest software, business, and creative skills. Taught by recognized industry experts and accomplished instructors, lynda.com is an excellent and high-quality resource for those seeking to develop their skills in Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, HTML coding, VPS hosting, time management, and much more.
The courses have been segmented so that you have the freedom of watching as much or as little as you want. The courses has been designed for all learning levels such as Java test, and weekly, new courses are added. You can access the library 24/7-even from the majority of your mobile devices.
7. Cartoon Smart
Cartoon Smart was started in 2004 by the talented Justin Dike and offers a unique blend of paid-for and free tutorials. Whether you seek to improve your technical side or the artistic side, you are well covered by Cartoon Smart.
It has a library of high-quality training video that covers Flash, HTML5, iOS development, drawing, animation, illustration, and more. You also benefit from a great selection of starter kits, royalty free art, and templates.
8. Codrops
For those with some basic knowledge about building a website from scratch, Codrops has something good for you. You will not even need to put all that into use. Codrops have assembled an awesome basic and ready to use cheat-sheet of CSS styles that should certainly earn a key spot on your computer bookmarks bar. You will not need anything more once you have this tool.
Additionally, the web design tutorials library from Codrops comes with a vast selection of in-depth how-to posts that cover nearly any functionality you could need for building your site.
Conclusion
For a graphic designer, it is important to get a proper appreciation of which software and tools are suitable in any given situation. Different wed design situations will call for different apps if you want to get the best results, and at times, you may need to combine several approaches.
It’s true that learning the usage of different software and tools, and going outside the comfort zone can be challenging at times. However, it is that effort that makes the work worth it, for you will finally get better results.
